An Island in the Sage
Homesteader Park Rest Area at the east edge of Powell

Powell is named for the famous one-armed explorer Major John Wesley Powell. In 1889, Powell reported on the agricultural potential of these western sagebrush grasslands. He declared the value of irrigation in “reclaiming” these area through a series of dams and canal systems funded by the government. So, the Shoshone Project started, including the nearby Buffalo Bill Dam and a series of canals to feed water to the fields along the Shoshone River. Because of the successful irrigation project and the arrival of the railroad, Powell became an agricultural shipping point.

The vast native prairie, which once provided for the needs of wildlife, was converted to fields of sugar beets, malt barley and beans for human needs. Although there is evidence of agricultural irrigation projects throughout the Big Horn Basin, there are vast areas of native prairie still remaining. Almost 50 percent of Wyoming’s 96,000 square miles is covered by sagebrush grassland. Abundant sagebrush habitat is the reason Wyoming supports more than half the world’s population of sage grouse and pronghorn antelope.

Wyoming’s agricultural areas are like small islands in a vast expanse of sagebrush prairies. Many wildlife species, like the sage grouse, pronghorn antelope, coyotes and songbirds, have adapted to life in both the agricultural and sagebrush grassland habitats. Wildlands and vast open spaces are crucial parts of the formula required to ensure wildlife diversity, making Wyoming a unique place for wildlife and people!