Glen Leavengood, left, and Pam Dewell sit on the last Voices of the Valley panel.

The conservation options or activities for working ranches are endless, and this became very apparent during last Wednesday’s Voices of the Valley discussion.

Panelist Glen Leavengood, of the Saratoga-Encampment-Rawlins Conservation District (SERCD), detailed many “on the ground conservation projects.”

Leavengood said that nearly 2.4 million acres of land are encompassed in the county’s three separate conservation districts (SERCD, Medicine Bow Conservation District, Little Snake River Conservation District). He added that the conservation districts protect the agriculture tax base of the county while doing what is best for the resources with these districts.

Leavengood has engineered and implemented numerous conservation projects within the SERCD, including water monitoring on the various creeks of the area, well development and stock/wildlife tank installations, living snow fences, watershed improvement projects (Hugus and Highline ditches), river restoration projects, grazing rotation programs and seedling tree sales to residents of the Platte Valley.

These projects, Leavengood said, not only positively affect agriculture producers but also greatly benefit fisheries, wildlife populations and recreation in the county.

Wyoming Stock Growers Agricultural Land Trust’s (WSGALT) Executive Director Pam Dewell explained the role of the non-profit organization in conserving Wyoming working ranches and farms.

Saratoga is the “birth place” of WSGALT, Dewell said, founded by Dr. John Lunt and local rancher Joe Glode, in 2000, with a general vote of the Wyoming Livestock Growers Association.
Dewell said the Sheep Rock Ranch, owned by Glode, was the “very first WSGALT easement” in the state. Since that time, Dewell said 49 WSGALT easements have been placed on Wyoming ranches, encompassing 114,000 acres in 15 counties.

“Working landscapes/agriculture are a large part of Wyoming’s economy and ag dollars get transferred seven to ten times,” Dewell said.

Along with the economy, Dewell said the easements improve ecology of the land by providing winter range and breeding grounds for wildlife and fowl on private lands.

“This buffer of land is critical for wildlife habitat,” Dewell added.
Dewell said the easements also add to the “cowboy culture” of the state by maintaining the open spaces.

The easements are a legal agreement that restricts most development of agriculture land, according to Dewell, and are voluntary based, with some incentives.

“WSGALT easements keep land on the tax rolls and create perpetuity,” Dewell stated.
Restrictions of the easements include: no surface mining, limits on subdividing and alterations of the topsoil, Dewell said.

Properties with easements can still be sold, mortgages are still allowed, agriculture and forestry production can be conducted, as well as hunting, fishing and recreational access can still be controlled, according to Dewell.

Tax benefits, as well as ensuring the ranch remains intact for future generations, are methods of easement compensation, Dewell added.
Connectivity of land is as important to Rick Pallister, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation northern

Wyoming regional director, as it is to the wildlife he works to protect. The RMEF motto is to “ensure the future of elk, other wildlife and their habitat”, Pallister said.

Pallister, and RMEF, work on projects involving invasive weed control, fire landscape management, thinning and logging and water projects.

These projects are all funded through money from the RMEF banquets held around the state, Pallister pointed out.

“Hard working folks who support RMEF banquets have raised around $300,000 just in Wyoming,” Pallister said.

“A buck goes a long way and these important conservation projects are funded by those dollars.”
Stewardship contracts and conservation easements are two efforts of the RMEF, Pallister said; however, hunting must remain intact on the land that is entered into the contracts or easements.

Project coordination and partnership is extremely important between landowners and agencies, Pallister added.

“The critical time is right now, and we have got to do the work right now,” Pallister said.
Bob Berger, Sheridan attorney and son of Jim and Marian Berger, of Berger Ranches, briefly explained some of the legal issues concerning conservation easements.

Berger told the group that aside from the 114,000 acres that lie in WSGALT easements, there are 61,600-plus acres in RMEF, 271,274 acres in easements with the Nature Conservancy, 20,500-plus acres in easements with the Jackson Hole Land trust and 28,564 acres in easement under the Green River Valley Land Trust (Sublette County). Berger said not only do the easements allow for preservations of large parts of Wyoming, but the easements also provide income tax benefits to the private landowner.

Berger explained that a private landowner could deduct 30 percent of agricultural income for capital gains, and 50 percent  if ag income is not capital gains with a five year carry-over into the future.

The other tax benefits can allow for reduction of property value at death for federal estate tax, according to Berger.

Additionally, Berger said, estate tax savings under the American Farm and Ranch Protection Act allow for a 40 percent deduction on the remaining value of the property.

Finally, Berger provided myths and facts concerning easements on private property.

“The first myth is that the easements are usually placed on scenic ground, the fact is easements are tailored for open ag land of a working ranch,” Berger said.

Another myth, Berger pointed out, was the fact that no financial benefits were seen by working ranches with easements. Berger again explained the estate tax benefits, while adding that some easements are purchased by the agencies placing the easement.

The construction of buildings on land placed in easements was another question Berger answered, stating that construction can take place but only where the landowner has allocated construction on the land.

Mineral development can also take place within the easements, according to Berger.
Berger finished by explaining that easements do not restrict the daily ranch operations, and only follow the guidelines and restrictions that the landowners have set in place for their property.

“Easements are only as restrictive as the landowner makes them usually,” Berger said, “and these owners often place more restrictions on the land than the agencies that are providing the easement do.”