Chadd Giles grew up surrounded by the wide‑open landscapes of Wasatch County. Some of his earliest memories involve weekends with his grandfather helping to run sheep and cows at the family’s Heber Valley site. Now, thanks in part to assistance from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the 58-acre Flying A Ranch Preserve has become the third conservation easement to be permanently protected in Wasatch County. 

Protecting Working Lands

Situated within the North Fields, the land is largely made up of irrigated and wet meadows with the Middle Ditch Canal flowing down the middle. Migratory birds and wildlife utilize pockets of standing water and tall grass alongside 70 head of cattle that are seasonally grazed and rotated across four established pastures. For the Giles family, the land represents a legacy of stewardship. “My family has been in agriculture all their life…it’s what I do, it’s what I love,” Chadd said, “I don’t want to give that up.” Continued growth in the area has meant added pressure for agricultural landowners. 

Between 2009 and 2023, Wasatch County lost nearly 20,000 acres of farmland, rangeland, and woodland to development. “We don’t get any days off and it costs so much more to do what we do now,” Chadd said. “We needed to make some changes so we could keep farming, and we found an avenue through Utah Open Lands and this conservation easement.”

A Grassland of Special Significance

Participating in the NRCS Agricultural Land Easement (ACEP-ALE) program requires landowners to find an eligible entity to hold the easement on the land. Entities can include nonprofit land trusts like Utah Open Lands, or state, local, or tribal governments. In 2023, Utah Open Lands worked with NRCS to seek a Grasslands of Special Significance designation for the land, underscoring the rich soils and persistent grasslands that have sustained hundreds of years of agricultural continuity in the Heber Valley. More than 39 acres of the property has also been recognized by the NRCS nationwide soil survey as a farmland of statewide importance.

“Utah Open Lands has been working to find conservation solutions for the farmers and ranchers of the Northfields for almost three decades,” said Executive Director Wendy Fisher, “The Wasatch County voter-approved open space bond, alongside state funding and critically the Agricultural Land Easement Program through NRCS made these conservation saves finally take hold,” she said.

ACEP-ALE provides financial assistance for conservation easements that protect agricultural use and conservation values of eligible land, with NRCS contributing up to 50 percent of the fair market value. Funding from ACEP-ALE provided approximately $2 million toward preserving Flying A Ranch. Additional funding included $650,000 from Wasatch County and $145,000 from Utah’s LeRay McAllister Working Farm and Ranch Fund. 

“There’s probably a few people saying we had rocks in our heads for giving up that value,” Chadd said of their decision to put the land in an easement, “Other people have expressed some interest and are onboard with us.” With the support of ACEP‑ALE and community partners, the easement means the Flying A Ranch will continue as a testament to resilience and stewardship.

Chadd and his family hope preserving the ranch will spark more conservation easements in the area so future generations driving through Heber Valley will still see green pastures, drifting cattle, and open landscapes. 

By Sarah Welliver, State Public Affairs Specialist, NRCS Utah