Prickly Pear Land Trust is proposing to work with the Juedeman family and the Lewis and Clark County Open Land Program to conserve nearly 4,000 acres of open land along an iconic stretch of the Missouri River near Craig.

“When our parents first became stewards of the land we call the Canyon Cattle Ranch, houses were few and far between, and working ranches were the norm. Since then there has been a tremendous amount of development near Craig, and our ranch is one of the last remnants of the largely wild places of our youth,” the family said in a statement. “Our family is united in wanting to see that this wildlife- and vista-rich landscape remains undisturbed by development, and stays the paradise we first laid eyes on 50 years ago.”