Watch: A Legacy on the Land
A stunning new film from Park County Open Lands celebrates landowners who are protecting their ranches from suburban sprawl near Cody, Wyoming.
Chuck and Marilyn Walker, owners of the Four C Ranch, are the first landowners to safeguard their land through a conservation easement held by Park County Open Lands, which launched in 2023.
“Landowners want to ensure that this community continues to provide winter range for some of the longest migrations in the lower 48.”
– Alex Few, Director of Park County Open Lands
What is a conservation easement?
Conservation easements are voluntary agreements that limit development on private land to protect resources like wildlife habitat, open spaces, agriculture, historic landmarks and scenic vistas. These agreements are customized to the unique conservation values of each property and can be structured to support ongoing farming, ranching or recreational uses like hunting and fishing. Easements are permanent, remaining in place even if ownership changes.
The loss of working lands
Landowners like the Walkers face many challenges in keeping their properties intact and economically viable due to development pressures, market conditions and family succession issues. Supporting wildlife can add to the strain through damages to crops and fences, diminished grass and hay production and loss of livestock to carnivores. Between 2017 and 2022, Wyoming lost just over 200,000 acres of farm and ranch land.
Why private lands matter
“It’s no accident that some of the best habitat today is private,” says Shaleas Harrison, Wyoming Resource Coordinator for Western Landowners Alliance. “It was settled because it holds the elements necessary for life in Wyoming’s harsh climate—water, wetlands and high-quality vegetation on flat land. It also tends to be lower in elevation with a milder climate.”
That’s why the remaining open space around Cody is so critical to both agriculture and wildlife, as landowner Chuck Walker explains in the film.
“Agriculture and wildlife are both central to our identity here in Park County,” says Alex Few, Director of Park County Open Lands. “They [landowners] want to ensure that this community continues to provide winter range for some of the longest migrations in the lower 48.”
