Teton Regional Land Trust Partners with Landowners to Conserve 320 Acres in Prime Wildlife Habitat

Teton Regional Land Trust and a local eastern Idaho family recently completed a 320-acre conservation easement in Island Park, within prime grizzly bear habitat and comprised of open grazed land, upland forest, and wetland vegetation along springs and creeks. The Tom’s Creek property is an inholding within the Caribou-Targhee National Forest and is completely surrounded by state and federal protected lands that support many wildlife species including migrating herds of pronghorn. 

The Tom’s Creek property, owned for about 50 years by the same family, has been used primarily to graze cattle. This local family has been working with the Land Trust for close to 10 years on the protection of this parcel, but they are no strangers to our work, having conserved two other properties already. “Our family chose Teton Regional Land Trust because of their continued commitment to agriculture and agricultural families. We want to ensure the protection of our ground for future generations of farming and ranching,” the landowner explained. “Humans cannot live without food. It is that simple. And this allows us to continue to do what we love and fulfill our family’s commitment to protect agriculture for future generations.” 

Land Protection Director, Renee Hiebert, remarked “We appreciate working with and learning from families that have such a deep connection and knowledge of the land. For 25 years we have worked together with this family to protect almost 1000 acres in Fremont County in three separate conservation easements.”  

This property’s proximity to other protected lands means that wildlife can continue to move freely between Yellowstone National Park and the surrounding area. It contains Tom’s Creek, a tributary of the Buffalo River which flows into the Henry’s Fork, natural springs, and abundant wetlands which support camas and various sedges. The property also benefits multiple wildlife species identified as Species of Greatest Conservation Need according to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game’s State Wildlife Action Plan including grizzly bear, gray wolf, Great Gray Owl, Clark’s Nutcracker, Yellow Warbler, Calliope Hummingbird, and White-breasted Nuthatch. 

Funding for this project came from various sources including grants from the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s North American Wetlands Conservation Act, as well as the Cross Charitable Foundation and Vital Ground Foundation. Other funding came from private donations to the Land Trust’s Conservation Action Fund, which supports our efforts to act on conservation opportunities as they arise and leverage private funds to secure federal and other grants.  

Conservation of the Tom’s Creek property builds on the protection of already conserved habitat and working lands that benefit people and wildlife. For 35 years, the Land Trust has worked with partner organizations and voluntary landowners to protect more than 42,000 acres in eastern Idaho through conservation easements and other voluntary conservation options.