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MEETEETSE – A young ranching family will continue to grow a livelihood in agriculture thanks in part to a newly completed conservation effort with the Wyoming Stock Growers Agricultural Land Trust and The Conservation Fund. Kasey and Ondi Shepperson welcomed the closing of a purchased conservation easement on 13,857 acres of their Hat Two Ranch northwest of Meeteetse. Both Kasey and Ondi grew up in ranching families and have worked diligently to continue making a living on the land. The couple purchased the property for the Hat Two Limited Partnership in 2003 and moved from the Beaver Rim area between Shoshoni and Casper with their children Shawn, now 13 years old and Lauran, now 8 years old. The family later welcomed another child, Shanan, now 2 years old. “Ranching is all we ever wanted to do,” Kasey Shepperson said. The Shepperson Family runs a cow/calf operation and raises 400 acres of hay. Committed to the cattle-ranching business and way of life, the family plans to stay on the ranch long term and the conservation easement will keep the land available to pass on to their children. Kasey and Ondi chose to enter into the conservation easement after the value of their land continued to increase and they were turning away offers to sell the land. They wanted to find a way to reduce the monetary value of the property and retain the ranching value. As part of the purchased easement agreement, the Shepperson Family contributed a significant portion of the value of the easement. Click here for more. Extensive Wyoming land conservation project conserves nearly 19,000 acres Sommers-Grindstone ranches protect future for ranching, wildlife, fishing access, cultural sites UPPER GREEN RIVER VALLEY - A massive land-protection agreement in Sublette County closed Thursday, conserving nearly 19,000 acres of historic agricultural land, critical wildlife habitat and iconic view sheds. The Sommers Grindstone Conservation Project is one of the most extensive private lands conservation efforts in Wyoming’s history and includes four separate conservation easements and public fishing access on nearly five miles of the Green River. The landmark agreements of the Sommers-Grindstone project were made possible by the vision of landowners Albert Sommers, his sister Jonita Sommers and Maggie Miller of Grindstone Cattle Co. The project is a partnership between the landowners, the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission and the Wyoming Stock Growers Agricultural Land Trust. “This easement will allow the land to remain undeveloped, which is a benefit to cattle and wildlife, and it will allow us to pass our ranch along to another generation of ranchers,” Albert Sommers said. “We are trying to create a future for this ranch.” Click here for more Future of ranch secured through easement, bequest SHERIDAN COUNTY – More than 1,000 acres of working ranchland will remain forever in agriculture thanks to a recently closed conservation easement and bequest of the ranch to the Wyoming Stock Growers Agricultural Land Trust. The Kusel Ranch purchased conservation easement closed the end of June and protects 1,050 acres just west of Sheridan. The scenic ranch is located along the eastern front of the Bighorn Mountain Range, with Soldier Creek drainage running through it. Owned by Fred Kusel and his sister Catherine Kusel, the ranch lies in an area that has experienced an explosion of rural development in recent years. The siblings entered into the easement to help ensure the operation will continue as a viable ranch and habitat for wildlife. “We have felt for a long time that we needed to protect agricultural lands from development,” Catherine Kusel said. “The more land in development, the less land that is available for food production and future generations.” The purchased conservation easement is a legal, voluntary agreement a landowner makes to permanently restrict the type and amount of development that occurs on his or her property. It is held and monitored by the Stock Growers Ag Land Trust. Funders include the Natural Resources Conservation Service Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (NRCS FRPP) and the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resources Trust (WWNRT). The Kusels generously contributed more than 25 percent of the value of the conservation easement. “The Kusel Conservation Easement is another fantastic example of how NRCS Farm Bill programs, in concert with the Stock Growers Ag Land Trust’s commitment to preserving working agriculture operations, provides extraordinary benefits to Wyoming,” NRCS State Conservationist Xavier Montoya said. “We are fortunate to have a level of FRPP funding that can support many excellent projects. The NRCS looks forward to further growing our very successful partnership in support of conservation easements in our great state.” The property lies along Soldier Creek and contains productive irrigated fields and rolling upland shrub steppe. The protection of the Kusel Ranch will help to ensure the continued agricultural viability and habitat values of this spectacular corridor between mountains and plains. “The Kusels have taken a monumental step in ensuring their ranch remains a ranch,” Stock Growers Ag Land Trust Field Representative Leah Burgess said. “Not only have they protected the land base for agriculture and open space, they have ensured that the property will continue to be operated as a working ranch through their bequest to the Land Trust.” The ranch location near the Bighorn National Forest plays a key role in providing an undeveloped buffer for the public lands to the west. The riparian areas include a diverse population of trees and plants and are home to amphibians, waterfowl and other aquatic and riparian-dwelling species. The irrigated meadows and native rangelands contain elk and pronghorn migration corridors, and provide ample habitat for a host of other wildlife species, including deer, moose, small mammals, raptors and songbirds. The protection of the Kusel Ranch will help to conserve agricultural productivity and wildlife habitat by expanding this contiguity of open spaces which include both privately and federally managed lands. As encroachment from Sheridan westward continues, places like the Kusel property are becoming increasingly important for wildlife populations. “If you stand on the hills of the Kusel place and look west there is nothing but the wide-open space all the way to the top of the mountains,” WWNRT Board Member Hardy Tate said. “As I was growing up on a ranch just west of the Kusel place, I didn't realize how special that open space was. I have really come to appreciate how rare and valuable this contiguous open area on the face of the mountains is to future generations. It will be a very lucky family that gets to continue the Kusel ranching operation after they are gone.” The Kusel family has ranched on their land since 1910 and Fred and sister Catherine have owned and operated the cattle and hay operation since 1967. In creating their estate plans the Kusel siblings wanted to ensure their ranch remains a working operation and the property will serve as a “start-up opportunity” for young ranchers. With this in mind, they named the Stock Growers Ag Land Trust as beneficiary to the ranch. Due to the Kusel’s foresight in their estate planning, the Stock Growers Ag Land Trust, along with Encana Oil & Gas and several private donors have launched a feasibility study to establish the Ranchland Succession Program. The goal of the project is to establish viable models that can be used to transfer land to beginning producers, ensuring the intent of the bequest can be honored. “Fred and Catherine’s legacy gift of their ranch is an extraordinary example of the concern many landowners have for the future of agriculture in Wyoming,” Stock Growers Ag Land Trust Executive Director Pamela Dewell said. “We are honored they chose our land trust to ensure their property is conveyed to a young ranching family after the Kusels have passed away.” Landowners donate easements as estate planning tool PARK & JOHNSON COUNTIES – The Wyoming Stock Growers Agricultural Land Trust welcomed the donations of two conservation easements in late summer. The foresight of the landowners has conserved 630 acres to protect Wyoming’s vital ranching places and iconic viewsheds. As part of the vision of the late John Scully, heirs to his estate donated a conservation easement on a 387-acre ranch east of Buffalo, Wyo, just two miles from the Bighorn Mountains. In another transaction, the heirs of the Ramblin M Ranch southeast of Cody, Wyo. donated an easement protecting 243 acres. “These donated easements represent a lasting legacy for these families,” Stock Growers Ag Land Trust Field Representative Jarren Kuipers said. “Both properties have great intrinsic values due to their agricultural contributions to the local economies of Cody and Buffalo, protection of scenic views of the Bighorn and Absaroka Mountains and proximity to critical big game winter ranges.” Scully Ranch Located on the edge of the rural residential development creeping from Buffalo toward the mountains, the Scully Ranch conservation easement will conserve the open and private ranching values of the land. It is also a source of winter range for wildlife, particularly antelope and deer. “My uncle, Dr. John Scully, felt strongly about keeping Wyoming land from being overdeveloped,” Scully’s niece Patricia Linehan said. “He wanted to do whatever he could to keep the land open for the future and was able to do that through his estate plans.” The rolling agricultural property encompasses irrigated hay meadows, upland rangeland, riparian woodland and riparian wetland. French Creek winds through the southern boundary of the rangeland and the ranch is primarily used for late summer and fall livestock and hay production. Dr. John Scully’s love for Wyoming’s open character began when he retired to Buffalo in 1994. He was born and raised in Buffalo, NY and worked as a civil engineer in Greenland and in South Dakota where he was also a professor of civil engineering at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Dr. Scully passed away in 2008 and documented through his estate plans that he wanted a conservation easement established on his property. In accordance with his wishes, the property will be sold under conservation easement, with the proceeds establishing a college scholarship endowment for Buffalo-area high school students. Ramblin M Ranch Located in the drainage of the South Fork of the Shoshone River and near Buffalo Bill Reservoir, the Ramblin M Ranch conservation easement was donated by Karen Seyfert and Philip Morehead to fulfill their father’s wishes to keep the property in open space for agriculture and wildlife habitat, while reducing the estate tax burden. George Morehead purchased the property in 1967 and the family has spent part of each year enjoying the unique culture and landscape of Wyoming. George Morehead attempted to put his property under easement before his death, but was unsuccessful. His children have carried out his wishes by placing an easement on the property. “My sister and I are delighted to partner with the Stock Growers Ag Land Trust to preserve the scenic and agricultural values that make Wyoming great,” Philip Morehead said. “It is a real benefit to do so in a tax-effective way after the passing of our father.” The Ramblin M Ranch is composed of irrigated hay meadows under pivot. The property has abundant water which has been carefully utilized through irrigation improvements by the family. The agricultural land is used primarily for hay production and wintering livestock. The ranch has seven perennial springs, an unusual feature for a property of its size and location. The springs are used for irrigation and filling seven wildlife ponds that cover more than five acres. Donated conservation easements are legal, voluntary agreements a landowner makes to permanently restrict the type and amount of development that occurs on his or her property. For more information contact the Wyoming Stock Growers Ag Land Trust at 307.772.8751 or info@wsgalt.org.
Johnson County landowners conserve historical ag lands CHEYENNE – Concerned about the threat of prime, agricultural landscapes being gobbled up by development, two Johnson County landowners took steps to save their iconic Wyoming ranch lands. Marking the first Johnson County conservation easements held by the Wyoming Stock Growers Agricultural Land Trust, Kevin and Judy Lund donated 2,240 acres comprising Powder River Ranch and Fourmile Creek Ranch east of Kaycee. “Much of our river acreage is prime development land and we wanted to make sure it stayed a ranch forever,” Judy Lund said. “Keeping the land as a ranch is what we work toward and what we have achieved through this easement.” The newly conserved ranch lands have been in the Lund family for more than 70 years, and are home to many interesting natural, agricultural and historical features. The productive cow/calf operation supports a diverse variety of domestic stock including cattle, horses, sheep, goats and the occasional yak. It is also land that has impacted dozens of lives. “It’s amazing to stop and think about how many lives this place has touched,” Kevin Lund said. “Families used to send their kids to work on the ranch. Until my folks passed away, they’d get a dozen Christmas cards from people who still remembered my folks and the ranch.” The Powder River Ranch is situated directly on the river and contains wetlands, irrigated hay fields, cottonwood-gallery forests and upland range. In addition to the domestic stock, it supports abundant wildlife including thriving herds of both whitetail and mule deer. Fourmile Creek Ranch lies several miles north and contains vast, rolling plains of mixed-grass prairie rangeland. Standing on the Fourmile Creek property, the view is broken only by the Bighorn Mountains to the west and Pumpkin Buttes to the east. “We are very pleased to accept the gift of these conservation easements, our first in Johnson County,” Stock Growers Ag Land Trust Southeast Field Representative Leah Burgess said. “Under the excellent stewardship of the Lund family, the properties have come to exemplify the very best of Wyoming; they are productive, diverse, scenic and historically unique places that provide both a window to the past, and now, a view to the future of protected ranch lands in Johnson County.” The Lunds’ generous contribution brings the Stock Growers Ag Land Trust’s protected working lands to 112,408 acres.
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