Gooseberry Creek Conservation Project, WY

The Gooseberry Creek Conservation Project is among the first large scale watershed-based voluntary conservation initiatives in Wyoming and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The Project seeks to permanently protect 34,552 acres of deeded land including 65 miles of Gooseberry Creek, which are associated with 220,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management and State of Wyoming leased lands. The Conservation Fund is partnering with several local landowners, the Wyoming Stock Growers Agricultural Land Trust (WSGALT), the Natural Resource Conservation Service, and the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust Fund, to complete phased acquisitions of several adjoining conservation easements to protect this important resource.

Summary

Yellowstone National Park and surrounding National Forest lands are considered the largest functioning ecosystem in the lower forty-eight states. The properties are located in the foothill-basin transition zone, one of the most environmentally diverse habitats in the inter-montane basin region of Wyoming. These lands provide winter range for elk, mule deer, moose, and antelope, which utilize adjacent and nearby public lands for summer and transitional range.

Private lands encompass a riparian corridor bordered by BLM lands and serve as the main water source and breeding habitat for local ungulates, small mammals, and a diverse mix of resident and migratory birds. The properties form an interconnected mosaic of lands in the southeastern corner of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

The Project was initiated by five long-time working ranch families. The first acquisition of a conservation easement was completed on the 654-acre Barnett Ranch along Gooseberry Creek in 2005. Phase two of the project was completed in August of 2007, and permanently conserved 4,064 acres of neighboring land along Gooseberry Creek owned by three long-time ranch families.