LANDER - An innovative conservation easement struck between Fremont County ranchers Tony and Andrea Malmberg, the Wyoming chapter of The Nature Conservancy and the Natural Resources Conservation Service will protect almost 5,000 acres of wildlife habitat.

By providing protection from future development, the conservation easement means that sage grouse and their chicks can migrate each spring from nests on Twin Creek Ranch south of Lander to summer range in the foothills of the Wind River Mountains n- 20 miles and a thousand-foot climb over the rough hills and rocky escarpments that form a transition zone between the Winds and the Red Desert.

"We'll be able to keep a functional ranch intact, without selling off important pieces," said Tony Malmberg, whose family began ranching the property more than 25 years ago.

Completed on Wednesday, the conservation easement used the USDA's Farm and Ranchland Protection Program, which is administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service and The Nature Conservancy. Matching funds granted by NRCS were used for the purchase of a conservation easement on almost 5,000 deeded acres at Twin Creek Ranch. The easement prevents development of the property, except for ranching and agricultural purposes.

The Malmbergs contributed half of the match, and The Nature Conservancy is raising the remainder through private contributions.

Twin Creek Ranch includes more than 16,000 acres of deeded and public land and ranges in elevation from 5,800 to 7,500 feet. The ranch provides a home to most of the big game species found in Wyoming, plus habitat for a large variety of migratory songbirds, several species of waterfowl, numerous small mammals, and at least four rare plants. The property is surrounded by Bureau of Land Management land and other working ranches.

Tony Malmberg said he is taking the long view.

"Often, ranches are broken up to compensate siblings, heir interests and other business dissolutions," he said. "The only thing left is home sites. By dividing and selling the development rights - instead of the property - the viability of working ranches, wildlife migration corridors and the quality of life in rural communities can be passed on to future generations."

Conservation context

"One of the key threats to the American West is the fragmentation of large ranches, many of which encompass vast areas of natural land and multitudes of wildlife," said Andrea Erickson, Wyoming state director for the conservancy. "One of the most important things we can do to conserve wildlife habitat is to keep ranchers on the land."

She cited an American Farmland Trust estimate that 2.6 million acres of private ranch land in Wyoming could be converted to residential development by 2020. Malmberg said he didn't want to see that happen to his family ranch.

He said he became a convert to holistic management practices on Twin Creek Ranch after he heard Alan Savory speak about the holistic approach. The South African range scientist found a ready disciple in Malmberg, who works with other ranchers, governmental organizations, universities and nonprofit organizations at the local, national and international levels.

The ranch has served as a site for long-term studies of sage grouse behavior and survivability conducted by the University of Wyoming and the Game and Fish Department. A beaver study on Twin Creek Ranch analyzed the relationship between grazing and water quality, and grazing on the ranch is now managed to promote beaver activity, thus improving riparian habitat.

"Those beaver were the best drought insurance we had," Malmberg said.

With two or three beaver per mile in a 12-mile riparian area, all those beaver ponds helped raise the water table high enough that even when there was no surface water, there was groundwater readily available during the worst of the recent drought, Malmberg said.

Changing times

"I've been moving away from a commodity-based business to a value-added business," Malmberg said.

He and wife Andrea operate a unique guest ranch business that caters to "eco-tourists" from around the world. Instead of selling land, the Malmbergs sell the experience of ranching, where guests come and help get the cattle work done, learn about sustainable development and explore the rich wildlife habitat on the ranch and the public lands next to it.

Andrea serves up "country cuisine" featuring ranch-raised food in the ranch's beautiful log lodge. They also sell their grass-finished "Beyond Organic Beef" to a local restaurant.

"We have become increasingly respectful of the ranch and the animals which live on it n- both wild and domestic," Andrea said.

The Nature Conservancy, with a wide range of partners, has conserved more than 424,000 acres in Wyoming.

"The beauty of this agreement is that it keeps dedicated land stewards on the ground where conservation must ultimately be done on a daily basis," Erickson said. "The value of ranching families like the Malmbergs cannot be overstated."