A legacy continued on the Cross L7 Homestead

Just outside of Cody, the 173-acre Cross L7 Homestead has been quietly holding its ground for more than a century. It’s the kind of place that feels lived-in, worn by work, shaped by water, and held together by generations of one family’s devotion to keeping the land intact and productive.

Cross L7’s story began in 1901, when the original homesteaders carved a life out of the sagebrush with the help of the early Cody Canal irrigation project. Those historic water rights still feed the pastures today. While many early homesteads have shifted ownership or changed purpose over the past 100 years, the Cross L7 stayed the course; the family kept ranching, kept irrigating, tending, repairing, and showing up season after season.

This year, Park County Open Lands helped write the next chapter of Cross L7 by placing a conservation easement on the property. This is the fifth conservation easement completed by the locally led land trust that opened its doors in Park County less than 3 years ago. The Cross L7 will continue as a working agricultural property – its open meadows, wetlands, and historic water rights intact for generations to come.

The landscape of Cross L7 also supports a remarkable community of wildlife. The homestead sits along an important stopover stretch for migrating birds. More than 185 species of birds have been spotted here – sandhill cranes raise their young, herons stalk the shallows of the wetlands, and raptors circle in the cottonwoods. Mule deer and white-tailed deer move through the meadows as the seasons turn, using the place as part of their year-round range.

“The Cross L7 Homestead tells the story of persistence – both of the land, the wildlife that return year after year, and the people who’ve cared for it,” Alex Few, director of Park County Open Lands, says. “This easement honors that legacy of stewardship and agricultural heritage of the homesteading family. It also ensures scenic open space and wildlife habitat for this gateway to Cody.”

Photo: Josh Metten