Cheyenne, Wyo. – The Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust is pleased to announce that Mark Eisele and the Eisele family, of the King Ranch Company in Cheyenne, Wyoming, have been chosen to receive the 2023 Kurt Bucholz Conservation Award. The Eiseles are being recognized for their dedication to agricultural land conservation, water rights, and habitat conservation. The nomination was submitted by Justin Derner of the United States Department of Agriculture and Rex Lockman of Laramie County Conservation District.
The Bucholz Conservation Award is given in memory of the late Dr. Kurt Bucholz, DVM, rancher from Carbon County, and early supporter of the Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust. The Bucholz Conservation Award winner holds the agricultural stewardship values and conservation ethic that Dr. Bucholz demonstrated throughout his life.
Eisele was one of the five founding members of the Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust. He served as President from 2000-2002 and 2006-2008 and has completed an 11-year term on the Board of Directors. He also served as President of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association from 2011 – 2013. Eisele is currently serving as President-elect for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, as well as President of the Pole Mountain Grazing Association, a role he has served in since 2004. In addition to leadership roles, Mark has put a great amount of work into policy development for the agricultural industry, representing Wyoming and producers at state and national levels.
Rex Lockman, of the Laramie County Conservation District, stated, “The King Ranch and Mark Eisele are an extraordinary Wyoming agricultural operation that embodies conservation. They are advocates of conservation and agriculture at the county, state, and national levels and make Wyoming proud.”
The Eisele family, and the King Ranch Company, are committed to habitat conservation through the implementation of land and resource conservation practices. King Ranch Company has supplied cattle to the USDA-ARS High Plains Grasslands Research Center since 2003, where grazing research has addressed habitat conservation, soil carbon responses, adaptive grazing management, and the effects of cow size on calf performance.
“King Ranch, across multiple generations, has exemplified commitment to conservation with many organizations for stewardship of natural resources,” Justin Derner states in support.
On the ranch, they have incorporated numerous land and resource conservation practices such as drought management, targeted grazing to reduce cheatgrass, restoration of disturbed lands, and more. The King Ranch Company promotes hunting and fishing with areas set aside for youth and hunters with disabilities and worked with the Platte River Healing Waters flyfishing veterans’ group.
“Ranchers are conservationists at heart,” Mark Eisele remarks, “we do it easily and naturally. We are fortunate to blend our love of the land with our families and the ranching business.”
In recognition of the Eisele Family’s dedication to conserving Wyoming’s agricultural lands, the Eisele Family will be presented with a bronze statue sculpted by the late Jerry Palen during the Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust’s 2023 Annual Roundup Fundraiser and Barbecue at the TY Ranch near Boulder, WY on August 26th.
Tickets for the barbecue can be purchased by visiting https://wsglt.org/annual_roundup_bbq/, emailing sarah@wsglt.org, or by calling (307) 772-8751.
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