CHEYENNE — The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is pleased to announce the 2026 Landowners of the Year. This award is presented to Wyoming landowners who have demonstrated outstanding practices in wildlife management, habitat improvement and conservation techniques on their properties.
“As an agency, we get the opportunity to work with landowners who are passionate about integrating wildlife into their operations.” Game and Fish Interim Director Eric Wiltanger said. “In partnership with these landowners, we are able to continue improving wildlife habitats across the state, and we are thrilled to formally recognize their dedication later this month.”
The 2026 landowners are:
Sewell Ranching LLC/McCarty Canyon Ranch: The ranch is about 40 miles south of Rawlins and is approximately 9,200 acres of important seasonal range for elk, mule deer and pronghorn, and also falls entirely within sage-grouse core habitat. The Sewells have worked with various partners to convert 10 miles of fence to wildlife-friendly standards. They also had more than 1,400 acres of treatment for mixed mountain shrubs to enhance wildlife habitat, participated in large-scale, cross-ownership cheatgrass treatments and allowed headwater protection projects for Little Savery Creek — an important tributary to the Little Snake River.
Miles and Karen Daily and Wendy Cecil: These landowners went above and beyond in working with Game and Fish to conduct fish passage and habitat improvement projects on their lands to benefit a diverse array of native fish species in Horse Creek near the Wyoming-Nebraska border. The section of Horse Creek that runs through their properties is home to many fish species designated as Species of Greatest Conservation Need, such as bigmouth shiner, brassy minnow, common shiner, northern plains killifish, orangethroat darter, plains topminnow and suckermouth minnow.
BMG Ranch/J&H Livestock; Gregg Jaggers (posthumous): The BMG Ranch encompasses more than 1,300 acres and nearly 6 miles of the New Fork River corridor in the near Boulder. The hayfields, riparian wetlands, sage uplands and stream habitats of the ranch offer resources for terrestrial wildlife. It contains crucial ranges for the Sublette moose and pronghorn herds, and it is adjacent to sage-grouse winter concentration areas. The Sublette Pronghorn Migration Corridor utilizes much of the property, and wintering mule deer use the property. The river, riparian habitats and floodplain corridor of the New Fork are crucial to the region’s fishery resource and have been a focal point for aquatic restoration efforts during the last decade.
Two Bar Ranch: Since the purchase of the ranch in 1971, the Scott family has shown a long-standing commitment to wildlife conservation, public access and good land stewardship near Casper. Large portions of the ranch are enrolled in Game and Fish’s Access Yes program, which provides public hunting access for pronghorn, mule deer and elk, and also helps the department meet wildlife management goals. Through years of rotational grazing, responsible range management and low-stress livestock handling, the family has maintained healthy and diverse rangelands that benefit wildlife and livestock.
Gary and Carol Thronveit; Mike Ujifusa: The Ujifusa family is one of the foundational families to settle in Washakie County and farmed the area for nearly 110 years. The trio enrolled their properties in the Game and Fish’s Walk-In Hunting Area program in 1998 and are among the inaugural landowners in the program. Their walk-in hunting areas include three separate properties totaling 871 acres. One property provides additional access to several hundred acres of state land. The properties provide some of the best wildlife habitat in the Worland area, and many hunters have harvested game on the property in the last 28 years.
The formal luncheon and award ceremony will take place during the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission meeting at 11am on Sept. 22 in Evanston at the Roundhouse, 1500 Main Street. The ceremony will be available to stream live during the meeting.
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