In a press release June 17, the partners said they’ve placed a conservation easement on the “Maxo Meadows” owned and ranched by the Young family.
The meadows are in the Kamas Valley, on the north side of Democrat Alley.
The area has been a priority for the Summit Land Conservancy, since the nonprofit land trust got a $22 million federal grant to preserve the watershed two years ago.
Summit County says the conservation easement on the Maxo Meadows is the third easement secured in part with the 2021 $50 million voter-approved open space bond.
The county’s Open Space Advisory Committee (OSAC) contributed $250,000 from the bond toward the easement, and $102,000 came from the Eastern Summit County Agricultural Preservation Board (ESAP), which draws its money from Promontory developer fees.
The rest came from Summit Lands, which generally does not disclose total easement prices.
The county’s press release says the Maxo Meadows have been ranched for over a century and the Young family plans to continue ranching for generations to come.
Summit County says the additional acreage brings the total amount of conserved land in Summit County to 13,835 acres. That includes the 8,600-acre 910 Cattle Ranch and 834-acre Ure Ranch, open space purchases the county is hoping to close on this year or next with the help of the 2021 bond.
About half of the county’s 1.2 million acres is federal land.
Summit County and the Summit Land Conservancy are financial supporters of KPCW. For a full list, click here.
