Paradise Ranch - South Fork of the Snake River
The Francis K. Rudd Family recently worked with the Land Trust and the Bureau of Land Management to place a conservation easement on a 307-acre property on the South Fork of the Snake River. Paradise Ranch sits on the north rim of the South Fork Canyon and is flanked on three sides by the Targhee National Forest. The property's resource values include important riparian corridors, bald eagle foraging areas, outstanding scenic resources and big game wintering habitat.

"We would like to thank the Teton Regional Land Trust and the United States Bureau of Land Management for all their effort toward the protection of the Paradise property," said the Rudd Family. "Without their focus on the protection of the South Fork Canyon and the superlative natural resources it holds, this conservation easement could have never been accomplished."

Teton River Headwaters
This 118-acre gem at the headwaters of the Teton River was protected by a conservation easement in October by Tim Watters. Mr. Watters worked hard as a conservation buyer to save this incredible wetland and willow habitat from development. He placed it under a conservation easement immediately after its purchase with the intention of forever protecting its valuable resources.
 
Warm Creek, Drake Creek and Little Pine Creek converge on the Property along with two unnamed Spring Creeks forming the headwater creeks of the Teton River. The Teton River itself emerges just north of the Property. This Property is not only vital to the hydrology of the Teton River, but supports native cutthroat trout, shorebirds such as sandhill cranes, curlews and willets, songbirds, and many waterfowl.
 
Funding assistance from The Conservation Fund and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation made this project possible. The Conservation Fund received a $2.14 million grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation as part of the Foundation’s Greater Yellowstone Initiative, which seeks to conserve ecologically significant lands and improve land use planning in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. Other project partners include The Nature Conservancy, the Trust for Public Land, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, the Sonoran Institute, the Land Trust Alliance and the Institute for Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Wyoming.
 

Chester Wetlands - Henry's Fork of the Snake River
This year, The Nature Conservancy and the Teton Regional Land Trust and a number of conservation partners teamed up to protect one of the Henry’s Fork’s finest ranches, reopening fishing access to a renown section of the river. Chester Wetlands, a 1,501-acre ranch north of St. Anthony, contains over 700 acres of wetlands and valuable habitat for fish, bald eagles, waterfowl, and big game.
 
The previous ranch owner had approval to develop two miles of this riverfront property near Chester Dam with 59 home sites. Through partnership the Land Trust, The Nature Conservancy of Idaho, the Henry's Fork Foundation, Fremont County, the ranch owner, the Department Fish and Game and the Yellowstone Conservation District were able to pose an amiable solution to local public access disputes. Together, TRLT and the Nature Conservancy were able to option the property for a conservation purchase. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is purchasing the property from the Nature Conservancy of Idaho. As of August 1, 2001, the Chester Wetlands property is officially managed by the Department of Fish and Game. This scenic section of the Henry’s Fork is now open to foot traffic and fishing access.