CANYON, Texas (KFDA) - Two conservation easements will permanently protect more than 3,000 acres along the rim of Palo Duro Canyon State Park.

The easements are held by the Texas Agricultural Land Trust (TALT).

The first easement, covering 1,725 acres, has closed with funding from the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, Agricultural Conservation Easement Program and Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation’s Buffer Lands Incentive Program.

According to TALT officials, a second easement totaling 1,323 acres is expected to close by the end of the year, bringing the total protected acreage to 3,048.

Known as Rim Ranch, the property spans Armstrong and Randall counties and has been in the Owens family since the late 1940s.

From their perch above the second-largest canyon in the Unit

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