Game and Fish pursues land for public access

BUFFALO — The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission will vote at an upcoming meeting on whether to purchase the Ellis Sheep Company Ranch off of Hazleton Road for $3.45 million. The 2,640-acre parcel located in Johnson and Washakie counties would become a Wildlife Habitat Management Area.

According to the property listing by Pfister Land Co., the existing Ellis Sheep Company Ranch is a high mountain grazing, hunting and fishing ranch with antelope, mule deer, elk and several species of grouse. 

And that’s exactly what makes the land a candidate for WHMA designation, according to Sean Bibbey, the agency’s services division chief.

“There’s access to Sullivan Creek and the Middle Fork of the Powder River off of their property, which is a great fishing opportunity,” he said. “It provides some significant wildlife habitat for elk, deer, pronghorn, there’s some black bear, mountain lion and a multitude of other species up there.”

The property, adjacent to both Bureau of Land Management land and the Ed O. Taylor WHMA, also gives the agency an opportunity to increase public access to the state’s wild lands, which is one of its goals statewide, said John Kennedy, Game and Fish deputy director.

“We really have targeted this part of Wyoming to try to get more public access just because it’s so limited, and this project was just perfect,” Kennedy said. “It provides access to BLM lands that were landlocked, so it really fit our priorities for not only wildlife habitat but also public access.”

The landowners, the Ellis family, approached Game and Fish about purchasing it for use as a WHMA, Bibbey said.

“They want the land to remain undeveloped for agricultural and wildlife habitat for the public to use,” Kennedy said. “That’s just a really cool partnership with private landowners.”

If the commission makes this acquisition, this would be the third wildlife habitat management area in the county. 

The others - Bud Love off of French Creek Road north of Buffalo and Ed O. Taylor outside of Kaycee - were both acquired in the 1970s. Bud Love WHMA is 7,888 acres and Ed O. Taylor WHMA is 10,211 acres. Wildlife habitat management areas are designated for public use. 

Regulations for use are WHMA-specific; at Bud Love and Ed O. Taylor, hunting, camping, hiking, fishing and some trapping is allowed from May 15 through the end of the calendar year. January through May, the area is closed to the public to protect wildlife.

This land acquisition has been in the works for a while, Kennedy said. 

The commission has discussed it several times, and it will come to a vote at its November meeting.

If the commission votes to acquire the property, the next steps for WHMA designation are to close the sale on the property and to create a management plan for the land. 

That management plan will dictate when the land will be closed for wildlife protection and what kinds of recreation will be permitted.

Bibbey said that if Game and Fish buys the ranch, it could be open for public use by late spring 2023. The agency does not anticipate doing a lot of work before opening the land to the public, he said.

“We may work on some fencing and other management things that would make sense for wildlife, but we’re going to do that with that agricultural component in mind, with the intent on having a local livestock producer be able to graze the property on a seasonal basis,” Bibbey said.

The commission will consider public comments and vote on the acquisition at its Nov. 14-15 meeting in Rock Springs. Comments can be mailed to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department Lands Administration office in Cheyenne, or submitted online at https://bit.ly/3cFOYis.

And if Game and Fish purchases the property, the public will have the opportunity to provide management input, Kennedy said.

“We intend to be really transparent on this and keep the public involved,” he said.