Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust announced it has completed a conservation easement on the LaPrelle Creek Ranch. The 515-acre property is southwest of Douglas, Wyo., and this effort adds to three other ranches conserved by the land trust in Converse County. The others include Little Deer Creek Ranch, Horseshoe Bend Ranch and Creek Bend Ranch, which shares LaPrelle's northern border.

In a release after the closing, Bo Alley, the land trust's executive director, commented: "So many ag operations in Wyoming rely on the use of multiple units throughout the year. The LaPrelle Creek ranch unit is an integral part of a larger agricultural operation that includes Creek Bend Ranch, which we conserved portions of in 2014. Conserving contiguous units is not only beneficial for the future of Wyoming agriculture, it has the added benefit of keeping larger ecosystems intact.”

The Deer Creek and LaPrelle Creek properties are encompassed in the North Laramie Range Crucial Priority Area, based on Wyoming Game and Fish Department data, and the conservation easement will protect a migration corridor for elk. According to the land trust, the easement will also help ensure protection of clean water sources, including a tributary of LaPrelle Creek and natural springs that offer year-round water sources for livestock and wildlife.

Reid Lance Rosenthal, a Wyoming rancher and author, spoke about the conservation of this property in addition to previously conserved areas, in the release announcing the latest easement: “The ranch enjoys unique topography and resources, and occupies miles of key position in the LaPrelle Creek valley skyline and watershed. It is critical to both our spring pasture regimen, and as winter habitat to a variety of ungulate species. We are again delighted to work with the Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust on preserving these special lands for future generations of people and critters!”

Source: Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust