The Nature Conservancy in Wyoming

Many of the best spots for new solar farms in Wyoming are former coal mine sites. That’s because these heavy-industry sites are tied into the energy grid, have communities nearby that could use new jobs and have disturbed land that’s not ideal for wildlife. In an Inside Climate News story, check out how a “mining the sun” effort is unfolding in Gillette. (Our Wyoming Energy Program Director, Justin Loyka, is featured.) The common-sense approach to repurposing coal infrastructure is a win-win for Wyoming’s economy and conservation, but obstacles remain. https://nature.ly/4cCBeyv

Don’t miss these two fun, free events in Lander this month! This Saturday, June 22 at 8 am, join a community hike at Red Canyon Ranch–an outdoor laboratory, nature preserve and working ranch rolled into one! And on Tuesday, June 25 at 6:30 pm at the Coalter Loft, catch two short films focused on nature in Wyoming. Both events are 100% free, open to all, and part of our celebration of Challenge for Charities, the Lander Community Foundation’s annual community giving event. All gifts made to The Nature Conservancy as part of Challenge for Charities stay in the Lander community, supporting conservation of the iconic Red Canyon Ranch and the Popo Agie River for agriculture, recreation and wildlife. Get details on these events and more at https://nature.ly/3VL6OVj 📸 Chip Carroon

This Saturday, June 22, come explore the beautiful Red Canyon Ranch on a 4.5-mile community hike at Red Canyon Ranch just outside Lander. You’ll meet new friends and connect with neighbors on this moderate hike at the ranch, which is an outdoor laboratory, nature preserve and working ranch rolled into one. Learn more and get RSVP info at https://nature.ly/4b8WB9F This community hike is part of our celebration of Challenge for Charities, the Lander Community Foundation’s annual community giving event. All gifts made to The Nature Conservancy as part of Challenge for Charities stay in the Lander community, supporting conservation of the iconic Red Canyon Ranch and the Popo Agie River for agriculture, recreation and wildlife. A donation is not required to join the hike–everyone is welcome. 📸 Randy Craft/TNC

Join us in Lander on June 25 for a screening of two short films about nature in Wyoming! The first, Building Like Beavers, is about how people can restore streams by replicating beaver dams. The second, For Everything There Was a Season, is about how our changing climate is impacting the seasonal rhythms of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Doors open at the Coalter Loft at 6:30 pm. Films start at 7 pm and a Q&A will follow. Get details on this and other events at https://nature.ly/3KLM1e3 This fun, free event is part of our celebration of the Lander Community Foundation’s Challenge for Charities community giving event. All gifts made to The Nature Conservancy in Wyoming as part of Challenge for Charities stay in the Lander community, supporting conservation of the iconic Red Canyon Ranch and the Popo Agie River for agriculture, recreation and wildlife. A donation is not required to attend the screening–everyone is welcome! 📸  Scott Copeland

You’re invited! This month in Lander, join The Nature Conservancy for a community hike or a film screening—or both! On Saturday, June 22, lace up your hiking boots and meet new friends on a 4.5-mile hike at Red Canyon Ranch—an outdoor laboratory, nature preserve and working ranch where we’re testing innovative grazing practices that benefit both people and nature. On Tuesday, June 25 at the Coalter Loft, catch two short films about nature in Wyoming. The first, Building Like Beavers, is about how human-made beaver dams can restore streams for wildlife and people. The second, For Everything There Was a Season, is about how our changing climate is affecting nature in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Both events are 100% free, open to all, and part of our celebration of Challenge for Charities, the Lander Community Foundation’s annual community giving event. All gifts made to The Nature Conservancy as part of Challenge for Charities stay in the Lander community, supporting conservation of the iconic Red Canyon Ranch and the Popo Agie River for agriculture, recreation and wildlife. Get details on these events and more at https://nature.ly/4bWIPYR 📸 Scott Copeland

You’re invited! Join us Saturday, June 22 for a free, fun community hike at our beautiful Red Canyon Ranch near Lander! On this moderate 4.5-mile hike, you’ll meet new friends and discover how we’re conserving this iconic ranch as an outdoor laboratory, nature preserve and working ranch rolled into one. Learn more and get RSVP info at https://nature.ly/45p4Lt9 This community hike is part of our celebration of Challenge for Charities, the Lander Community Foundation's annual community giving event. © Timothy Rockhold

Wyoming is a key headwaters of the Colorado River. Its largest tributary, the Green River, begins right here in our state. Along its 1,450-mile journey from the Rockies to the sea, the Colorado River is a lifeline for iconic mammals, migratory birds and fish species found nowhere else on Earth. Check out this short video to learn about the extraordinary array of wildlife that depends on the Colorado, and how protecting river flows helps people and nature: https://lnkd.in/ga6YV7Qt 📸 The threatened humpback chub, once found in Colorado River headwaters in Wyoming, is now limited to areas of the river further downstream. Public domain image via USFWS.

The Nature Conservancy's fire crews have shown time and again how strategically thinning trees in a forest, followed by conducting a controlled burn, can reduce the risk of severe wildfires later. We know that when a wildfire reaches an area that has been treated with controlled burns and forest thinning, flames are less likely to spread through the forest canopy as hard-to-control crown fires. This keeps firefighters and communities safer, especially as large-scale wildfires become more frequent. Learn more at https://nature.ly/3wtjB57 (link in bio). 📸 A Nature Conservancy forest manager monitors a controlled burn. © Jeremy Roberts.

Look what's blooming at Red Canyon Ranch! Rocky mountain twinpod is lighting up the canyon rims at our preserve near Lander. A member of the mustard family, it grows mainly in Fremont and Hot Springs counties. This subspecies of twinpod is a dedicated Wyomingite, growing nowhere else in the world. It's one of several plants found only in Wyoming that thrive in the healthy natural environment of Red Canyon Ranch. April is Wyoming Native Plant Month. Hope you're enjoying the wildflowers! 📸 John Coffman/TNC

We conducted a controlled burn yesterday in a meadow and adjacent forest that, according to oral history, was near by a summer camp used by Salish people. The burn will help encourage the growth of blue camas, a traditional Salish food plant and one that has been crowded out by non-native grasses in recent decades. This burn, in the Gold Creek drainage in the Blackfoot River Valley between Bonner and Potomac, is part of a prescribed fire partnership between the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, the Bureau of Land Management and The Nature Conservancy. The partners will sow blue camas seeds after the burn, restoring the abundance of this important native plant. The burn will also reduce undergrowth in the forest surrounding the meadow, reducing the risk of severe fire later. The dry forests of western Montana evolved with natural fires as well as those set by Indigenous Peoples to encourage the growth of food and medicinal plants and to help wildlife and hunters move more easily through the forest. These low-intensity burns also help make the forest more resilient to wildfires. You can learn more about how we help protect Montana’s forests for people and nature at https://lnkd.in/er6Twm_y . 📸 Jeremy Roberts/Conservation Media