Conservation Stewardship Program
The Ranches are committed to conservation and stewardship, which are core to our mission and values. Our efforts reflect science-based sustainable land management that support agriculture, hospitality, and conservation working together. As stewards, we are focused on land management strategies that ensure the intact working landscape of the Ranches will continue to thrive.
Guests, staff, and community members alike contribute to stewardship of the Ranch landscapes, natural resources, and surrounding environments.
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.
In 2023, Big Creek Ranch was awarded the Environmental Stewardship Award by the Wyoming Stock Growers Association. The award recognized our sustainable agricultural practices, land stewardship, and collaborative partnership approach to conservation stewardship.
Under The Wire & Wildlife Migration Project
In 2018, the Ranch partnered with Michael Forsberg, a conservation photographer, Platte Basin Timelapse (PBT), the University of Wyoming, and the local Conservation District of Carbon County, WY, documenting the important wildlife migration corridors that exist within the Upper North Platte River watershed and on the Ranches. Under The Wire was produced by PBT and filmed entirely on the Ranch, capturing the movements of game–particularly pronghorn antelope–identifying key fence lines that were converted to be wildlife-friendly. Under The Wire was awarded Grand Prize and People’s Choice awards at the 2024 Wild and Working Lands Film Festival, presented by the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources at University of Wyoming. To learn more about the project and to watch Under The Wire, please click the link below.
To learn more about the Conservation Stewardship Program and other projects on the Ranch, please feel free to contact us.
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
