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UPPER GREEN RIVER CONSERVANCY™


 A partnership to protect the greater sage grouse in Wyoming. 

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UPPER GREEN RIVER CONSERVANCY™


 A partnership to protect the greater sage grouse in Wyoming. 

WELCOME


WELCOME


Photo Credit: Jeannie Stafford/USFWS

Photo Credit: Jeannie Stafford/USFWS

THE UPPER GREEN RIVER CONSERVANCY™ IS THE NATION'S FIRST CO-OP CONSERVATION BANK™ CREATED TO RESTORE AND MANAGE HEALTHY SAGEBRUSH LANDSCAPES WHILE PROVIDING FOR ENERGY DEVELOPMENT AND CONTINUED RANCHING. 

The Upper Green River Conservancy Co-Op Conservation Bank™ (UGRC) is an innovative partnership of ranchers, energy companies, conservation stakeholders and impact investors working together to ensure the protection of core sage grouse habitat in the ecologically and energy-rich Upper Green River watershed in southwestern Wyoming.

Under this ground-breaking Co-Op Conservation Bank model, UGRC partners with ranchers to develop and certify Greater sage grouse credits (“GSG Credits”) on privately owned ranchlands that occupy critical sage grouse habitats.  UGRC GSG Credits receive certification from the State of Wyoming in accord with the State’s 2018 Compensatory Mitigation Credit Provider Approval Process.  The purchase of GSG Credits by energy companies and other organizations pursuing development in UGRC’s Service Area provides developers the ability to achieve net conservation gains in line with the principles of Wyoming’s Greater Sage-Grouse Core Area Protection policy.

To learn more about the history and ecological importance of the Green River basin, please see: The Green River Basin: A Natural History.

To learn more about sage grouse management in Wyoming, please see: Wyoming Game and Fish Department Sage-Grouse Management.

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TEAM


Our team features a mix of individuals with in-depth experience across conservation banking, finance, government relations, operations, ranching, real estate and wildlife conservation.

TEAM


Our team features a mix of individuals with in-depth experience across conservation banking, finance, government relations, operations, ranching, real estate and wildlife conservation.

Rob Wallace Chairman of the BoardRob Wallace brings decades of invaluable experience building bipartisan support for critical legislative issues impacting the energy and natural resource sectors in the United States. Throughout his career, Mr. Walla…

Rob Wallace
Chairman of the Board

Rob Wallace is a native of Evanston, WY, and a petroleum engineering graduate from the University of Texas at Austin. In 2019, he was nominated by the President of the United States and unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate to the position of assistant secretary of the Interior overseeing all programs and personnel of the National Park Service and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. A seasonal park ranger position in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park inspired Rob’s interest in the policy nexus between energy, natural resources, and conservation. That lifelong focus took him to Washington, D.C., where he worked as assistant director of the National Park Service for congressional affairs, chief of staff to Wyoming US Senator Malcolm Wallop, staff director of the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and then to Cheyenne as chief of staff to Wyoming Governor Jim Geringer. Prior to Rob’s appointment to lead top agencies within the Department of the Interior, he was the director of government affairs for GE’s energy division and co-chaired the council that coordinated the company’s energy policy advocacy in the United States and around the world. Rob and his family currently live in northwestern Wyoming, where he serves on the boards of the Jackson Hole Airport, the Grand Teton National Park Foundation, and the Wyoming Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. He is an operating partner with i2 Capital, an impact investment firm.

Mark Doelger PresidentMark Doelger is a seasoned geologist with broad expertise in the economics of the oil & gas industry. He has testified as an expert before the U.S. Senate, State Legislatures across the U.S., as well as before Federal and s…

Mark Doelger
President

Mark Doelger is a seasoned geologist with broad expertise in the economics of the oil & gas industry. He has testified as an expert before the U.S. Senate, State Legislatures across the U.S., as well as before Federal and state regulatory bodies. He is the author and co-author of numerous technical presentations and publications, including the Atlas of Major Rocky Mountain Natural Gas Reservoirs published by the Gas Research Institute. Mark has advised four Wyoming governors on energy policy matters, and he has served as chairman of the Wyoming Pipeline Authority between 2001 and 2009. Mark currently serves as a commissioner at the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and is based in Casper, WY.

Ashley Allen Jones Co-Founder and Vice President, Capital Markets Ashley Allen Jones, from Lander, Wyoming, is an innovative finance professional with a proven track record of investing at the dynamic intersection of finance and social change. She h…

Ashley Allen Jones
Co-Founder and Vice President, Capital Markets


Ashley Allen Jones, from Lander, Wyoming, is an innovative finance professional with a proven track record of investing at the dynamic intersection of finance and social change. She has extensive experience with private equity, venture capital, and investment banking, and has worked at Alex. Brown & Sons (Deutsche Bank), Coopers & Lybrand (Price Waterhouse Coopers) and Quarterdeck Investment Partners (Jeffries). Ashley also is a former principal with the Women’s Growth Capital Fund and the Endeavor Group. She earned an MBA with distinction (Beta Gamma Sigma) from the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business, and a BA in American Studies from the University of Colorado.

Ben Guillon Vice President, Conservation BankingBen Guillon is a seasoned conservation finance executive with over two decades of conservation finance work in the U.S., Africa and Asia. As a principal with WRA, Ben manages financial and strategic aspects of rural land management and ecosystem conservation. Previously, he served as Manager of Acquisition for New Forests, where he led the origination, underwriting, acquisition and management of projects, and developed the firm’s investment strategy. Ben also has worked on behalf of the World Bank on projects aimed at developing biodiversity based businesses in Africa and Asia. Ben’s education includes: MsC, Environmental Economics and MPA, Environmental Management, ENGREF; MSC, Biology, CIRAD, MD, Veterinary Medicine, National Veterinary School of Alfort.

Ben Guillon
Vice President, Conservation Banking

Ben Guillon is a seasoned conservation finance executive with over two decades of conservation finance work in the U.S., Africa and Asia. As a principal with WRA, Ben manages financial and strategic aspects of rural land management and ecosystem conservation. Previously, he served as Manager of Acquisition for New Forests, where he led the origination, underwriting, acquisition and management of projects, and developed the firm’s investment strategy. Ben also has worked on behalf of the World Bank on projects aimed at developing biodiversity based businesses in Africa and Asia. Ben’s education includes: MsC, Environmental Economics and MPA, Environmental Management, ENGREF; MSC, Biology, CIRAD, MD, Veterinary Medicine, National Veterinary School of Alfort.

Chopper Grassell Vice President, Resource ManagementChopper Grassell is a member of a fourth generation Wyoming ranching family, and offers deep insight into the economic aspects of large ranch acquisition, ownership and operations. After graduating from the University of Wyoming with a degree in Agricultural Business, Chopper spent two decades in corporate finance with NCNB (now Bank of America), and with SunTrust Bank in Charlotte, New York City, and Atlanta before returning to Wyoming. Chopper has achieved leadership positions in Wyoming business and real estate, with a specific focus on ranch transactions.

Chopper Grassell
Vice President, Resource Management

Chopper Grassell is a member of a fourth generation Wyoming ranching family, and offers deep insight into the economic aspects of large ranch acquisition, ownership and operations. After graduating from the University of Wyoming with a degree in Agricultural Business, Chopper spent two decades in corporate finance with NCNB (now Bank of America), and with SunTrust Bank in Charlotte, New York City, and Atlanta before returning to Wyoming. Chopper has achieved leadership positions in Wyoming business and real estate, with a specific focus on ranch transactions.

Bradley Booke General CounselBradley L. Booke has over 35 years of corporate law and litigation expertise representing private, non-profit and public clients. His expertise spans general corporate law, commercial contracts and transactions, as well …

Bradley Booke
General Counsel

Bradley L. Booke has over 35 years of corporate law and litigation expertise representing private, non-profit and public clients. His expertise spans general corporate law, commercial contracts and transactions, as well as commercial litigation including misappropriation and misuse of trade secrets, trademark and copyright infringement, and unfair competition. Brad previously served as legal counsel to the University of Nevada Las Vegas, and practiced law with the well known Wyoming-based firm of Spence, Moriarity and Schuster. Mr. Booke holds a B.S. from the University of Arizona and a J.D. from the University of Arizona College of Law. He is admitted to practice in Wyoming, Arizona, Utah and Nevada.

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CONTACT


CONTACT


 

We are committed to working with partners to advance a model co-op conservation bank in Wyoming’s Upper Green River watershed.

Please contact us with questions, or if you would like to learn more.

 
 
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