The Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) recently recognized seven landowners who showed outstanding wildlife management and implemented habitat improvement and conservation techniques on their properties.
Among them is Deb McCormick who owns the 1,200-acre Beaver Creek Ranch in northcentral Wyoming. McCormick entered into a voluntary conservation agreement with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation in 2007 to conserve the conservation and wildlife values of her land.
The ranch is surrounded by U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management land, providing crucial winter, summer and spring range for elk. Mule and white-tailed deer and a variety of other big and small game species also roam the property. Bisected by the north and south forks of Beaver Creek, the property also supplies valuable riparian habitat.
The North Bighorn Mule Deer herd spends half the year on the ranch. McCormick allowed access so researchers could study the herd.
In 2019, McCormick granted access to WGFD to enhance riparian habitat through the removal of conifers from the Beaver Creek floodplain. Since 2020, crews treated about 140 acres of habitat.
Go here for more information and to learn about the other six landowners recognized by WGFD.
(Photo credit: Land Steward Services/Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation)