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Thunder Basin Grasslands Prairie Ecosystem Association |
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The Thunder Basin Grasslands Prairie Ecosystem Association is a non-profit organization established to provide private landowner leadership in developing a responsible, common sense, science-  based
approach to long-term management of their lands. Members in the
Association include private property owners within a designated 931,192-acre
landscape in eastern Wyoming. Current members of the Association own
over 203,000 acres (22%) of land within this mixed ownership landscape.
Other lands include Thunder Basin National Grasslands administered by the
U.S. Forest Service (31%), Bureau of Land Management
lands (4%), state lands (6%) and additional private lands not currently in
the membership of the Association (37%). |
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The
Association recognized that addressing conservation concerns for one
species at a time would not provide a comprehensive and consistent
long-term plan for the landscape. They also recognized that each
landowner, working independently, would not be a s
effective as a collaborative effort that considered the cumulative
contributions of all lands within the landscape for ecological, economic,
and social objectives. Consequently, the Association has focused its
efforts on developing an ecosystem management plan that will address the
habitat needs of all species of concern within the landscape while
balancing these needs with sustainable economic and social activities.
The ecosystem management plan will provide the science-based information
and integration needed to meet these objectives, and will provide the
basis for either individual landowners or for a group of landowners to
enter into appropriate conservation agreements. The Association
believes a crucial first step is to gain a thorough knowledge and
understanding of the ecological characteristics of the planning area prior
to developing specific plans, conservation strategies, or agreements. |
The
Association was formed in 1999 to address growing concerns about land
management within the designated landscape. Of particular interest
were management activities related to ranching, coal, coal-bed methane,
oil, and gas production and their influences on a number of wildlife
species of concern. The Association was established with the
objective of maintaining responsible economic use of the landscape while
demonstrating how effective stewardship of natural resources can be
provided through voluntary, privately-led, collaborative efforts.