Fifteen miles northeast of Sundance and 10 miles from the South Dakota border, a sprawling swath of ranchland is now protected forever.
The Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust announced that the Ellsbury Diamond E Ranch Conservation Easement in Crook County will permanently protect 2,506 acres.
Christine Adams, the Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust’s executive director, told Cowboy State Daily the easement is one of the most special conservation projects she’s been involved in.
“Knowing every detail is there today because (the Ellsburys) believe in a stronger tomorrow” is part of what makes the project special, she said.
“There are many reasons that ultimately led to it,” said landowner David Ellsbury.
Among them are preserving a generations-deep family legacy and ensuring that the 2,506 acres remain a place of natural beauty and resources, free from future development.
The Legacy
In the 1880s, four of Ellsbury’s great-grandfathers staked homesteads in what is now the area around Sundance.
Ellsbury’s property is the only undeveloped land that is left.
“My great-grandfather was such a visionary, and he didn’t know it,” Ellsbury said. “What a brave man.”
At least one of the other homesteads in the family was swallowed up by a housing development.
Ellsbury’s mother watched the untamed land disappear.
“That really upset my mother,” Ellsbury said.
She was so upset, he said, that, “on the day she died, she told me she did not want what happened to that place to happen to this place.”
That was eight years ago.
“I have followed her wishes,” Ellsbury said, adding, “It is of utmost importance to me to keep it going in the family, for it to stay in the family name.”
Adams said the recent closing on the easement wasn’t just a signature on paper.
“It’s a testament to (the Ellsbury family’s) persistence, stewardship and respect for the land,” she said.
Completing the easement deal was a lengthy process, she said, and the Ellsburys now carry a pride of “seeing a long process through.”
No Development Here
By putting the land into a conservation easement, Ellsbury said he is alleviating fears that the family’s land could one day be developed.
“This just gives me great satisfaction that it will never be developed,” he said, adding, “Development is right across the fence line from me.”
He said he tried to buy his neighbor’s place before it was sold and subdivided, but he was too late. Still, he said he dreams of being able to buy more land and put it into a trust, as he’s done with his own family property.
“I don’t want this land scarred up with houses and mines,” he said. “Growth is one of my biggest complaints. You can only grow so much. There’s got to be an end to it at some point. This is a finite world.”
The Legacy Continues
Ellsbury is continuing the long-held tradition of investing his entire life into the beloved family ranch.
He has 12 grandchildren.
“I’ve got to do it for them,” he said.
He no longer owns livestock, having sold out to his sons several years ago following a heart attack.
“A heart attack makes you stop and think,” he said.
The oldest grandsons, spanning junior high and high school, are thoroughly involved in the work of the land, he said.
“They’re learning the lifestyle and they’re appreciating it. The interest is there,” he said.
He holds fast to the wisdom of Chief Seattle, an 1800s Native American leader for whom the Washington city is named after: “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.”
Adams sees that, telling Cowboy State Daily, “They really care about stewarding this land for future generations.”
The word “perpetuity” is important to Ellsbury.
“That’s what I want it for, is forever,” he said.
Securing an Agricultural Heritage
Adams said the easement is especially significant as Crook County is seeing increased development.
Crook County is experiencing a significant increase in development projects, ranging from energy and mining expansion to infrastructure upgrades and residential subdivisions.
Last year, Cowboy State Daily reported that Crook County officials were weighing the potential impacts large-scale energy projects could have on county roads and services.
Last July, Crook County Commissioners heard from a group of landowners expressing concern that the subdivision of 40 acres near them would negatively impact their way of life.
“Now it’s even more important to secure that agricultural heritage,” Adams said.
Ellsbury has spent his entire life on the land.
“It has provided our livelihoods,” he said. “I feel so fortunate to have this and the heritage behind it. I want to see that tradition and that pride live on and on and on.”
Kate Meadows can be reached at kate@cowboystatedaily.com.
