An agreement between USDA and the state of Wyoming aims to protect wildlife migratory corridors/Rebecca Latson file

While expanding populations around Yellowstone National Park can create problems for wildlife that migrate in and out of the park, a new partnership seeks to protect big game migratory corridors on private lands surrounding the park.

The agreement between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the state of Wyoming comes as part of the celebration of Yellowstone National Park’s 150th anniversary.

Along with investments in agricultural land protection and restoration, the “Partnership to Support Big Game Working Lands Conservation in Wyoming” commits USDA to the innovative application of Farm Bill conservation title programs to develop habitat leases on private land. Habitat leases are a tool that provide needed economic certainty to farms and ranches (“working lands”), while allowing the flexibility to tailor terms to local situations. 

“There are many ways to manage land, and those ways that benefit wildlife often cost farmers and ranchers other revenue opportunities,” said Zach Bodhane, Western Landowners Alliance policy director. “If we want to support landowners that choose to manage land in ways that benefit wildlife, we need creative solutions like habitat leasing to help offset those costs and keep these working lands intact.”

Well-managed working landscapes play a critical role in holding together the communities and the ecosystems people depend on, and they are disappearing under mounting economic and natural pressures. Western Landowners Alliance has consistently argued for additional support for private lands that provide wildlife habitat, especially surrounding protected areas and for big game migrations. The price and terms of habitat leases send clear and important messages about the value of conservation. 

“People respond to market signals. Right now if you are a landowner in Wyoming, the two market signals you get are pushing you toward wind and residential development,” said Bob Budd, executive director of the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resources Trust Fund. “If we want conservation, there has got to be a market signal for conservation.”

By recognizing that many conservation outcomes can be achieved as a result of voluntary conservation on private land, the USDA is leading the way in promoting a new model of conservation. This new partnership in Wyoming recognizes that the future of conservation must focus on working lands, and provides economic support for the public benefits that these lands provide. 

“If the goal is to preserve the wildlife, migration corridors and biodiversity of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, then you must preserve the working landscapes of this region,” said Pinedale, Wyoming, rancher Albert Sommers. “Ranches are the glue that conserves these working landscapes, and multi-generational agriculture is the mechanism to maintain these ranches.”

The Western Landowners Alliance commends USDA for its commitment to listen to landowner needs and work with local communities and state leadership for the betterment of our ecosystems and rural economies. This new partnership is a critical step toward effectively compensating landowners for wildlife habitat they provide the public. It recognizes that when it comes to achieving conservation outcomes on working lands, economic conditions matter. With this partnership the USDA and the state of Wyoming are taking a critical step forward toward better supporting land stewards for the public benefits they provide.

The program was applauded by the National Wildlife Federation.

“People come from all over the world to experience Yellowstone’s iconic wildlife, but that wildlife spends much of the year outside of the park boundaries. Species like elk and mule deer migrate to lower elevations — and to lands largely in private ownership — so landowners are essential to the long-term vitality of these herds,” said David Willms, senior director of Western wildlife and conservation at that National Wildlife Federation. “This program recognizes the important contributions of landowners to conservation, and will help ensure that future generations of park visitors will continue to enjoy this incredible wildlife. We hope the success of this pilot program will spur a broader effort to collaborate with landowners in voluntary migration corridor conservation efforts around the nation.”