Jim Wilson accepts conservation award

This past Saturday, Jim Wilson received the 2017 Kurt Bucholz Conservation Award, presented by the Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust (WSGLT) during a ceremony at Elk Mountain Ranches.

Wilson said the ceremony during which they presented the award, which includes a bronze statue sculpted by Wyoming artist Jerry Palen, was attended by about 225 people. Prior to the ceremony, there was a tour in the afternoon of the conservation easements WSGLT has on the ranch. Other activities included a picnic and music provided by Dave Munsick and the Little Big Band.

Wilson said Liz Cheney was also the speaker at the event, and spoke about NAFTA as well as her going into office and what that meant to her.

Everyone at the ceremony “was extremely nice to me” Wilson said, and he was very appreciative. Bo Alley, executive director of WSGLT, said it is “fortunate we have ranchers like Wilson stewarding the ag producing lands in Wyoming.”

Wilson was born and raised in Thermopolis, leaving for only a couple years to attend Panhandle State College in Goodwill, Okla.

He continues to live in Thermopolis, where he ranches with his wife Teri. The Wilsons are known for their practical and progressive agricultural practices and management techniques. The couple has led the way in the conservation of the Greater Sage Grouse, elk, deer and antelope in the Thermopolis area.

Wilson has also been an active participant in watershed projects, most notably the Kirby Creek Watershed Project. The project focused on the sustainability of approximately 128,500 acres of grasslands and valley in Hot Springs County according to the management plan that was submitted to the Wyoming Association of Conservation Districts.

The Bucholz Conservation Award is given in memory of the late Dr. Kurt Bucholz DVM, rancher from Carbon County, and early supporter of the WSGLT. The Bucholz Award winner encompasses the values and stewardship goals that Bucholz exemplified in his life. Bucholz had a unique understanding of water and land issues and worked to protect the historic water rights that are fundamental to the North Platte Valley.