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conservation easements
We provide scientific reports, project profiles, technical tools, videos, photos, field guides, and links that tell the story of how cooperative conservation is making a difference for working lands and wildlife across the West.
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NRCS and Partners Work Together to Help Families Keep Their Land Green-Side Up
December 13, 2023
Conservation easements are one of the best tools to keep working lands in working hands. Learn about how partners, like land trusts, work with the NRCS to craft successful ...
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Meet Brian Jensen
July 22, 2022
Hear how Wyoming NRCS's State Biologist, Brian Jensen, uses science to help prioritize where conservation easements most benefit ...
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Meet Jessica Crowder
July 22, 2022
Hear how Jessica Crowder's role as executive director of the Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust has been so important to the conservation easement culture in the Green River ...
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Meet Jennifer Hayward
July 22, 2022
Hear why Jennifer Hayward believes easements have been so successful in Wyoming's Green River ...
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Meet Maggie Miller
July 22, 2022
Hear why Grindstone Cattle Company's Maggie Miller worked with the NRCS to conserve her land through conservation ...
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Conserving Prime Hay Ground As Well As Colorado’s Famous Elk and Deer
August 23, 2021
The Etchart Family worked with the NRCS, TNC, and the CO Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust to place much of the ranch in a conservation easement protecting this prime ...
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Washington Ranch Preserves Sagebrush Rangeland in Perpetuity
May 26, 2021
New conservation easement in Washington state preserves more than 2,000 acres of native sagebrush range in critical sage grouse habitat, adding to a 6,800-acre easement the ...
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The Value of Keeping it in Grass
May 26, 2021
The Burke Family's long partnership with NRCS has led to better forage for livestock and wildlife and, in 2017, their ranch was protected in perpetuity through a ...
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Wildhorse Ranch Project: A Win-Win Partnership To Protect Sagebrush Range
April 21, 2017
Innovative conservation easement with ranchers, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Nevada Dept. of Wildlife, and NRCS preserves agricultural working lands, wildlife habitat, and ...
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Sage Grouse Need Intact Landscapes For Long-Distance Movement
March 28, 2017
New science shows that keeping big landscapes healthy and connected is essential for maintaining bigger-than-expected sage grouse ...
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Scientific Research Shows How To Reduce The Risk Of Crop Cultivation To Protect Sage Grouse
July 7, 2016
A new scientific study published in Biological Conservation explains how to reduce the threat of converting native sagebrush habitat into crops. Read how the research can be ...
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Map Layer Identifies Risk of Converting Sagebrush to Cropland
April 13, 2016
Today, the Sage Grouse Initiative is unveiling a new layer on our interactive web application that shows where the risk of cropland conversion is highest. The new "cultivation ...
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Conservation Working For Ranchers And Sage Grouse In The West
February 18, 2016
by The Conservation Fund | The Conservation Fund's Wyoming Sage Grouse Campaign has conserved 15 properties in partnership with SGI and others. We are proud to partner with ...
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Conservation Easements Protect a Special Place in Idaho
February 19, 2015
The area between the Pioneer Mountains and Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho is vitally important to sage-grouse and other wildlife. SGI has worked with 26 ...
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Conservation Easements in Montana Improve Sage-Grouse Migration
February 13, 2015
Recent conservation easements in Montana help maintain the sage-grouse's longest-known migration corridor between the U.S. and ...
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Keeping It Together: Large Landscape Conservation in the Upper Green River, Wyoming
January 28, 2015
A colossal voluntary effort is keeping the Intermountain West's sagebrush steppe intact, which protects one of the highest density populations of greater sage grouse ...