Flint Place named as new conservation easement in Ogden Valley.

Ogden Valley Land Trust Announces New Ranch Conservation Easement

15 February 2026​
By Kirk Langford

A newly recorded conservation easement will permanently protect 1,017 acres of working ranchland and wildlife habitat in Ogden Valley City, bolstering a growing network of preserved open space in the upper valley, Summit Land Conservancy and Ogden Valley Land Trust announced Monday.

Known as the Flint Place, the property sits southeast of Huntsville and abuts other conserved holdings — including the Historic Monastery Farm (1,050 acres) and Bally Watts (2,772 acres) — forming a large, contiguous block of protected landscape. Conservation partners say the connected corridor is especially valuable for wildlife movement, seasonal migrations and the valley’s scenic and agricultural character.

“The Flint Place supports local agriculture, sustains wildlife populations, preserves scenic views, and helps protect water quality in the Lower Weber River watershed — all at a time when development pressure in the valley continues to grow,” Cheryl Fox, CEO of Summit Land Conservancy, said in a statement.

The easement was donated by Flint Place, LLC, managed by landowner Marian Fowers Martin, whose family has worked the property since purchasing it in 1941. The agreement allows continued ranching and crop production while prohibiting subdivision and large-scale development, ensuring the land remains an active working landscape and preserves rural character.

Conservationists stress the property’s ecological importance: its rangeland and sagebrush steppe provide winter range and migration corridors for elk, mule deer, moose and predators such as mountain lions and bobcats. Flint Place also falls within habitat for the Columbian sharp-tailed grouse and is adjacent to two known active Greater sage‑grouse leks — populations that have declined dramatically across their historical ranges.

Preserving the property also protects water quality for downstream communities, the land trusts said. By preventing dense development on the ridgelines and slopes above Pineview Reservoir and the upper Ogden River, the easement reduces potential stormwater runoff and sedimentation into important regional drinking-water supplies.

“My daughters and I are so pleased that we’ve been able to work with Ogden Valley Land Trust and Summit Land Conservancy to protect this special ranchland and preserve our family’s legacy,” Marian Fowers Martin said. Summit Land Conservancy and Ogden Valley Land Trust will share responsibility for long-term stewardship and monitoring of the parcel.

As development around Snowbasin and other parts of the valley continues to expand, local conservation leaders emphasize the urgency of safeguarding large, connected properties. “You can’t celebrate this enough! What an awesome gift to our community. Thank you, Marian!” said Kirk Langford, a Summit Land Conservancy board member and long-time trustee of Ogden Valley Land Trust, praising the landowner and conservation teams for the easement.

The project was supported by many private donors and several foundations, including the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation, the Makowski Conservation Trust, the Lawrence T. & Janet T. Dee Foundation and the Cross Charitable Foundation.

Ogden Valley Land Trust and Summit Land Conservancy stated they plan to complete three more local easements in 2026 protecting roughly another 160 acres in Ogden Valley.

Information about Ogden Valley Land Trust is available at ogdenvalleylandtrust.org. For more information on Summit Land Conservancy, visit wesaveland.org.

About Summit Land Conservancy
Founded in Park City in 1998 as a project of Leadership Park City, the Summit Land Conservancy works with Utah communities to conserve land and water for the benefit of people and nature. 

In 2011, the Conservancy became the first land trust in the state of Utah to be nationally accredited by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission. It now holds 63 permanent conservation easements and manages 2 preserves on over 25,000 acres of open space, much of it with public access in and around Park City. It protects swathes of Round Valley, Quarry Mountain, Empire Canyon, and the McPolin Farmlands, as well as farms and ranches along the Weber and Provo Rivers. It is currently working to preserve an additional 25,000+ acres across the Wasatch Back.

The Conservancy’s goal when it started in 1998 was to raise money locally to save land locally, and that hasn’t changed. Since 2011, the Conservancy has brought in over $46 million federal dollars for local land conservation.

As a regional land trust, the Conservancy understands that open space is the heart of our rural and recreational communities. Area residents’ sense of place is clearly defined by the shared landscapes that anchor them here. The mountains, trails, farms, and rivers connect people to each other and to the natural world. The Summit Land Conservancy cares for these lands forever, nurturing a healthy community that is founded on its strong connection to the places it has protected together.

More information is available on the Conservancy’s website (wesaveland.org) and on Facebook (facebook.com/WeSaveLand), Instagram (instagram.com/wesaveland) and LinkedIn (linkedin.com/company/summit-land-conservancy).

About Ogden Valley Land Trust
Established in 1998 by a group of dedicated landowners and residents of Ogden Valley, the land trust is interested in preserving Ogden Valley’s unique complexion of pristine natural resources, scenic vistas, wildlife, agricultural lands, rural lifestyles and expansive open spaces.

Ogden Valley Land Trust is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit charitable organization with local landowners and residents as its trustees. The trust currently holds conservation easements on approximately 8,000 pristine acres within Ogden Valley. The trust acts as a steward in perpetuity and depends on donations to manage, monitor and maintain its easements as legally designed and designated.

Be part of protecting and preserving open lands so our children and future generations can experience their unique heritage.
Visit and consider donating to Ogden Valley Land Trust at (ogdenvalleylandtrust.org) and see us on (facebook.com/OgdenValleyLandTrust). Ogden Valley Land Trust • PO Box 412 • Huntsville, UT 84317