PINEDALE (WNE) –- On Wednesday, Aug. 11, Mark and Renee Jones partnered with the Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust to place a conservation easement on 600 acres of the MJ Ranch near Boulder.

This conservation easement will protect exceptional wildlife values on a property that provides habitat for mule deer, pronghorn antelope, greater sage-grouse and other migratory avian species.

The property is within greater sage-grouse core area and is near the Sublette Mule Deer Migration Corridor.

The conservation easement will ensure that the property remains undeveloped, protecting agricultural uses, scenic values and wildlife habitat.

The Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust (WWNRT) and the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) funded the conservation easement’s purchase.

“Conserving this portion of the MJ Ranch is significant. It builds upon previous conservation work in Sublette County, adding to the preservation of agricultural lands and important wildlife habitats for the future,” Jessica Crowder, Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust executive director, commented on the closing. “We appreciate the partnership of the Jones family, the WWNRT and the NRCS in this important work.”

The conservation easement is adjacent to the 2,054-acre conservation easement on the MJ Ranch thast was completed in 2008 in partnership with The Conservation Fund. With the completion of this project, WSGLT now holds 285,700 acres of conservation easements statewide, with 72,700 of those acres in Sublette County.