Legacy Ranch Owner Protects 1/4 Mile Along Yellowstone River

October 16, 2020

We’ve established our 114th Conservation Easement! This is our fourth conservation easement with visionary rancher Tim Solso, the owner of Legacy Ranch. This new donated conservation easement is adjacent to his 590-acre protected ranch and is situated on a steep bluff overlooking the Yellowstone River.

If you have spent any time in Paradise Valley, then you have no doubt enjoyed the protected scenic viewshed of Solso’s Legacy Ranch between Mallards Rest and Lock Leven fishing access points on the Yellowstone River.

In 2009, the Solso family donated a conservation easement on 590 acres, ensuring the perpetual protection of productive agricultural soils, riparian habitat, and unparalleled views from the river and highway. The family was so pleased with the outcome that they later placed an additional 3,800 acres into GVLT’s easement program.

GVLT assists many of its easement partners with land restoration and habitat improvements, but the owners of Legacy Ranch have gone above and beyond with their conservation efforts: with the help of students, interns, and GVLT volunteers they have worked to restore acres of floodplain and wetlands along their 2.5-mile stretch of the Yellowstone River.

The newest easement on the Solso property will entail the removal of an old, dilapidated home from the parcel and management will be incorporated into the larger ranch, providing unobstructed views of the Absaroka Mountains for every floater or fisherman on the river and every driver or passenger on US 89-South.

All told, we have protected 4,661 acres in conservation easements with Tim Solso. Thank you so much for the generosity of the Solso Family and Legacy Ranch for helping us protect this highly scenic and important ranch in perpetuity.