GREEN RIVER -- A Daniel rancher will protect nearly 1,800 acres of pristine land on his family's historic Cottonwood Ranch under a conservation easement agreement announced Monday.

The easement was secured by the Conservation Fund and Wyoming Stock Growers Agricultural Land Trust, which has been working with the longtime Sublette County ranching family for several years on conservation efforts.

The easement will preserve the Freddie Botur family's ranch legacy, while at the same time enhancing habitat for a number of wildlife species, said Luke Lynch, Wyoming State Director for the Conservation Fund.

Lynch said the voluntary easement will ensure that the property will forever be used as a working ranch. The easement will restrict the type and amount of development that can occur on the property in the future.

He said when combined with adjacent public lands and other private protected land, the easement will create an approximately 18-mile stretch of protected lands along the North and South Cottonwood creeks.

"This is exciting news ... the conservation momentum continues to build," Lynch said in a phone interview. "The Boturs are incredible stewards of the land and we are grateful to them, and all our partners, for their continued commitment to conserving Wyoming's natural heritage.

"This is a meaningful [easement] ... these are projects with a larger scale where you can really see the tangible results."

Botur said the Cottonwood Ranches has been proud to work with the groups over the past three years on conservation issues.

"As a rancher, I am grateful for these efforts to balance the development of our resources with the preservation of agricultural stewardship that is so important to our communities all across Wyoming," Botur said in a media release.

Crucial range

The new easement protects eight miles of Cottonwood Creek and crucial winter range for moose, mule deer and elk.

The sagebrush-dotted, rolling hills are also an important migration corridor for antelope.

Lynch said the Fund and Trust have been working with the Botur family and the entities have completed two other conservation easements on the Cottonwood Ranches in recent years.

Together, the three easements are protecting more than 4,600 acres, he said.

Funding for the purchase of the easement came from the Jonah Interagency Office, the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resources Trust and the Wyoming Governor's Big Game Licenses Coalition. Financial details of the easement were not released.

Leah Burgess, field representative for the Trust, said the partnership between the Fund, the Trust and the Jonah office has resulted in five properties and approximately 7,435 acres of "agriculturally productive and ecologically diverse" land conserved in the Upper Green River Valley.

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