MacMillan Private Lands Stewardship Program

MacMillan Private Lands

Stewardship Program

FALL 2022- SUMMER 2023

PROGRAM UPDATE

WHITNEY MACMILLAN PRIVATE

LANDS STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM

A PUBLICATION OF THE

2 | MACMILLAN PRIVATE LANDS STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM FALL 2022-SUMMER 2023 PROGRAM UPDATE

Dear partners and friends of the program,

I am excited to share this annual program update, summarizing the many achievements

of the MacMillan Program from Fall 2022 through Summer 2023. is past year has

been the most impactful period since initiation of the program in 2018, marked by

signiﬁcant strides in research and outreach to support the stewardship of private lands

in the West and beyond.

One notable accomplishment was a collaboration between researchers in the

MacMillan Program and the Western Landowners Alliance. We surveyed farmers and

ranchers across six states in the Colorado River Basin to identify the current practices

landowners implement to adapt to water shortages. We also used this survey to solicit

their perspectives on potential solutions to managing systemic water shortages across

the Basin. Our research and outreach on this issue garnered the attention of state and

local water managers and multiple media outlets. Insights from this project can inform

strategies to proactively address water shortages into the future.

e MacMillan Program also partnered with the Intermountain West Joint Venture

to host a workshop that brought together leaders from state Natural Resources

Conservation Service (NRCS) oﬃces and leading land trusts in the West. is

collaborative eﬀort identiﬁed actionable strategies to enhance the pace and scale of

agricultural land conservation through the NRCS’s ACEP-ALE program, the nation’s

primary conservation easement funding source. e workshop’s outputs contributed to

USDA adopting signiﬁcant changes that will increase the impact of this essential land

conservation program, facilitating conservation of open space and working livelihoods

across the West.

ese initiatives highlight the breadth of issues and meaningful projects the MacMillan

Program undertakes – and underscore the essential role that partnerships play in our

impactful work. Collaborations have been instrumental to our success, empowering us

to tackle complex natural resource challenges and foster positive change.

Amidst these accomplishments, we also welcomed new members to our team while

bidding farewell to close colleagues who have embarked on new chapters in their

careers. While their departure leaves a void, we are excited to follow their future

successes as they become leaders of organizations and agencies doing vital work across

the West and beyond. Our new members bring fresh perspectives and enthusiasm that

will further advance the MacMillan Private Lands Stewardship Program.

I invite you to learn more about our work in the following pages and look forward to

reconnecting with you to explore avenues for further collaboration.

With warm regards,

Drew Bennett

Photo by Katie Doyle

Cover photo by Katie Doyle

2 | MACMILLAN PRIVATE LANDS STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM FALL 2022-SUMMER 2023 PROGRAM UPDATE 3

Photo by Nita Tallent

Partners .................................................................................................... 4

Philosophy and Approach ..........................................................................5

Meet the Team ...........................................................................................6

Supported Student Experiences...................................................................9

Happy Trails ...........................................................................................11

Featured Research Projects ....................................................................... 12

Agricultural Water Users’ Preferences for Addressing Water Shortages

in the Colorado River Basin ....................................................................................... 12

Agricultural Land Easements Workshop – Rising to the Challenge ................................. 14

National Park Visitors as a Funding Source for Cross-boundary and

Landscape-Scale Wildlife Conservation ...................................................................... 15

An Analysis of State and Local Policies to Maintain Landscape Connectivity .................. 16

Other Research, Outreach and Engagement Projects in Progress ................. 17

Supporting the Wyoming-USDA Big Game Pilot Program ............................................ 17

Prioritizing Water Rights and Water Resources in Conservation Planning ...................... 17

The Fit of Incentivized Water Conservation Programs on Working Lands

in the Upper Colorado River Basin ............................................................................. 18

Social Dimensions of Conservation in the Central Grasslands of North America ............ 18

Geospatial Conservation Planning with the Sheridan Community Land Trust .................. 19

Analysis of Options and Motivations for Private Landowners to Allow Public

Recreation on Their Lands ......................................................................................... 19

Other Program Updates ........................................................................... 20

Recovering grassland bird populations ....................................................................... 20

Featured Publication ................................................................................................. 20

In the Media ...........................................................................................21

Publications ............................................................................................22

Table of Contents

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Huge thanks to our partners, collaborators, and

supporters that make this work possible!

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Philosophy and Approach

Research is most valuable when it informs decisions. It is more likely to be used if those who can use the

research play a role in shaping the questions, are part of the process, and understand the implications. e

research and outreach of the MacMillan Program is focused on generating knowledge and information

that is useable for making decisions related to conserving and managing natural resources. We do this by

facilitating collaborations and expertise from across the natural and social sciences and applied ﬁelds like

ﬁnance and law. rough these collaborations, end users play a role in identifying research needs and are

often engaged throughout the research process so that results are relevant to their situations.

DECISION ORIENTED

Working with partners

to identify knowledge

gaps and apply new

information

INTERDISCIPLINARY

Integrating diverse

perspectives, skillsets, and

insights to address complex

environmental

challenges

ENGAGED

Building relationships

to increase credibility,

transparency, and

relevance

Photo by Callie Berman

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Meet the Team

Research Scientists and Post Doctoral Research Associates

DR. HILARY BYERLY FLINT, Senior Research Scientist

Hilary is trained as a behavioral scientist and uses tools from economics and

conservation social science to understand how people manage and value the

natural environment, especially providing public beneﬁts, like biodiversity and risk

mitigation, from private lands. She is currently leading a multi-year USDA-funded

program evaluation, which focuses on habitat conservation on private lands in the

Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. She has a PhD in Natural Resources (University

of Vermont), an MS in Applied Economics (Cornell University), and a BA in

Environmental Studies & International Aﬀairs (University of Colorado, Boulder).

Hilary is based in Jackson, WY, where she gets to share the mountains and rivers

with her husband, two young kids and dog, Wilma.

CALLIE BERMAN, Post Doctoral Research Associate

Callie is an alumna of the Haub School and graduated from the University of

Wyoming in 2015 with a BS in Geology and a BA in International Studies. Callie

completed her PhD in Development Studies at the University of Cambridge

where she researched the role of culture and historical land use relationships in

management practices of sturgeon ﬁsheries in the Caspian Sea. She has worked

extensively across the Central Asian region developing the ﬁrst university

Sustainability program in Uzbekistan, conducting research on regional food

security strategies, and facilitating diverse exchange opportunities to Central Asia

for both young and senior professionals. Callie’s passion for global exchange in

order to support new ways of thinking and innovative conservation design stems

from her diverse international experiences and her work on numerous ranches

across the Rocky Mountains and Australia. Working on ranches fostered a deep

commitment to the role of place-making for Callie and continues to be an

important source of inspiration for her research interests. Callie will be working

with the MacMillan Private Lands Stewardship Program to explore how human

dimensions come to shape grasslands conservation outcomes across the Great

Plains region. In her oﬀ time, she hopes to continue riding, running, working the

range and learning more about Wyoming, the place she loves most.

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Graduate Research Assistants

TESSA WITTMAN, Research Scientist

Tessa earned her BSc at the University of Wyoming with double majors in

wildlife biology, and environment and natural resources with minors in honors,

sustainability, and reclamation and restoration ecology. She has worked on

endangered species recovery with Wyoming toads, post-wildﬁre ungulate habitat

restoration, community-based ecosystem restoration, and interdisciplinary research

on the human dimensions of sagebrush ecosystem management. Her current

research is assessing outcomes from programs mitigating acute livestock-wildlife

conﬂict on public lands in the American West. She seeks inclusive, community-

driven solutions for conserving and restoring landscapes. When she is not doing

science, she is exploring public lands, ﬁshing, and hiking.

GRACE CARR, Graduate Research Assistant

Grace is an alumna of the Haub School and graduated from the University of

Wyoming in 2020 with a BS in biology and a BS in environmental system science

with a concurrent major in environment and natural resources. A Wyoming native,

Grace deepened her understanding of multi-use recreation on public lands working

for a cattle ranch in northern Wyoming throughout her undergraduate years. After

graduating, Grace worked with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s Access

Yes Program to promote hunter and angler public access to private lands using

landowner agreements. Grace is now working on completing her master’s degree in

Environment, Natural Resources and Society focusing on elk habitat contributions

across Wyoming’s public and private lands.

KATIE DOYLE, Graduate Research Assistant

Katie graduated from Texas Tech University in 2018 with a BS in Natural Resources

Management; Wildlife Biology concentration. After graduation, Katie headed West

and spent 4 years working for state wildlife agencies in Montana, Idaho, and Texas

before returning to school in 2022. Katie is currently pursuing a master’s degree in

Environment, Natural Resources and Society with UW and is working on a project

with the MacMillan Program studying the social dimensions of migration corridor

conservation in Wyoming. In her free time, and when Wyoming holds back the

wind, Katie enjoys exploring the area through ﬁshing, biking, and snowshoeing.

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MAX LEWIS, Graduate Research Assistant

Max graduated from St. Lawrence University in 2016 with a BA in environmental

studies and economics. Native to Maine, Max quickly found his way West after

ﬁnishing his undergraduate degree. A position with the United States Forest Service

brought him to southeast Alaska where he became interested in the impacts of land

management on ﬁsheries, and aquatic ecosystems. Max’s work in Alaska was followed by

a year spent working with Trout Unlimited in Missoula, Montana where he completed

ﬁsheries and stream ecology research that contributed to ecological restoration projects

on private lands. In 2018 Max moved to Jackson, Wyoming where he studied native

trout and the habitats that they rely on while working for the Wyoming Game and Fish

Department, and Friends of the Teton River. Since fall of 2022 Max has been enrolled

in the MS in Environment, Natural Resources & Society program as a member of

the McMillan Team. Max’s research focuses on informing impactful, voluntary water

conservation strategies that provide mutual beneﬁt for basin scale water availability,

agricultural water use and ecosystem function.

NITA TALLENT, Graduate Research Assistant

Nita Tallent Ph.D. (pronouns: she/hers) is a retired federal research scientist (US

Environmental Protection Agency) and natural resource & environmental law & policy

professional (National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, & Federal Emergency

Management Agency). Concurrent with her professional career, Nita is an alumna of

the University of Nevada Las Vegas where she earned a Master of Arts in Science and

doctorate in biological sciences specializing in plant and invasive species ecology.

Following her federal service Nita has returned to academia (Haub School of

Environmental & Natural Resources, University of Wyoming) to earn a MS in

Environment, Natural Resources & Society as a member of the MacMillian Lab

exploring private land conservation and outdoor recreation.

LUCAS THORSNESS, Graduate Research Assistant

Lucas developed a love for wide open spaces and natural ecosystems growing up in

the plains and mountains of southeastern Wyoming. He landed at Montana State

University where he got a degree in environmental studies with a minor in GIS,

followed by a graduate certiﬁcate in GIS from the University of Wyoming. After time

spent working in wildland conservation and restoration, a stint with a land trust on

Colorado’s Front Range led him to a passion for private land conservation. Lucas’

primary research in the MacMillan Program focuses on geospatial analyses of water

rights in Wyoming’ Upper Green River Basin and engaging with stakeholders in that

realm. Additionally, Lucas contributes to other research reports, publications, and

grants. In his free time, Lucas enjoys cycling, hiking, ﬁshing, and skiing in the beautiful

public lands around Laramie.

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Undergraduate Research Assistants

JEREMY CHAPPELL, Undergraduate Research Assistant

Growing up amidst the rich landscapes of Wyoming, Jeremy found himself drawn

to the convergence of technology and conservation. Despite enjoying modest success

in engineering and earning associate degrees in both engineering and mathematics

from Northwest College, his passion for environmentalism eventually led him to

the University of Wyoming. ere, he joined the McNair Scholars Program and

conducted a summer research project on emerging technologies in conservation. He

is now pursuing a bachelor’s degree in environmental systems science, with research

interests that include biodiversity and land conservation, climate adaptation, and the

intersection of environment and technology. In his free time, Jeremy enjoys gaming,

physical training, and going for hikes with friends.

IRIS KURZ, Undergraduate Research Assistant

Iris is an undergraduate student in Environmental Science in the Haub School

of Environment of Natural Resources, hoping to eventually pursue a career

in environmental law. She is originally from Dallas, TX; but has been loving

her time in the mountains so far. Iris has a deep interest in the intersection of

environmentalism and the social sciences and is excited to see how the MacMillan

Private Lands Program will be able to inform her studies in those ﬁelds.

MAGGIE LANG, 2022 Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust Stewardship Intern

Interning with WSGLT solidiﬁed Maggie’s decision to pursue practicing law in rural communities because she

directly witnessed how the law impacts the daily activities of farmers and ranchers across Wyoming. Speciﬁcally,

she saw that Wyoming land symbolizes heritage, inheritance, and cultural identity to many of the landowners

who chose to place their multi-generational homestead under conservation easement. WSGLT is striving

to preserve tangible property, but how successful the nonproﬁt is in conserving working land hinges upon

elevating and respecting intangible values. WSLGT gave her an opportunity to participate in that conversation

about those values with people and communities who are invested in preserving their future livelihoods by

recognizing traditions.

Supported Student Experiences

10 | MACMILLAN PRIVATE LANDS STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM FALL 2022-SUMMER 2023 PROGRAM UPDATE

GARRETT GWIN, 2023 Wyoming Stock Growers

Land Trust Stewardship Intern

Garrett interned with WSGLT where he was the

conservation stewardship intern. Over the span of 3

months, Garrett monitored roughly 50 ranches with

conservation easements across almost every county in

Wyoming. Monitoring consisted of identifying possible

violations to the conservation easement’s deed and

accumulating information for a general report on how each

ranch’s current condition sits in terms of proper stewardship

and conservation. WSGLT provided Garrett with a major

highlight to his summer in the form of an opportunity

most law student interns don’t get - freedom to be outside

almost every day! With his desire to become an attorney for

ranchers and other agricultural producers, Garrett greatly

beneﬁted from meeting the landowners he will be working

with in the future and spending time in the environment he

hopes to protect.

JEREMY CHAPPELL, 2023 McNair Scholar

Jeremy joined the MacMillan Program in the summer of

2023 as a McNair Scholar – a program aimed to prepare

ﬁrst generation and other underrepresented college students

for the challenges of graduate school through mentorship and research experiences. Upon starting the McNair

Program, Jeremy changed his degree program from engineering to environmental systems science and pursued a

research project on emerging technologies with the potential to advance the conservation of land and biodiversity.

Drew Bennett and Travis Brammer served as mentors for his project, which he presented this summer at a

undergraduate research symposium at University of Wyoming. Jeremy will continue with his research project over

the academic year and plans to pursue graduate studies in the years ahead.

IRIS KURZ, Monthly Water Supply Report with the

Sheridan Community Land Trust

e Sheridan Community Land Trust (SCLT) in Sheridan, Wyoming worked with Iris throughout the spring

of 2023 to reﬁne an existing monthly report on the water supply in Sheridan County. Given the importance

of agriculture within the county, the amount of water available from headwaters and precipitation is crucial to

SCLT members, as well as other citizens of Sheridan. Providing scientiﬁc information in an easily accessible

way for a varied demographic is one way that a land trust can promote the conservation of natural spaces and

resources—especially when it comes to water. As SCLT brings on new interns to focus on how water plays a part in

the protection of private lands, the report will continue to grow and evolve to better serve its readers.

Garrett Gwin monitors an easement in northeast

Wyoming in summer 2023.

10 | MACMILLAN PRIVATE LANDS STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM FALL 2022-SUMMER 2023 PROGRAM UPDATE 11

is past year, team members Travis Brammer, Courtney Garrity, and Wai

Yan Siu left the team to take exciting next steps in their careers. Travis spent 4

years as a team member, originally starting as a student research assistant when

he began law school with a joint MA in Environment and Natural Resources

and transitioned to serving as a Conservation Fellow for the past year. During

this time, he was an essential part of several eﬀorts including leading a research

project on rangeland carbon credits and helping to organize and facilitate a

workshop to increase the impact of the Natural Resource Conservation Service’s

conservation easement program (featured later in this report). While at the

university, he also authored or co-authored several journal and law review articles,

one of which won the Law360 Distinguished Legal Writing Award. Travis is now

serving as the Conservation Director at the Property and Environment Research

Center (PERC) where he will help launch a new Conservation Innovation Lab.

Courtney joined the MacMillan team partway through her graduate degree

and graduated in the Spring of 2023 with a concurrent Masters in Zoology and

Environment & Natural Resources. In collaboration with her co-advisor Dr. Joe

Holbrook and the Holbrook team, her thesis project focused on the management

and impact of dispersed camping around Grand Teton National Park. Her

extensive ﬁeldwork and data collection are providing important evidence to

inform the Bridger-Teton National Forest’s campground ambassadors program as

a strategy to manage the exponential increase in dispersed camping in the forest

in recent years. is experience also provided her with intricate knowledge of the

best campsites in the region – making her an exceptional resource for planning

your next camping adventure! She began as a Forester/Analyst with the Rocky

Mountain Research Station in spring 2023 and is transitioning to a permanent

position as a Program Specialist with the US Forest Service on the Pawnee

National Grassland. As a testament to their hard work, Travis and Courtney both

received the Haub School’s Outstanding Graduate Student Award and we could

not be more proud of their many accomplishments!

Dr. Wai Yan Siu joined the team as a postdoc in the fall of 2021 in a joint

eﬀort with Dr. Jacob Hochard and his conservation economics program. She

was critical to the Natural Wealth Accounting project and brought exceptional

programing and modeling skills to the eﬀort. During her time at the Haub

School, she contributed to several journal articles currently under review

including an analysis of the impact of wildlife overpasses across highways on

vehicle collisions with elk and deer. Dr. Siu has moved on to a new position as a Data Analyst with the State of

Minnesota where she will continue to advance her career analyzing economic data.

We wish Travis, Courtney, and Wai Yan very happy trails in their paths ahead and will greatly miss their comradery

and everything they did for the team. We look forward to future collaborations in their new roles and are excited to

see all they will achieve as leaders in their ﬁelds.

Happy Trails!

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AGRICULTURAL WATER USERS’ PREFERENCES FOR ADDRESSING

WATER SHORTAGES IN THE COLORADO RIVER BASIN

e Colorado River Basin is in crisis. ere is no longer enough water for all of those who depend on it. e agricultural

sector is the largest water user in the Colorado River Basin, meaning that farmers and ranchers are central to both the

impacts of and solutions to water shortages. eir involvement will be key to developing eﬀective policy solutions to

today’s water crisis.

We surveyed 1,020 farmers and ranchers throughout six states in the Colorado River Basin to understand their

perspectives on the present crisis, their current water conservation practices, and their preferences for strategies to address

water shortages going forward. Agricultural water users were primarily concerned about how the current situation could

impact water policy, constrain irrigators’ own water use, and constrain other agricultural water users (Figure 1).

Perhaps unsurprisingly, we found agricultural water users are already responding to water shortages. Roughly 70% of

surveyed agricultural water users have already adopted one or more water conservation practices or adaptation strategies

(Figure 2). Importantly,

many would consider

adopting additional

practices. Despite

this, few respondents

participated in or were

aware of formal programs

to support water

conservation.

Most survey respondents

were unlikely to adopt

water conservation

practices as part of formal

demand management

or system conservation

programs to address

water shortages.

Respondents were also

generally opposed to

water transfers as a

solution to shortages.

Opposition was strongest

to permanent transfers

broadly, as well as to

temporary transfers

from agricultural to non-agricultural uses. Only temporary transfers from agricultural water users to other agricultural

water users had less than 50% opposition. Major barriers to supporting water transfers included concerns about losing

Featured Research Projects

Figure 1. Concerns about potential impacts from water shortages in the Basin.

UPPER BASIN LOWER BASIN

No single source made

up 50% of farm income

Perennial crops

Row crops

(e.g., beans, corn,

small grains)

Livestock

42%

35%

17%

No single source made

up 50% of farm income

17%

Alfalfa,

grass hay,

or pasture

Perennial crops

Row crops

(e.g., beans, corn,

small grains)

Livestock

Alfalfa, grass

hay, or pasture

73%

78%

80%

81%

73%

72%

24%

18%

17%

15%

24%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Changes in water

management policy

New constraints on

my water use

New constraints on

other farmers' or ranchers'

water use

17%

38%

20%

Very concerned Somewhat concerned

UPPER BASIN

Very concerned Somewhat concerned

LOWER BASIN

UPPER BASIN LOWER BASIN

No single source made

up 50% of farm income

Perennial crops

Row crops

(e.g., beans, corn,

small grains)

Livestock

42%

35%

17%

No single source made

up 50% of farm income

17%

Alfalfa,

grass hay,

or pasture

Perennial crops

Row crops

(e.g., beans, corn,

small grains)

Livestock

Alfalfa, grass

hay, or pasture

73%

78%

80%

81%

73%

72%

24%

18%

17%

15%

24%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Changes in water

management policy

New constraints on

my water use

New constraints on

other farmers' or ranchers'

water use

17%

38%

20%

Very concerned Somewhat concerned

UPPER BASIN

Very concerned Somewhat concerned

LOWER BASIN

12 | MACMILLAN PRIVATE LANDS STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM FALL 2022-SUMMER 2023 PROGRAM UPDATE 13

water rights, even in temporary transfer arrangements, as

well as insuﬃcient ﬁnancial compensation. Addressing

these concerns will be critical to increase participation of

agricultural water users in demand management or system

conservation. Still, although support for temporary water

transfers and demand management practices was low,

even equivalently low participation (e.g., 10% to 20%)

could help address water shortages as part of a portfolio of

strategies for the Colorado River Basin.

We also documented an overwhelming preference for

local approaches to managing water shortages and a

trust gap with non-local agencies. is was evidenced by

respondents’ preference for the local management of formal

programs, such as some of the demand management and

system conservation programs under consideration, as well

as for the administration of funding for water conservation

and other programs. State and federal water managers and

agencies involved in program delivery should emphasize

building trust with agricultural water users and gaining

knowledge about unique features of local contexts. Simply

providing additional funding for formal water conservation

programs may be inadequate to meet the diversity of

challenges across an area of 246,000 square miles.

Given the importance of agriculture as the primary water

user in the Colorado River Basin, proactively engaging

agricultural communities will be critical to successfully

managing water shortages. Understanding the perspectives

and preferences of agricultural water users, as documented

in the report, can help guide the development of solutions

that work for producers and other users in the Basin.

Read the full report and explore the data using the

online “dashboard”: www.uwyo.edu/crb-survey

Key Collaborators: Hallie Mahowald and Matt Collins

– Western Landowners Alliance, Max Lewis, Hilary Byerly

Flint, Weston Eaton, and Lucas orsness – Haub School,

Kristiana Hansen, UW Agricultural & Applied Economics,

Mark Burbach – University of Nebraska, and Elizabeth

Koebele – University of Nevada-Reno

Key Partner: Western Landowners Alliance

Funding Partner: Walton Family Foundation

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

My state's planning

process is adequate

for dealing with water

supply issues.

There is a high level of

trust between water users

and water management

agencies in my state

My state's water

management system is

ﬂexible, able to account

for local concerns and

changing hydrologic

conditions

Local management

plays a large role in

how water is

managed in my state

69%

74%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

UPPER BASIN LOWER BASIN

12%

13% 13%

15%

36%

12%

45%

Agree Strongly agree

UPPER BASIN

Agree Strongly agree

LOWER BASIN

74%

69%

Figure 2. Percentage of farmers or ranchers that

have adopted 1 or more of 11 water conservation

practices or adaptation strategies in response to or in

anticipation of water shortages.

Photo by Max Lewis

14 | MACMILLAN PRIVATE LANDS STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM FALL 2022-SUMMER 2023 PROGRAM UPDATE

AGRICULTURAL LAND EASEMENTS WORKSHOP –

RISING TO THE CHALLENGE

e University of Wyoming’s Ruckelshaus Institute of Environment and Natural Resources and the

Intermountain West Joint Venture hosted the “Agricultural Land Easements Workshop – Rising to the

Challenge” in January 2023. e two-day workshop convened land trust staﬀ, funders, NRCS state staﬀ, and

other partners with signiﬁcant experience with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service’s (NRCS)

Agricultural Conservation Easement Program – Agricultural Land Easements (ACEP-ALE). e participants

engaged in facilitated discussions around several topics intended to help improve the pace and scale of ACEP-

ALE implementation. During the discussions, participants identiﬁed several key action items to improve the

implementation of ACEP-ALE. ese action items include:

e workshop addressed other topics and identiﬁed additional action items which we further describe in the

workshop summary. A key outcome of the workshop was the shared recognition of the importance of frequent

communication and close collaboration between NRCS state oﬃces and land trusts to address challenges to

increase the impact of ACEP-ALE.

In May 2023, USDA’s NRCS announced a plan to stream its ACEP-ALE program including adopting several

of the recommendations that came out of the workshop: https://www.

nrcs.usda.gov/news/usda-unveils-eﬀorts-to-streamline-agricultural-

conservation-easement-program

Project Leads: Travis Brammer and Drew Bennett

Key Partners: Joy Morris and Dave Smith – Intermountain West Joint

Venture

Funding Partners: Alumbra Innovations Foundation

• Working to develop partner positions, that act as liaisons between land

trusts and NRCS state oﬃces, to increase NRCS and land trust capacity.

• Engaging funding partners to ﬁnancially support partner positions.

• Collaborating to develop broad support in the agricultural and

conservation communities on the importance of conservation easements.

• Sharing experiences on the impact of the certiﬁed entity program in

addressing capacity constraints and accelerating time to easement closings.

• Conducting outreach to adopt regulatory and statutory reforms to allow

more land trusts to become certiﬁed.

CAPACITY

INFORMATION

SHARING

IMPORTANCE

OF CERTIFIED

ENTITIES

Read the report and the fact sheet on

what is a certied entity at https://www.

uwyo.edu/haub/ruckelshaus-institute/

private-lands-stewardship/agricultural-

land-easements.html

14 | MACMILLAN PRIVATE LANDS STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM FALL 2022-SUMMER 2023 PROGRAM UPDATE 15

NATIONAL PARK VISITORS AS A FUNDING

SOURCE FOR CROSS-BOUNDARY AND

LANDSCAPE-SCALE WILDLIFE CONSERVATION

Wildlife viewing is a popular activity for many visitors to national parks.

Yet, many of species that visitors want to see the most are wide-ranging

and require large intact landscapes that span well beyond park boundaries

for their survival. Areas outside of parks, like private working lands, are

also the most susceptible to habitat loss and fragmentation due to land-use

changes. Given the large visitation to national parks and the interest in

wildlife viewing, national park visitors are potential untapped source of

funding for cross-boundary, landscape-scale conservation eﬀorts. In this

project, we wanted to understand the importance of wildlife viewing

to national park visitors, how much they spend to visit national parks,

and their support for hypothetical options for raising revenue to support

landscape-scale conservation eﬀorts.

In the summer of 2022, we surveyed 991 visitors to Yellowstone and Grant

Teton National Parks. We found that viewing wildlife was the primary

reason to visit the parks for roughly 16% of visitors and one of several primary reasons for 62%. Only 3% said

wildlife viewing was not a reason to visit. Overall, we estimated that wildlife viewing in these parks generates

millions in net economic value and visitors support multiple options for contributing themselves towards large-

landscape conservation, including conservation taxes and fees. Even the collection of modest fees could generate

tens of millions of dollars in additional funds for conservation. Visitors to national parks are largely untapped

sources of conservation funding and our results demonstrate how tapping into this funding could result in a

potential win-win for wildlife viewers and conservation eﬀorts beyond park boundaries.

Project Lead: Hilary Byerly Flint

Key Collaborators: Aaron J. Enriquez – U.S. Geological Survey, Arthur D. Middleton – University of California,

Berkeley, Leslie Richardson – National Park Service

Funding Partners: University of Wyoming via the UW-National Park Service Small Grants Program and the

Greater Yellowstone Coalition.

Photo by Grace Carr

16 | MACMILLAN PRIVATE LANDS STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM FALL 2022-SUMMER 2023 PROGRAM UPDATE

AN ANALYSIS OF STATE AND LOCAL POLICIES TO MAINTAIN

LANDSCAPE CONNECTIVITY

Landscape connectivity is critical for maintaining wildlife movements, such as the

American West’s iconic big game migrations. Yet, connectivity is globally threatened

as landscapes become increasingly fragmented from energy infrastructure, agricultural

fencing, residential developments, and other activities that cut-oﬀ corridors and

restrict wildlife movements. Several U.S. states and local governments have adopted

policies with the goal of protecting corridors and maintaining or enhancing landscape

connectivity. However, little has been done to analyze these policies to understand

diﬀerent approaches at the state and local levels, the speciﬁc sectors they target, successes

and challenges in policy implementation, and their impact on corridor integrity.

In this project, we analyzed 37 state policies and 10 county or municipal policies and

interviewed 20 key stakeholders to better understand the scope, origin, structure, and

impact of those policies. We found that most policies targeted the natural resources

(n=37, e.g., wildlife management, forestry) and transportation sectors (n=37) and to

a lesser degree the agricultural (n=12) and energy (n=8) sectors. e origin of policies

varied from formal state-level legislation (n=16), county or municipal ordinances (n=10),

administrative actions (n=9), executive orders (n=7), and resolutions or memorandums

of understandings (MOUs, n=5). We also identiﬁed 10 distinct types of implementation

mechanisms with the most common being the creation of a plan (n=26) and the

construction of roadway crossings for wildlife (n=17). Several policies in California also included compensatory

mitigation (n=7) as a novel way to address impacts to landscape connectivity.

Interviews with key stakeholders highlighted several insights about policy creation and implementation. Funding

was a reoccurring theme in many interviews and most of the policies did not speciﬁcally allocate new or dedicated

funding for policy implementation, resulting in some agencies reallocating internal capacity and budgets for

developing plans and coordinating with other agencies and partners. Notably, only 5 policies allocated funding

for policy implementation. Several interviewees noted, however, that new funding has or likely will result

as an outcome of a policy. For example, several policies required the development of connectivity plans that

prioritize locations for wildlife crossings over highways thus making these projects more competitive for federal

transportation grants and other funding sources.

Another theme that arose from the research was the role of municipalities and counties. Many interviewees

expressed that municipalities and counties have much more authority and ability to address connectivity concerns

than they may realize. Other insights related to the structure or creation of the policy, the means through which

the policy was implemented, and the durability of the policy. In all, this project highlights examples of the

diversity of policy structures and considerations for policymakers as they consider if and how they to protect

connectivity in their state, county, or municipality.

Project Lead: Travis Brammer

Key Collaborators: Heather Bradford, Joseph Budd, Colton Edwards, and Jacob Stewart – University of Wyoming

College of Law, Sharon Buccino – National Resources Defense Council, and Zachary Wurtzebach – Center for Large

Landscape Conservation

Funding Partners: William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

Photo by Drew Bennett

16 | MACMILLAN PRIVATE LANDS STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM FALL 2022-SUMMER 2023 PROGRAM UPDATE 17

Other Research, Outreach and

Engagement Projects in Progress

SUPPORTING THE WYOMING-USDA BIG

GAME PILOT PROGRAM

e U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

and the State of Wyoming launched the Big

Game Pilot Program in 2022 with the goal

of supporting the conservation of migratory

big game populations on private working

lands across the state. e Program came after

Wyoming’s designation of migration corridors

as a way to provide technical and ﬁnancial

assistance to landowners whose properties fall

within designated corridors or other priority

areas. Our research is supporting the eﬀort by

surveying landowners in identiﬁed priority areas

to understand their experiences with big game

and interest in participating in diﬀerent voluntary

conservation eﬀorts. We are also interviewing key

stakeholders closely involved in the development

of the Pilot Program or landowners who have enrolled their property in one of the included Farm Service

Agency or Natural Resources Conservation Service programs. Our aim is to examine the potential for increased

enrollment and other measures of success for the Program as its implementation grows – including a recent

expansion of the program to Idaho and Montana.

Project Leads: Hilary Byerly Flint and Katie Doyle

Key Collaborators: Arthur Middleton – University of California-Berkeley, Laura Bell – East Yellowstone

Collaborative Working Group, Rich Iovanna – USDA

Funding Partners: USDA Farm Service Agency, Beyond Yellowstone Program

PRIORITIZING WATER RIGHTS AND WATER RESOURCES IN CONSERVATION PLANNING

Traditional approaches to conservation easement prioritization consider various physical characteristics of a

landowner’s property; whether the property has important wildlife or riparian habitat, crucial ungulate migration

corridors, valuable agricultural lands, or scenic values are factors that are often taken into account. is project

investigates how to eﬀectively incorporate agricultural water rights, which are critical to the long-term viability

of agricultural properties, into conservation easement planning framework in the Upper Green River Basin.

Ultimately, this work will provide the Jackson Hole Land Trust with a new lens to help assess the importance of a

property’s water rights as they work to prioritize their eﬀorts conserving working agricultural land in the basin.

Photo by Drew Bennett

18 | MACMILLAN PRIVATE LANDS STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM FALL 2022-SUMMER 2023 PROGRAM UPDATE

e importance of agricultural water rights across the basin is being determined using spatial analysis techniques

and data from relevant state agencies and non-proﬁt organizations. e idea is that by understanding factors such

as a water right’s priority date or resiliency in times of drought across a landscape, it becomes possible to prioritize

conservation eﬀorts to maintain important agricultural lands and wetland habitat into the future. Being able to

visualize these patterns will make JHLT’s conservation easement planning process more robust so that they can

continue to protect the Upper Green River Basin’s most important lands in the face of a changing climate and altered

water use regimes. Further analysis is underway to better understand how water rights in the basin might inﬂuence

environmental conditions on the ground.

Project Lead: Lucas orsness

Key Collaborators: Jackson Hole Land Trust

Funding Partners: Alumbra Innovations Foundation, Land Trust Alliance’s Land and Climate Grant Program

THE FIT OF INCENTIVIZED WATER CONSERVATION PROGRAMS

ON WORKING LANDS IN THE UPPER COLORADO RIVER BASIN

e Colorado River Basin spans from its northern extent in the Green River

Basin of Wyoming to its terminus in the Gulf of California. e Basin provides

water to 40 million people across 7 western states and Mexico and is essential

for irrigation on tens of thousands of farms and ranches. Increasing demand

for Basin water combined with climate driven decreases in supply have resulted

in roughly 20% decline in water availability and created an unfolding crisis

for water users in Basin. An array of conservation programs are incentivizing

voluntary and compensated water conservation though practices such as

infrastructure improvements, crop switching, and temporary water leases. is

research project focuses on understanding how the water conservation strategies

and incentive structures oﬀered to agricultural water users align with their

interests and needs. Using the Green River Basin of Wyoming and the Yampa

River Basin of Colorado as case studies, this project incorporates existing data

and semi-structured interviews with landowners, government staﬀ and non-

governmental organizations. e output of the research project is intended to

inform the design and implementation of programs that reduce the consumptive

use of water in the Colorado River Basin through incentives that work for agricultural operations.

Project Lead: Max Lewis

SOCIAL DIMENSIONS OF CONSERVATION IN THE CENTRAL GRASSLANDS OF NORTH AMERICA

Grasslands are one of the most threatened ecosystems globally, yet remain one of the least protected. Despite the

signiﬁcance of grasslands for provisioning key ecosystem services and supporting high biodiversity, diverse systems

of governance and stakeholder priorities challenge eﬀorts to protect the biome. rough a series of case studies, this

project engages with the overlapping and multidimensional human factors shaping land use within the grasslands.

Case studies will be supplemented with workshops that engage key stakeholders across industry, tribes, conservation

Photo by Max Lewis

18 | MACMILLAN PRIVATE LANDS STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM FALL 2022-SUMMER 2023 PROGRAM UPDATE 19

practitioners and rural communities in order to facilitate collaborative discussion of key issues in the grasslands.

Synthesizing ﬁndings from these case studies and workshops, the aim of this research is two-fold: to oﬀer

guidance on coordinating conservation work across diverse stakeholder interests, and to highlight areas of

previous success with the potential to be replicated in other locations across the biome.

Project Lead: Callie Berman

Key Collaborators: Jeremy Pittman – University of Waterloo

Funding Partners: Northern Great Plains Joint Venture, Knobloch Family Foundation

GEOSPATIAL CONSERVATION PLANNING WITH THE

SHERIDAN COMMUNITY LAND TRUST

e Sheridan Community Land Trust (SCLT) in Sheridan,

Wyoming worked with the MacMillan Program to develop a new

geospatial conservation planning tool. Conservation planning

is an important aspect of a land trust’s work that allows them

to manage decision making so that their speciﬁc goals can be

visualized and met. SCLT already has a geospatial conservation

planning tool in place, but they are looking to incorporate new

priorities into their planning process using this new geospatial

tool. With the updated tool, SCLT is better positioned to

conserve the most important landscapes in Sheridan County

for the beneﬁt of people, sensitive wildlife, and the region’s

environmental health.

Project Lead: Lucas orsness

Key Collaborators: Meghan Kent – Sheridan Community Land Trust

ANALYSIS OF OPTIONS AND MOTIVATIONS FOR PRIVATE

LANDOWNERS TO ALLOW PUBLIC RECREATION ON THEIR LANDS

Playing and “being” in natural areas, whether they be in wilderness, rural, or

urban areas, are among the priorities that humans require for physical and

emotional well-being. Many recognize the personal and social need, however,

where to play and “be” faces barriers including limited access for some. Although

there are numerous public natural spaces (e.g., state and national parks, national

forests) there would be more locations and opportunities if private lands were

made available. is research focuses on the barriers and opportunities for

voluntary private land conservation to enable public access to open, natural

spaces.

Project Lead: Nita Tallent

Key Collaborators: Mark Perkins – University of Wyoming College of Education

Photo by Nita Tallent

20 | MACMILLAN PRIVATE LANDS STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM FALL 2022-SUMMER 2023 PROGRAM UPDATE

RECOVERING GRASSLAND BIRD

POPULATIONS

More than 75% of grassland birds are declining

in population –the highest percentage of any

biome in North America. MacMillan Professor

of Practice Dr. Drew Bennett is participating in

an international working group focused on an

integrating interdisciplinary datasets to set guide

conservation eﬀorts with the goal of stabilizing

and recovering grassland bird populations. e

Integrating Multidisciplinary Data Layers into

the Central Grassland Avian Modeling Project is

supported by the Morpho Synthesis initiative at the

National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) and is focused on North America’s Central Grasslands

– spanning from northern Mexico to south Canada. e two-year modeling eﬀort will result in actionable data

products to support how and where to allocate resources for conservation and recovery of grassland bird populations.

For more information, visit the Morpho Synthesis group’s page – https://www.nceas.ucsb.edu/workinggroups/

morpho-integrating-multidisciplinary-data-layers-central-grassland-avian-modeling

FEATURED PUBLICATION

A recent publication from the MacMillan

Program led by Travis Brammer and

Drew Bennett highlights the portfolio of

tools available for voluntary conservation

on private lands. While many of these

tools, such as conservation easements

and the Grassland Conservation

Reserve Program, are well established

and commonly used, others, such as

habitat leases and occupancy agreements,

are emerging with the potential for

continued innovation and expansion

to address pressing natural resource

conservation needs on private lands.

Read the publication at https://www.

uwyo.edu/haub/_ﬁles/_docs/ruckelshaus/

pubs/2023-tools-for-private-land-

conservation.pdf.

Other Program Updates

Tools for Private

Land Conservation

TRAVIS BRAMMER & DREW BENNETT

WHITNEY MACMILLAN PRIVATE

LANDS STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM

A PUBLICATION OF THE

20 | MACMILLAN PRIVATE LANDS STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM FALL 2022-SUMMER 2023 PROGRAM UPDATE 21

e survey of farmers and ranchers in the Colorado River

Basin project received signiﬁcant media attention across

the region and in national outlets. Collaborator Hallie

Mahowald with the Western Landowners Alliance was

interviewed live on Denver 850 KOA’s morning news

program. Denver’s Next with Kyle Clark on 9News featured

a segment on the study with a brief clip from an interview

with Drew Bennett. Dozens of other newspapers and radio

programs covered the study including several regional NPR

stations, Colorado Politics, the Denver Gazette, and the

national political website e Hill.

ACCESS A SAMPLING OF THE MEDIA

COVERAGE:

850 AM- KOA (Denver, CO): https://koacolorado.iheart.

com/featured/colorado-news/content/2023-09-26-western-

landowners-alliances-hallie-mahowald-on-new-co-river-

basin-survey/

Next with Kyle Clark on 9News (Denver, CO):

https://www.9news.com/video/news/local/next/

next-with-kyle-clark/study-says-farmers-along-

colorado-river-are-willing-to-conserve-water-without-

federal-regulations/73-31079295-6200-46f2-9a06-

67943d32d284

KUNC (Greeley, CO): https://www.kunc.org/

news/2023-09-26/colorado-river-growers-say-theyre-

ready-to-save-water-but-need-to-build-trust-with-

states-and-feds

Capital Press (western US): https://www.capitalpress.

com/ag_sectors/water/survey-reveals-barriers-to-

colorado-river-water-conservation/article_f847b6d2-

5e2e-11ee-a65a-6fd3042aa5c4.html

e Hill (national): https://thehill.com/policy/

equilibrium-sustainability/4224093-upper-colorado-

river-basin-states-renew-plan-to-pay-farmers-for-

water-conservation/

In the Media

22 | MACMILLAN PRIVATE LANDS STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM FALL 2022-SUMMER 2023 PROGRAM UPDATE

Bennett, D. E. and T. Brammer. 2023. Agricultural Land Easements

Workshop – Rising to the Challenge: Workshop Summary and

Action Items. University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY: Ruckelshaus

Institute of Environmental and Natural Resources. Available at:

https://www.uwyo.edu/haub/ruckelshaus-institute/private-lands-

stewardship/agricultural-land-easements.html

Bennett, D. E. and T. Brammer. 2023. Habitat leasing as an

alternative to aﬃrmative conservation easements in conserving

wildlife on private lands. Wildlife Society Bulletin. 47:e1477. Available

at: https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/

wsb.1477

Bennett, D., M. Lewis, H. Mahowald, M. Collins, T. Brammer, H.

Byerly Flint, L. orsness, W. Eaton, K. Hansen, M. Burbach, and

E. Koebele. 2023. Agricultural water users’ preference for addressing

water shortages in the Colorado River Basin. University of Wyoming,

Laramie, WY: Ruckelshaus Institute of Environmental and Natural

Resources. Available at: https://www.uwyo.edu/haub/_ﬁles/_docs/

co-river-basin-ag-water-users-survey.pdf

Bennett, D., and C. Mathis. “Custodians of two interests: Navigating economic realities and opportunities in

stewarding private lands.” Chapter 13 in R. Lopez, J. Sanders, and J. Cathey, eds. e Art and Science of Private

Lands Stewardship. Texas A&M University Press. Forthcoming.

Brammer, T., and D. Bennett. 2023. Tools for Private Land Conservation. University of Wyoming, Laramie,

WY: Ruckelshaus Institute of Environmental and Natural Resources. Available at: https://www.uwyo.edu/

haub/_ﬁles/_docs/ruckelshaus/pubs/2023-tools-for-private-land-conservation.pdf

Ferraro, P., T. Cherry, J. Shogren, C. Vossler, T. Cason, H. Byerly Flint, et al. 2023. Create a culture of

experiments in environmental programs. Science 381(6659)L 735-737. Available at: https://www.science.org/

doi/10.1126/science.adf7774

Haggerty, J.H., K. E. Epstein, D. E. Bennett, B. Milton, L. Nowlin, and B. Martin. 2023. “Wildlife, rural

communities, and the rangeland livelihoods they share: opportunities in a diverse economies approach” Chapter

30 in L. B. McNew, D. K. Dahlgren, and J. L. Beck, eds. Rangeland Wildlife Ecology & Conservation: 933-967.

Springer: Cham, Switzerland. Available at: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-34037-6_27

Paolini, K., A. Sisneros-Kidd, N. Gautier, R. Bonnie, K. E. Wallen, and D. E. Bennett. Forthcoming.

Perpetuating corridor conservation: Using public perception to advance big game management. Wildlife Society

Bulletin.

Whittman, T., and D. E. Bennett. Forthcoming. Cows or condos: Rancher and land-use outcomes following

compensated federal grazing permit waivers. Rangeland Ecology and Management.

Publications

Photo by Callie Berman

22 | MACMILLAN PRIVATE LANDS STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM FALL 2022-SUMMER 2023 PROGRAM UPDATE 23

Photo by Max Lewis Photo by Grace Carr

Maggie Lang monitors an easement while interning with the

Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust during summer 2022

WHITNEY MACMILLAN PRIVATE

LANDS STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM

A PUBLICATION OF THE

Photo by Drew Bennett