Cropland in eastern Idaho near the west side of the Tetons. As long as land is open and not covered in asphalt, concrete and human structures, even as monoculture it can function as  passageway for wildlife and it holds potential for improvement as animal habitat. But when covered with scattershot development, options for safeguarding migrations can start to narrow rapidly. Nellis worked on planning issues with the intent of trying to protect rural landscapes in an Idaho county and despite progress conservation efforts were squelched. Nellis is a big fan of land trusts but given accelerating trends with land development and turnover of old ranches and farms to new buyers, conservation is not keeping pace with increasing development and land fragmentation. Photo by Todd Wilkinson
Cropland in eastern Idaho near the west side of the Tetons. As long as land is open and not covered in asphalt, concrete and human structures, even as monoculture it can function as passageway for wildlife and it holds potential for improvement as animal habitat. But when covered with scattershot development, options for safeguarding migrations can start to narrow rapidly. Nellis worked on planning issues with the intent of trying to protect rural landscapes in an Idaho county and despite progress conservation efforts were squelched. Nellis is a big fan of land trusts but given accelerating trends with land development and turnover of old ranches and farms to new buyers, conservation is not keeping pace with increasing development and land fragmentation. Photo by Todd Wilkinson