Greater Yellowstone is home to some of North America’s most diverse and abundant wildlife migrations. Elk, mule deer, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, and moose range widely across large landscapes between summer and winter seasons without regard to jurisdictional boundaries. Their abundance sustains the ecosystem, supporting world-renowned biodiversity and countless economic opportunities.

But these herds face serious threats such as subdivision development, roads, fences, and invasive species. 

Extensive science and research have demonstrated the importance of the region’s privately owned farms and ranches to sustaining these migrations as many herds spend the winter on low-elevation private lands.  

Fortunately, last October the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the state of Wyoming formalized a new partnership to invest significant new resources and funding toward conserving habitat on private lands in the state’s most important big game migration corridors. Specifically, this partnership seeks to protect tens of thousands of acres across the state through new conservation easements and a novel habitat leasing program, along with increased resources for wildlife-friendly fencing and habitat restoration. 

Since the announcement of this innovative state-federal partnership last fall, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition staff have been collaborating with our state and federal agency partners and other conservation organizations to ensure the effective implementation of this pilot partnership by connecting private landowners with the opportunities available.  

Building on initial momentum in terms of private landowners engaging in this initiative, the USDA recently announced a historic $40 million investment to continue the existing partnership with the state of Wyoming and an expansion of this innovative effort to the neighboring states of Idaho and Montana. In addition, the USDA announced a significant investment in staff capacity to help ensure the success of this expanded partnership. 

We applaud the USDA for this historic investment and for expanding this novel partnership across Greater Yellowstone.  

We’re grateful for the leadership shown by the state of Wyoming in piloting this effort, and for the fantastic collaboration occurring with our state and federal agency partners and other conservation organizations to engage private landowners in this initiative.

Now, we’re excited to partner with folks in Idaho and Montana to expand our collaborative efforts to conserve big game migratory habitat across the region. If you’re interested in staying up-to-date with our work on this partnership, consider signing up for our emails. Thank you for your support!

—Craig Benjamin, Director of Conservation