A Bar A, Big Creek, and State Line Ranches have always valued thoughtful conservation and stewardship practices—it is core to our mission and true to our beliefs. Our efforts reflect science-based agricultural land management. As stewards, we focus on land management practices that ensure the intact working landscape of the Ranches will continue to support healthy ecosystems while preserving open lands that provide connectivity and productivity for wildlife, livestock, and the next generation of stewards.
Guests, staff, and many local community members alike contribute to stewardship of the Ranches’ landscapes, natural resources, and the surrounding local environments. Whether that be through education, research, restoration, outreach, or simply valuing the wide-open spaces that we share—we all have a role to play.
In 2018, A Bar A Ranch and Big Creek Ranch were recipients of the Landowner of the Year Award, a recognition presented by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department to landowners who demonstrate outstanding conservation ethics and wildlife management.
Here are several habitat conservation, wildlife, and natural resources projects that have taken place on the Ranches over the years:
Wildlife Projects and Studies
- Wildlife Migration Project
- Biomonitoring Report for Major Fisheries at A Bar A Ranch
- Trout Otolith and Tributary Streams Study
- Big Creek Ranch Waterfowl Research Study
- Stream and Fishing Report: A Bar A, Big Creek, and State Line Ranches
- Active A Bar A Bird Banding Station (1984–present)
- Big Horn Sheep Habitat Monitoring and Water Impoundment
Natural Resource Projects and Studies
- Big Creek Fish Passageway Construction and Trout Migration Study
- North Sand Creek Collaborative Conservation Study
- Habitat Service Projects (Youth Camp Expeditions)
- A Bar A, Big Creek, and State Line Ranches Irrigation Research Study
- Pine and Bark Beetle Infestation Study
- Mullen Creek Restoration
- Big Creek Stream Restoration
- Invasive Species and Weed Mitigation
- Wildlife Friendly Fencing
Education Activities
- Encampment Museum Tours
- Wyoming Geology Lectures
- Nature Seminars
- Forest Ecology Studies and Tours
- Cultural History/Archeology Tours
- Pelican Club Restoration and History Display
