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Award-Winning Conservation on Wyoming’s Grasslands

From sage-grouse to ferruginous hawks, we’re conserving 8 species across 2 native ecotypes. This collaborative effort safeguards both habitat and heritage.

Strategy
About Us
2
Ecotypes
8
Species
4700000
Invested

Meet the Wildlife

Eight Species. Two Ecotypes. One Mission.

Black-tailed prairie dogs

Greater sage-grouse

Ferruginous hawk

Mountain plover

Brewer’s sparrow

Burrowing owl

Sage sparrow

Sage thrasher

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Through proactive partnerships and adaptive management, we protect vital grassland species.
Meet the Members

Our goal: thriving wildlife and resilient landscapes

We’ve invested over $4.7 million to protect two key ecotypes and eight priority species. Our efforts sustain wildlife and working lands across northeastern Wyoming.

Conservation Focus

Our strategy emphasizes two ecotypes and eight species that define the Thunder Basin region's biodiversity.

Sagebrush Steppe Ecotype

Focus in and around sage-grouse core habitat management areas.

  • Greater sage-grouse
  • Sage sparrow
  • Brewer’s sparrow
  • Sage thrasher

Shortgrass Prairie Ecotype

Focus on maintaining heterogeneity at the landscape scale.

  • Black-tailed prairie dogs
  • Mountain plover
  • Burrowing owl
  • Ferruginous hawk

Conservation Snapshot

$4.7M+

Invested in habitat enhancement

35,000 Acres

Treated for cheatgrass

3,900 Acres

Enhanced nesting cover in sage-grouse core areas

Our Mission

To develop a responsible, common sense, science-based approach to landscape management within the five northeast Wyoming counties.

Coverage Area

The Thunder Basin Grasslands Prairie Ecosystem Association coverage areaThe Thunder Basin Grasslands Prairie Ecosystem Association coverage area spans 13.2 million acres in northeastern Wyoming and southeastern Montana. This includes Campbell, Converse, Crook, Niobrara, and Weston counties in Wyoming along with portions of seven additional counties in Wyoming and three in Montana.

Current members of the Association own over 1.2 million acres of land within this mixed ownership landscape. Other lands include Thunder Basin National Grasslands administered by the USDA Forest Service through three local grazing associations, Bureau of Land Management lands, state lands, and additional private lands not currently in the membership of the Association.

Upland Sandpiper in Wyoming

Conservation Advisory Committee

Following signing of the Interagency MOU in May 2014, the Association invited qualified professionals to serve on the Conservation Advisory Committee. The Committee consists of representatives from Audubon, Agriculture Research Service, BLM, FWS, Forest Service, Natural Resource Conservation Service, The Nature Conservancy, University of Wyoming Extension, Wyoming Game & Fish Department along with local and regional consulting biologists and non-governmental organization representatives.

Initial meetings of the Committee focus on recommending conservation priority areas and process changes to the Association. Currently, the Committee meets two to three times a year to review conservation management plans submitted by Association members.

The Next Steps

  • Work with Association members to assess threats and develop individual conservation plans.
  • Document conservation commitments, facilitate review by the Conservation Advisory Committee, and seek approval by the Association Board.
  • On-the-ground implementation will begin following approval.
  • Integrate conservation strategies into federal and state agency procedures.
  • Build out adaptive management framework (including research priorities) to guide future efforts.
  • Continue to seek funding for conservation and research efforts.