Protecting the heart of the valley...now and for the future.

A publicatio of Woo Rivr La Trust www.woorivrlatrust.org ifo@woorivrlatrust.org

WOOD RIVER LAND TRUST

spRing 2009

rct

WOODRIVERLANDTRUST

an and Larry Stone strongly believedthat the scenic open space and fishand wildlife habitat along Big SpringsCreek in the Pahsimeroi Valley deservedprotection. So in 2008, working with theWood River Land Trust, the Stones placeda conservation easement on their 160acres there. Residents of the Wood RiverValley for over 30 years, Nan and Larryenjoy the fishing, hunting, and wildlifeviewing opportunities in the valley. “Nanand I purchased the Big Springs propertyto be part of preserving the future of thePahsimeroi Valley,” Larry commented. “Itis one of the last undeveloped valleys inIdaho.”Located near the little town of May,Big Springs Creek and another unnamedcreek, both tributaries of the PahsimeroiRiver, flow across the property and provide74 acres of riparian habitat for wildlife suchas mule deer, bald eagle, and long-billedcurlew. The Big Springs ConservationEasement is the first Land Trust projectto benefit three species of trout and salm-on that are listed as Threatened underthe Endangered Species Act: bull trout,Chinook salmon and steelhead trout.Protection of natural stream coursesis an important part of maintaining andimproving fish habitat. “Big Springs pro-vides year-round habitat for bull trout, andrearing habitat for Chinook salmon andsteelhead,” says Kathryn Goldman, WoodRiver Land Trust Project Coordinator.“Protecting these riparian areas is a keypart of keeping water clean and maintain-ing the cold temperatures these fish needto survive.”To enhance migration of salmon,steelhead, and bull trout, the IdahoDepartment of Fish and Game is work-ing with the Bureau of Reclamation toimprove fish movement through BigSprings Creek and will install a new fishpassage structure this summer.Along with these improvement effortsand thanks to the conservation easementcompleted by Nan and Larry Stone withthe Wood River Land Trust, Big SpringsCreek will be protected forever.

Land

Top: Big Springs Creek in the Pahsimeroi Valley Above: Larry Stone with neighboring easementdonor and Land Trust Board member Doris Tunney

Preserving the Future of Big Springs Creek

Who We ARe

n December, the Wood River Land Trust finalized anagreement to protect 360 acres of land known as theOld Chilly Property on the Big Lost River 15 miles northof Mackay. The landowners, Phyllis and Bob Ching andpartners, contacted the Land Trust in 2005 to discuss theiroptions and decided that a conservation easement wouldbe the best way to fulfill their goal to protect this property.As Phyllis Ching commented, “We wanted the property toremain in its natural state.”The Old ChillyProperty is part of thebreathtaking vistaalong Highway 93between Challis andMackay. Its name isin reference to thenearby ghost townof Chilly, founded inthe late 1880s, which was named in an ironic nod to theextreme winter cold in the Big Lost River Valley.Riparian and floodplain areas, covering 290 acres,are the primary natural habitat. Phyllis notes, “The mostunique aspect of the property is the Big Lost River itself. Ilove seeing water come up in the spring time.” Stands of black cottonwoods, willow thickets, and native grasses com-prise its typical cottonwood gallery forest; sagebrush steppecovers the remainder of the property. The Old Chilly ease-ment protects these wetland and sagebrush habitats whileenabling the Chings to retain one building envelope andcontinue their limited agricultural practices.The habitat on the property hosts a variety of perma-nent and migratory wildlife. Old Chilly offers food andshelter for mule deer; migration corridors and critical winterrange are adjacent to the property. Pronghorn antelope findwinter range here as well. The property has the potential tosupport important wildlife, as identified by Idaho Fish andGame, such as gray wolves and pygmy rabbits, and peregrinefalcons are noted by IDFG to be within or near the OldChilly Property.Old Chilly is bordered by BLM land on the east andwest so this new conservation easement extends the sweepof protected land in the Big Lost River Valley. Phyllis andBob Ching deserve our appreciation for their foresight inpermanently protecting this land.

he Wood RiverLand Trust hasconcluded a very suc-cessful year. Articlesin this newsletteraddress our conser-vation accomplish-ments. In light of the uncertain finan-cial times facing thecountry, I want toreport on our finan-cial situation.The fiscal yearthat just ended wasthe most successful in our history measured by the fundsraised, but we know that repeating that achievement in theyear we just began will be a difficult challenge. In anticipa-tion of the changed economic environment, we have takensteps to adjust our operations.Our staff members have examined their work and havemade changes to their responsibilities to reflect the high-est priorities of our strategic plan. We have made painfuladjustments to our staffing level in order to bring our pay-roll and benefit expense levels down to reach the goal of atleast a 20% reduction in our operating expense budget.As we have done every year in the past, we began thenew fiscal year with an operating cash balance equal to atleast six months of the year’s projected operating budget.Generous gifts from several families have allowed usto acquire and improve two houses in Hailey so that wecan provide economical housing opportunities for someof our staff members and for AmeriCorps volunteers whowill serve as interns to support our staff. Another househas graciously been made available for a staff member at aminimum rate.Our most important goal is to continue to serve ourmission to protect open space in this very special communi-ty. We will do our best to continue to justify the confidenceour supporters have placed in us.

President’s Message

President Ed Cutter

athan Welch, our busy Planning Coordinator,led a winter wildlife walk in February at theDraper Wood River Preserve. Because Nathan hasa BA in biology and an MA in both animal andplant ecology, it’s no wonder he is outside everychance he gets. His favorite activities are hiking,backpacking, cross country skiing, and, of course,studying nature.

Meet Our Staff

WhAT We do

360 Acres of Old Chilly

ocated along the boundary between Sun Valley andKetchum, the 0.9-mile Sellgren Trail was created by atrail easement donated by owners of Bigwood Golf CourseLLC, Elizabeth Bosted and William Sellgren, to extend theWhite Clouds Trail system. The Wood River Land Trustentered into the easement agreement in partnership withBigwood Golf, Sun Valley Company, the City of Sun Valley,and the City of Ketchum to ensure permanent recreationalaccess for the public on a previously private portion of thesystem. The Land Trust will regularly monitor the trail andSun Valley Company will maintain it.

Carol Blackburn shares her lie long love o plants

arol Blackburn is our go-to volunteer for ques-tions about wildlife and plants. She has aBS in both wildlife management and horticulture.Carol says her love of botany began as she studiedwildlife because she needed to know “what the crit-ters eat!” She arrived in the Wood River Valley in1979 and has been involved with the Land Trust“forever.” When she leads our nature and wild-flower walks, her enthusiasm and knowledge makeeach activity a real pleasure. Thank you, Carol!

Meet Our Volunteers

Nathan Welch in the winter woods

Continued on page 7

The Sellgren Trail: A Permanent Connection

Map o Sellgren Trail above White Clouds Gol Course

ConneCTions

Winners of Our 5th AnnualHeart of the Valley Contest

n awards reception was held January 21st for thewinners of the 2008 Heart of the Valley Writingand Photography Contest. Contestants were asked todescribe the ways in which the valley inspires them.To read the Writing winners and view enlargementsof the Photography winners, visit our website:www.woodriverlandtrust.org.

Writing Winners

1st Place:

Our Voyage through the Valley

by Jack Reidy

2nd Place:

Morning Hike

by Summer Smith

3rd Place:

Home Sweet Home

by Tony Taylor

Honorable Mention:

Valley of Compassion

by Chris McAvoy

Sta Favorite:

Full Circle

by Teresa McGoffin

Prizes generously donated by:

Special thanks to:Media sponsor:Sponsored by:

Be Outside Idaho

“Connecting Children with Nature in Idaho, from backyards to mountaintops.”

n 2006, Richard Louv, author of the highly praised

LastChild in the Woods

, called for a national campaign to“Leave No Child Inside.” Louv co-founded the Children and Nature Network (C&NN) to reconnect children and natureand cure what he termed Nature Deficit Disorder. C&NN isnow an international movement to give children “opportuni-ties to experience and learn from nature during their growingyears….”In Idaho, 2009 has beendesignated “Be Outside Idaho -Children in Nature” year. Go towww.beoutsideidaho.org for 101Things to Do Outside with yourchild. The activities are all simpleyet engage a child in nature. TheWood River Land Trust supportsthis vital program and urges youand your child to Be Outside!

Be a Master Naturalist

his spring, the Wood River Land Trust and partnersare sponsoring the Wood River Valley Chapter of theIdaho Master Naturalist Program. Our goal is to develop acorps of well-informed volunteers to actively work for smartstewardship of Idaho’s natural environment. Participantswill receive training in an array of natural history topicssuch as geology, riparian restoration, and ecosystem manage-ment.Included in the local program is a commitment to 40hours of volunteer service with a sponsoring organization.These volunteers will primarily be involved with environ-mental education about the Wood River Valley’s naturalhistory and how to protect it. For more information, contactKeri York, Stewardship Coordinator, at kyork@woodriver-landtrust.org.

1st Place,

Felt Hats All in a Row

by Beverley Robertson2nd Place,

Happy Valley Dogs!

by Jill Parker 3rd Place,

Caterpillar

by Angela HicksSta Favorite andHonorable Mention,

First Snow

by Michael Edminster Honorable Mention,

Big Wood Goose

by Terry AdemHonorable Mention,

First Light

by Hank Dart

Don’t miss Wood River Land Trust at the 2009 Sun Valley Food & Wine Festival. Members only Mushroom Walk date to be determined.Please check the calendar on our website or urther details.

Sun Valley Food & Wine Festival

he Building Material Thrift Store wishes to thankall our generous donors and customers for theirgreat support. It’s because of this support that we arecelebrating being in business for 10 years.So many customers tell us that BMTS is theirfavorite store. They love seeing how fast our inven-tory changes and the high quality items we continu-ally receive: doors, windows, plumbing, appliances, andmuch more.If you are in the midst of spring cleaning, now isthe time to recycle at BMTS. To all of you who dorecycle, thank you! Keeping materials out of the land-fill stream is one of our primary goals.If you haven’t been to our new, larger warehouse at3930 South Woodside, you are in for a surprise. Comeon down. We want to be your favorite store.And don’t forget: Proceeds from sales support thework of the Wood River Land Trust.