MELROSE (Idaho Capital Sun) — Some ranchers and conservationists have been teaming up for almost 20 years to protect wildlife habitat in central Idaho by agreeing not to develop their land.

Last month, The Nature Conservancy reached a milestone after helping secure a conservation easement on a 5,368 acre ranch near the Pioneer Mountains owned by Glenn Schumacher. The easement put the organization and its partners over the milestone of protecting a cumulative 100,000 acres in central Idaho since 2007.

“One of the biggest challenges for wildlife and conservation is habitat fragmentation, so we’re trying to find areas where there’s intact landscapes and seeing how we can hold those together,” said Tess O’Sullivan, land and water protection program manager for The Nature Conservancy.

The ef

See Full Page