One great benefit of living in the good old US of A is that each one of us has the opportunity to own land.  That’s right; we can have our own little chunk of heaven on earth.

For a growing number of people, those little chunks of heaven are getting larger and are more often located on the fringes of cities and towns.  This is known as exurban development, and nation wide, it impacts 7 – 10 times the amount of land as urban and suburban development combined.

Wyoming has its fair share of exurban development.  It seems to be the lifestyle of choice for many of us, including me.  Along with all the joys of exurban life, there are also challenges.  Grazing management, weeds, septic systems, fencing, irrigation and so on.

These acreages require a special land management approach.  They are too large to be treated like a lot in town, and often too small to be treated as small ‘farms’. 

The University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service and local Conservation Districts are just a few of the many good sources of land management information.  From the University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service, I’m Paul Meiman.

Remember, exurban landowners still have neighbors, and what is done on those acreages can and will affect adjacent landowners.  There is a pretty good chance, neighboring landowners moved out of town in part to put a little more room between them and their neighbors.  As a result, neighboring landowners may be watching each other closely and sensitive to what is going on.