Coming down from the busy summer season in Wyoming people are continuing to look for ways to preserve the land to keep tourism apart of the economy.
The Wyoming Open Spaces Initiative took stock and published a report with new information about how conservation efforts could be furthered with economic benefits. The key component rests in conservation easements. These easements are applied to private land with permission, limiting residential development, commercial development or subdivision of the land in the future.
“Tourism is an integral part of our state’s economy, drawing millions of visitors each year who spend billions of dollars in local Wyoming communities,” said Ben Rashford, head of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Department. “Our analysis shows that, in addition to keeping ranchers ranching and farmers farming, conservation easements support a range of natural resources that contribute to Wyoming’s growing recreation and tourism industries, and add to the economic diversity of the state.”
The team of people working on this report, including the UW Department of Agriculture and Applied Economics and the UW Department of Geography, focused on areas of economic importance to Wyoming as a whole. These included areas with drinking water sources, wildlife habitats and migration paths.
There are benefits for both private landowners and the public. Landowners receive a tax break as well as payment for contributing conservation easements. Many of these lie next to working farms creating a buffer between developed land and agricultural areas. These buffer areas can increase value for residential building areas without some of the undesirable sounds and smells that accompany working farms.
The types of wildlife preserved on conservation easements include Blue Ribbon trout and big game. In looking at the benefits, the researchers emphasized the money spent on activities including hunting and fishing that comes from these protected lands. Members of the public can take advantage of these activities after a conservation easement is in place.
Tourists and natives alike enjoy spending time outdoors, hunting and fishing in the open spaces of Wyoming. These efforts preserve unique resources and provide numerous benefits for areas that differ from and compliment public land.
The Wyoming Open Spaces Initiative works with multiple departments and groups across the University of Wyoming campus to provide research, education and information about the conservation of open spaces in Wyoming. For more information visit UWyo.edu/haub/ruckelshaus-institute.
