wood river land trust newsletter spring 2007

8/8/2019 Wood River Land Trust Newsletter Spring 2007

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Land

Protecting and restorinour natural lands

and healthy waterssince 1994.

Wood River Land T

on

A publication of Wood River Land Trust www.woodriverlandtrust.org [email protected]

SPRING 20

perspectivesperspectives

was a record year

in conservation

donations to Wood River Land Trust.

Generous donations from a number of

local landowners helped us protect 820

acres in the Valley. This success is part of

a national trend.

The Land Trust Alliances 2005

National Land Trust Census surveyed

nearly 1,840 land conservation organiza-

tions throughout the country. This studyfound that the pace of private land con-

servation by land trusts has tripled over

the past ten years. The West has become

the fastest-growing region in both the

number of acres saved and the number of

land trusts, and public incentives such as

tax credits have spurred further private

land conservation.

The land protected in 2006 includes

an anonymous donation of the 672-acre

Cow Catcher Ridge, the donation of 17

acres in the mid-valley, and the 131-

acre gift of Church Farm, located in the

Bellevue Triangle (for more information onChurch Farm see the article on page 6).

Our largest donation to date, Cow

Catcher Ridge illustrates western land

trusts successes right here in our Valley.

This new 672-acre preserve is adjacent

to Slaughterhouse Canyon and extends

to the south end of Woodside in Hailey.Bordered by BLM land to the east and

by farmland to the west, most of Cow

Catcher Ridge is within the Idaho

Department of Fish & Games designated

deer migration corridor and/or wintering

elk range.

The 17-acre Blue Grouse Preserve

is adjacent to a recently approved mid-

valley subdivision and is an excellent

2006

Continued on page 7


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WHO WE ARE

recently lost a great friend. 10 years ago when I moved to the Wood

River Valley she came with me. We didnt know anyone, and taking

on the newly created job of Wood River Land Trusts Executive Director

was both a great challenge and a little scary. When I was caught up in

the details and frustrations of starting the new organization, my friend

showed me the values of what we at the Land Trust were trying to pro-

tect. My friend and teacher was my dog, Salma.

From a walk along the river, a drive at sunset or a hike above the

sage into grouse country, she in her enthusiastic way showed me thesubtlety and the power of what makes this Valley so special.

With her passing, Ive taken to remembering experiences shared

with her. And knowing that others in the future will be able to have

similar experiences because of the actions of the Land Trust warms my

heart.

If you have the time in the coming days, please take a walk along

the River or any favored spot and reflect on how lucky we are to live

in such a wondrous place, and by all means take a friend, two-legged or

four, along with you.

I

Photo: Nancy Whitehead

There is an eternal

landscape, a

geography of the soul;we search for its

outlines all our lives.

Josephine Hart


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ack and his wife Marie moved to the Wood River

Valley in 1999. Their road here began with a ski vaca-

tion in 1970 followed by more ski trips and, soon, their

first summer vacation. Jacks career

in real estate investment manage-

ment took him, Marie, and their

two children to Japan in the late

1980s. It was during those years

that Marie and the kids began

spending their summers here in the

Valley, and the family considered

moving to the area.

The magnificent mountains

framing the Wood River Valley

were the main attraction for Jack

and Marie. Hailing from the Bay

Area, they appreciated the Valleys

quiet, informal, and relaxed pace.

Jacks attraction to the Valleys

natural beauty and his real estate

investment background led to his

interest in Wood River Land Trusts

work. I know, as we all do, that

the Wood River Valley has and will

continue to change from my earli-

est and fondest memories of over

thirty years ago. However, Wood

River Land Trust has the ability to

protect and preserveboth directly

through its conservation efforts and

indirectly through education and

advocacy of smart planningthe

unique and special places in the

Valley, explains Jack.Jack joined our Board of Directors in 2005 and

became Treasurer in 2006. I hope my participation and

support will make a positive difference for future genera-

tions who will visit and live in the Wood River Valley,

says Jack.

ood River Land Trusts new Planning

Coordinator, Nathan Welch, moved to the

Valley in February. Originally from northern Utah,

Nathan brings a passion for the

Intermountain West and a commit-

ment to protecting and enjoying beau-

tiful places. He has earned masters

degrees in animal and plant ecology

from Utah State and Duke universities,

while studying conservation biology,

invasive species, forest ecology, and

geographic information systems. As

the Planning Coordinator, Nathan will

participate in local land use planning

efforts, collaborate with regional non-

profits and agencies, and oversee map-

ping projects.

Nathan decided early in life that

he had a future in land conservation.

He often accompanied his father, a

wildlife biologist, on trips into the

mountains. He recalls petting a relo-cating moose in a horse trailer when

he was eight years old. Ive always

admired how familiar my dad and his

colleagues are with a place and its wild-

life. My parents taught me to respect

places and biological diversity.

As a student, Nathan attended

the last two National Land Trust

Rallies and was drawn to the commu-

nity atmosphere and sense of purpose.

Inspired by the land trust movement

and intent to make a difference in theworld, he is eager to apply his talents to land conser-

vation. As a student or a technician, Ive lived all

over the country. Im thrilled to return home to the

Intermountain West to begin a career in land conserva-

tion, especially in an active, engaging community like

the Wood River Valley. I visited the Valley for a couple

days in early January and was treated to a day of snow-

ing followed by a day of bright, blue skies. I can get used

to winter weather like that again, he says.

J W


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TO THE LAND

love to fish the Big Wood. I usually

fish alone, and find myself in places

where I will not encounter others. The

river courses this valley, its rhythm and

flow connecting us, our towns and cel-ebrations, ranches and mountain tributar-

ies. But my relationship to the river is a

private affair. My time on the river and

my encountersan elk in the middle of

winter, and owl at duskhold as still in

memory as a trout in current. I am selfish

about this. So it was unusual when one

September evening I encountered anoth-

er man, fishing the Big Wood in West

Ketchum, and we shared the river and our

stories for a time.

I was fishing upstream, casting to small

eddies without much luck, but happy. A

black bear lingering at the waters edge,

preparing to cross and find a meal in town

was as surprised as I was when we saw

each other. She scrambled up the slope,

waiting for her own private moment

before crossing the river. Upstream I

paused in the midst of a smooth glide,

marked by several exposed boulders. I

approached the first downstream rock,

considering my options. Then I heard avoice call out, Hello friend!

A man approached me, wading upstream

in the middle of the river. He appeared

old. He wore old waders, with suspend-

ers, and a flannel shirt. A funny brimmed

hat. His gear was functional, not fancy. I

am particular about the etiquette of the

sport, and reluctant with strangers, so I

was confused by this fellows confident

I Foxy Lady by Glen Shapiro (top), Warm Springs Snow Storm by Jeff Hanson(below left), Walk in the Park by Joshua Wells (below right)

Continued on page 11


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O THE LAND

example of how a subdivision can bal-

ance growth with wildlife habitat pro-

tection. Protecting important habitat

through conservation organizations

and making sound planning and zon-ing decisions will determine the per-

sistence of species like mule deer, elk,

and sage grouse for future residents

of the Wood River Valley. This gift

sets an example for protecting wildlife

even as the Valley grows, says Dave

Parrish, Regional Supervisor of the

Idaho Department of Fish and Game

and Wood River Land Trust Advisory

Board member of the donation.

We hope to continue increas-

ing the number of acres protectedthroughout the Wood River Valley.

For more information about making a

donation, or to learn about current tax

incentives, please contact our office.s

Continued from page 1

o you live in the floodplain? If so, we

hope youll check out our new brochure

on floodplain living. Get To Know Your

Closest Neighbor: A Guide for Floodplain

Homeowners has helpful information on the

role of the floodplain in the rivers health and on the uses of native

plants to beautify and protect stream banks. The new brochure can

be a valuable resource this spring as you plan improvements likenew decks, additional landscaping, and other projects. Produced

in partnership with local governments and landscaping compa-

nies, the brochure is available at county and municipal offices,

Webb, Hailey Nursery and Wood River Land Trust. To download

the brochure from our website go to: www.woodriverlandtrust.org/

resources.html.

D


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THANK YOUFOR HELPING US PROTECT THE NATURAL

AREAS AROUND US THAT ENRICH OUR LIVES

Adobe Community Relations

Alpine Enterprises, Bruce Smith

Alpine Tree Service, Pat Rainey

American Water Resources, Bruce Lium

Backwoods Mountain Sports

Butler and Hilton Ball

Blue Heron Workshop

Catering by Ric Lum

Mark and Patrice Cole

Distilled Resourced, Inc.

Flolos One Hour Photo & Portraits

Glacier Graphics, Jennifer Self

Hall & Hall

Patsy Huntington

Iconoclast Books

Images of Nature Gallery

Lave Lake Land and Livestock, LLC

Lost River Outtters

Mathieu Computer

Ed and Carmen Northen

Sacred Bear Framing

Saintsbury

Sawtooth Food Town

Sawtooth Wood Products, Bob Parker

THANK YOU

John A. Seiller

Silver Creek Outtters

Bob Stevens

Sun Valley Magazine

Thats Entertainment

Chris Thompson

Doug Werth

Wood River Resource Conservation

& Development

The W.C. Bradley Company


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he Open Space Fund is a special account that

allows us to take expedient action when bar-

gain sale opportunities on important and sensitive

lands arise. We are currently working to bolster this

account so we can purchase a discounted 4-acre lot.

We hope to trade this lot to the State of Idaho for

80 acres of land adjacent to our existing Cedar Bend

Preserve in Hailey. The successful trade would expand

the preserve to 84.5 acres that span both sides of the

T Big Wood River and that include some of the mostpopular, close-to-home trails used for hiking, skiing,snowshoeing, and bird-watching in Hailey.

Gifts to the Open Space Fund help us act quickly

when singular opportunities to protect the Valleys nat-

ural areas come our way. For more information about

how you can contribute to this fund, contact Robyn

Watson at (208) 788-3947 or

[email protected].


10/12

OTHER NEWSBoard of DirectorsClark Gerhardt, President

Ed Cutter, Vice President

Jack Kueneman, Treasurer

Robin Garwood, Secretary

Jerry Bashaw

William Burnham

John Flattery

Heather King

Patricia Klahr

Bill Lehman

Liz Mitchell

Steve Strandberg

Joan Swift

Tom Swift

Chris Thompson

Barbara Thrasher

Doris Tunney

Liz Warrick

Advisory Committee

David Anderson

Peter Becker

Ranney Draper

Rebekah Helzel

Dave Parrish

Larry Schoen

John Seiller

Bruce Tidwell

StaffScott Boettger, Executive Director

Morgan Buckert, Membership Assistant

Melanie Dahl, Executive Assistant

Kate Giese, Director of Conservation

Kathryn Goldman, Project Coordinator

Diane Kahm, Development Assistant

Heather Kimmel, Program& Membership Coordinator

Robyn Watson, Major Gifts Officer

Nathan Welch, Planning Coordinator

buildingmaterialthriftstore


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wood river land trust newsletter spring 2007

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