In Platte County, Wyoming, Laramie Peak frames a landscape that includes the Oregon Trail and Register Cliff, where thousands of pioneers left their mark. Today, open spaces are sustained by agricultural production of livestock and crops, which provides habitat for diverse wildlife and a foundation for the county’s communities. Settlement of this land began in the early 1880s with the Swan Land and Cattle Company, a ranch that held more acreage than the state of Connecticut. Agriculture paved the way for construction of area reservoirs that provide water storage for irrigation, wildlife habitat, fisheries, and recreation. South of this point, the Wheatland Irrigation District delivers irrigation water to 55,000 acres of formerly dry, unproductive landscape, making it the largest and only privately held irrigation district in the United States. Many crops, including corn, sugar beets, wheat, and barley, are raised on this land. Even with Platte County’s relatively small population, agricultural producers raise food for thousands of Americans, and cattle raised in Platte County provide a year’s supply of beef for 850,000 people. Agriculture serves as the backbone of the area’s rural communities and sustains its open vistas.