JACKSON, Wyo. — In the past two weeks alone, the Jackson Hole Land Trust (JHLT) has finalized the permanent protection of more than 560 acres of critical wildlife habitat through three newly completed conservation easements.
These projects, undertaken by its regional programs Park County Open Lands and the Green River Valley Program, safeguard key migration corridors and seasonal habitats that wildlife depend on as they travel between Grand Teton National Park (GTNP), Yellowstone National Park and surrounding communities.
The projects include Boulder Draw, a 400-acre ranch near Boulder in Sublette County, an 80-acre property known as The Cutoff near South Pass along the Lander Front and an 84-acre property along the North Fork of the Shoshone River near Cody. Together, these easements ensure the protection of sagebrush shrublands, aspen groves, riparian corridors and open ranchlands that are essential to the survival of Wyoming’s iconic wildlife species.
These new conservation easements protect critical sections of some of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem’s (GYE) most important migration corridors, including the Sublette Mule Deer Migration Corridor and the Cody elk herd’s migratory routes. Notably, The Cutoff lies within the main artery of the Red Desert to Hoback migration — the longest known ungulate migration in the continental U.S. This corridor allows mule deer to travel over 150 miles between their wintering grounds in the Red Desert and summer ranges in the Wind River Range, Hoback Basin and GTNP. Protecting private lands like these ensures wildlife can access vital stopover habitats for rest and forage, a necessity for survival on these long migrations.
“Wildlife that people marvel at in Jackson and the parks often rely on private lands to survive.”
JHLT President Max Ludington
“We are deeply grateful to the landowners who have partnered with us to safeguard these critical landscapes for generations to come,” said JHLT President Max Ludington. “Wildlife that people marvel at in Jackson and the parks often rely on private lands to survive, particularly during winter when food and shelter are scarce. These easements are a testament to the power of collaboration in conserving critical ecosystems.”
By limiting development and maintaining open spaces, these easements benefit not only wildlife but also local communities, preserving Northwest Wyoming’s rural character and diverse cultural heritages. These efforts build on a growing understanding that conserving private lands is essential to ensuring the resilience of the ecosystems that sustain the region’s iconic wildlife.
About the Jackson Hole Land Trust
The Jackson Hole Land Trust is a nonprofit organization established in 1980 to protect and steward Northwest Wyoming landscapes for current and future generations. With more than 62,000 acres protected, our vision is a legacy of resilient open spaces, wildlife habitat, working lands and community places, forever protected across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
