JACKSON, Wyo. — The Jackson Hole Land Trust’s (JHLT) newest regional program, Park County Open Lands, has completed its inaugural conservation project, the acquisition of the Four C Ranch easement which is located approximately 11 miles southwest of Cody.
Four C Ranch owners Chuck and Marilyn Walker partnered with Park County Open Lands to conserve their ranch and to actively maintain its wetland habitat, open space, grazing lands and water quality, said the JHLT via press release.
“With the creation of Park County Open Lands, landowners in this county now have an opportunity to preserve the open space that makes Wyoming such a special place,” Chuck Walker said. “Continuing growth threatens our private lands, which provide year-round grazing for resident and migratory wildlife herds, farming and ranching opportunities for the next generation and open space for all to enjoy. The rate of population growth in the past few years has increased my sense of urgency. If we don’t do it, it won’t get done.”
According to the announcement, the easement is 364 acres and situated at the crossroads of the rural residential areas of the Lower and Middle Southfork and the ranchlands of the Middle and Upper Southfork. The newly acquired open space is home to mule deer, whitetails, antelope, sandhill cranes and a diverse array of plants, as well as important habitat for Yellowstone cutthroat trout, migrating songbirds and birds of prey along the nearly 1.5 miles of now-protected Marquette Creek.
“We increasingly recognize the important work that private landowners do in stewarding migration and winter range habitats for wildlife that use Grand Teton National Park,” Grand Teton National Park Superintendent Chip Jenkins said via press release. “The interconnectivity of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is far-reaching, and mule deer that travel hundreds of miles between Cody and the park perfectly illustrate the need to consider crucial conservation strategies, like easements, beyond the park’s borders. We’re excited to see these lands protected.”
According to the JHLT, the Park County Open Lands program was launched just under one year ago after identifying Park County “as a priority area for conservation in Northwest Wyoming at risk of fragmentation.” The Park County residents formed an 11- member advisory council to guide the Jackson Hole Land Trust’s work in the area.
“Rural subdivision accumulates through time. It only moves in one direction,” Chair of the Park County Open Lands Advisory Council Jarren Kuipers said. “If the cherished values of the area are tied to open, rural and working landscapes, such as the Four C Ranch, then those values need to take priority to persist. What Mr. and Mrs. Walker chose to do was to make those values a priority for the benefit of current and future generations. For that, we are eternally grateful.”
