wood river land trust

Summer 2012

Photo by Trey Spaulding

Church Farm

Spring-fed Willow Creek flows through the Land Trusts Church Farm Preserve below Bellevue.

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

wood river land trust

Presidents Letter Jack Kueneman

As my term winds down as President, I would like to reflect on a few things happening at the Wood River Land Trust. First and most important, I want to report to our donors and supporters that the Land Trust staff is of the highest quality and creates/presents a great team to accomplish our mission. I believe the value of the organization to our community is directly related to the skill and dedication of the Land Trusts staff. It has been my sincere pleasure to work with such a fine group. Second, I would like to highlight a significant achievement of the Wood River Land Trust Accreditation in 2010! Weve previously reported this to our donors and supporters, but I believe its worthwhile to underscore the importance and value to our community. In 2009 the Land Trust opened all of its files and submitted its written policies and procedures to the national Land Trust Alliance Accreditation Commission seeking accreditation. This recognition has been achieved by only about 200 of our countrys 1,700 land trusts. Accreditation establishes/certifies that the Wood River Land Trust is operating with industry standard best practices, including in its core conservation work, financial management, reporting and fundraising. Very importantly, in the areas of ethical conduct and conflict of interest, accreditation recognizes the high standards we have set for the Land Trust staff and Board. We hope we have earned the trust and confidence of our donors, supporters and the community at large. In addition, I would like to report that the Land Trust headquarters building at 119 E. Bullion Street in Hailey has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the Idaho Historic Preservation Council has recognized our restoration work on the adjacent Anderson House for preserving Idaho history. Not only does the Land Trust seek to protect and preserve our natural world, but values the history of the Wood River Valley. Finally, I hope you will give my fellow Board member, Trent Jones the Land Trusts next President the same support and encouragement that I received. For those of you who do not know Trent, he has excellent knowledge of the Wood River Valley and surrounding areas, with a great background in conservation. It has been a rewarding experience and privilege to serve as President of your communitys Wood River Land Trust. I look forward to continuing on the Board. Sincerely,

our land trust

Board Profile, Richard Carr
The newest member of the Board, Richard Carr, was born and raised in the mid-west near Chicago and later in up-state Michigan. As a boy he always wanted to be out in the woods and near streams. His first pair of skis at age 10 as a Christmas present was followed by a fly rod two years later. Moving to San Francisco soon after he graduated from college, he immediately fell in love with Yosemite. He spent a lot of time backpacking, fishing, and skiing in the Sierra and southern Cascades. After first skiing on Baldy in 1964, he brought his young family to Sun Valley on vacation in the summer of 1972. Richard and his wife, Jeanne Meyers, have been full time residents in the Heatherlands since 2004. With an undergraduate degree in civil engineering from Michigan State University, he became a registered engineer in California. Later he earned an MBA from the University of San Francisco and worked as a management consultant, trouble shooter, and officer in a number of high tech companies, many of which were in the telecom industry. Every time I crest the Timmerman Hills and look into the Wood River valley I am moved. I feel very lucky to call such a special place home. I love skiing on Baldy, fishing the Big Wood or the Big Lost, snowshoeing near Galena Lodge, or hiking in our mountains. We have a rare combination of scenic beauty, outdoor recreation opportunity, and cultural activity. Having visited many mountain towns, I know ours is truly a special place which we must protect and enhance. I believe the Wood River Land Trust is a leader in that effort so I am pleased to be able to help it fulfill its mission. m

community
Thank you to our volunteers
Dev Khalsa is an award-winning photographer, a mother of two girls, and wife to her high-school sweetheart. She has been a photographer for 15 years and has owned her own photography business for seven years, with a studio on Main Street in Hailey. Dev was formally trained in Photojournalism and has taught with some of the worlds best photographers at the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops. She has also received international exposure through her published work. Dev has always been a documentary photographer at heart, but believes that photographing people is more than simply capturing the moments before her. In her words, Providing truly great images goes beyond technical expertise. It requires insight, intuition and the ability to connect on an emotional level. Dev judged the photography for our Heart of the Valley contest the last two years and has donated beautiful photos for use by the Land Trust. She says she is honored to be a small part of what the Wood River Land Trust offers to our wonderful community. Nils Ribi, a venture capitalist specializing in high technology businesses for the past quarter century, has been a Sun Valley resident for nearly that long. Nils is also a member of the Sun Valley City Council, currently serving in his second term. Prior to that, he served for six years on the Sun Valley Planning and Zoning Commission. His focus has been on open space and hillside preservation. Nils holds a BS degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in quantitative analysis from the University of Montana. Although photography is only a hobby for Nils, his photographs have been nationally published, and he has won several awards for his work. He enjoys providing photography services to a number of local non-profit organizations and recently began photographing for Sun Valley Magazine. In particular, Nils has enjoyed working with the Wood River Land Trust on several projects including working alongside Dev Khalsa judging the past two Heart of the Valley photo contests, and teaching the Land Trusts photography workshop field course. Nils and his wife, Patricia Brolin Ribi, have been early supporters of the Land Trust. m

Jill Brown Joins Staff

After vacationing in the Valley over 13 years ago, Jill decided to leave the city and head west. A friendly mid-westerner turned Wood River Valley local, she joins the Land Trust staff with a degree in communications management from Southwest Missouri University. For nearly 20 years she has provided business development and marketing support for architectural, engineering and interior design firms, with 12 of those years working in our beloved Valley. Before joining the Land Trust team in December, 2011, Jill was a stay-at-home mom for a little over a year. Staying home with two toddlers, she says, is much more challenging than coming to work every day! That is why I am grateful for the opportunity to work for an organization that is making a difference, not only for me but for my childrens future. Jill enjoys back-country camping, music festivals, snowboarding, gardening, yurt trips and riding cruisers with her husband and two young children. The Land Trust welcomes Jill and feels she is a strong addition to our land conservation team. m

what we do

The Boardwalk is Open

Pull up a bench and enjoy the sights and sounds of the Croy Creek Wetlands Boardwalk! After three years of planning and construction, the Wood River Land Trust completed the Boardwalk in 2011 and installed benches last year as well. Please come visit, bring your binoculars, and keep count of the birds you see and hear. The welcome pavilion is installed on the entrance path to the Boardwalk and interpretive signage should be up in the pavilion by mid-June. The construction that is going on is related to the pedestrian bridge we are installing just south of Lions Park, linking both sides of the Draper Wood River Preserve. If the barricades for public safety are up on the road, just park in the large open area to the north of the ballfields and walk over to the Boardwalk. Look for the Nature Preserve sign. Funding is still needed for signage and other restoration efforts in the area. For more information contact Daphne Muehle, Director of Development, at dmuehle@woodriverlandtrust.org. m

Pat Robinson and Duncan enjoy the bird sounds and solitude on an afternoon at the boardwalk

Wood River Land Trust Receives ORCHID Award

The Wood River Land Trust won an ORCHID Award for Contribution to Historic Preservation by Preservation for Idaho, a program of the Idaho Historic Preservation Council. The Land Trust completed renovation of the Anderson House at 119 N. Second, in Hailey, in 2009. The award identifies excellence and a contribution to historic and cultural preservation, and preservation-sensitive new construction. The Anderson House, adjacent to the Land Trusts office, was purchased and renovated for staff housing, thanks to the generosity of Lyn and David Anderson. Its restoration was recognized as a contribution to the preservation of Idahos historic and cultural resources and Haileys mining past. The earliest structures on the lot date to 1885, and a newspaper found behind a wall was dated 1884.

The Land Trust is enthusiastic about fostering preservation and protection of historic landmarks. We restored the Land Trust office at 119 E. Bullion in 2001 and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011. The ORCHID awards ceremony was May 19 at the Masonic Temple in Boise. m
Stained glass was added to the front door of the Anderson House

Project Attributes
SCEniC ValuE 10%
important Wildlife areas 10% Habitat Value 10% Species of Concern 5%

agriCulturE 15%

Prime Farmland 5% agricultural Value 10%

WildliFE Habitat 25%

Education and outreach 5% access to Public lands and Waterways 20%

Stream Connectivity 5% Fish Species of Concern 5%

Water Quantity and Quality 15%

PubliC aCCESS 25%

Evaluating Conservation Values

Wood River Land Trust is faced with the dilemma of choosing which places to protect and restore and how to plan our future conservation efforts. There are many worthwhile projects of varying complexities which make our decisions difficult. In order to be strategic about our conservation work and take into account our small staff size, we developed an evaluation method to give Board and staff the ability to prioritize projects. The project planning methodology is a framework that reflects our conservation priorities and values. The chart above illustrates how we weight these values or attributes and the importance of each based on our strategic plan. As you can see, we believe that wildlife habitat, water resources and public access all share equal priority as conservation values. Using this chart as a starting point, we can begin to evaluate existing and possible projects. A matrix, which lists values based on attributes such as acres of wetlands or farmland, is used to rank properties and projects in conjunction with this chart. The results help staff focus our resources on safeguarding places for those here now and generations that follow. m

Photo by Trey Spaulding

WatEr rESourCES 25%

thank you for helping us achieve our goals

The following donors generously contributed to Wood River Land Trust between April 1, 2011, and March 31, 2012.

volunteers help out!

On December 15, a group of hardy and willing souls turned out to do cleanup work at the Wood River Land Trusts Neher Preserve. The Preserve, located east of Shoshone on Highway 93 on the Little Wood River, was donated to the Land Trust by Juanita Neher in 2005 for the benefit of the community and in memory of Doc Neher. Left to right: Lanny Ames, Gene Wright, Dave Avelar, three SUWS students, Ed Papenberg, Ashley Wells, Peter Gugoni, Barry Myers, and Steve Grupe

a Chilly Workday at the neher Preserve

restoration Work at boxcar bend

On Saturday, May 19, a committed group of volunteers, including Trout Unlimited and Wood River Land Trust members and staff, continued restoration work at the Land Trusts Boxcar Bend Preserve. They put wood chips on the trails, pulled weeds, and stabilized the hillside trail. Afterward, the group was rewarded with a tasty BBQ. Front row: Bob Knoebel, Mark York, Linda Richmond, Fred Wagner, Keri York, Carmen Northen; Back row: Eric Eberhard, Frank Wetmore, Butch Harper, Mike Treshow, Richard Carr, John Ashton, Ed Northen, Ed Cutter, Chad Charney, John Finnell. Not pictured: Daphne Muehle, 7 Woody Friedlander

on the land
birding at Kelly reservoir
A group of approximately 30 people turned out on Saturday, May 13, to spy birds at the Wood River Land Trusts easement at Kelly Reservoir in the Camas Prairie. The land is owned by Ralph Campanale, M.D., who generously let us explore his beautiful property, and everyone was impressed by the land, water resources, and Dr. Campanales conservation efforts. Led by bird experts Larry Barnes, Brian Sturges, Gary Stitzinger, Poo Wright Pulliam, and Jean Seymour, the group saw 32 species of birds (in addition to horned lizards and pronghorn antelope).

* deceased

Wildflower Walk at Sheep bridge Preserve

Thank you to those of you who joined the Sawtooth Botanical Garden and Wood River Land Trust on a wildflower walk Thursday May 31st on Wood River Land Trusts Sheep Bridge Preserve. The Lupine and buckwheat were in bloom. A big thanks to botanist Allison Marks who led an educational walk.

the land trusts Choice for the Heritage Court

Each year the Blaine County Historical Museum honors women who have played an important role in the rich history of the Wood River Valley by inclusion on the annual Heritage Court, now in its ninth year. Valley organizations are invited to nominate a local resident, and this year the Land Trust was asked to take part. We chose Ann Christensen and she, happily for us, said yes. Ann was our first choice. Her strong conservation ethic coincides with the work and philosophy of the Land Trust. Our appreciation for Ann centers primarily on her work in environmental education, particularly with kids: from Science Time at the Community Library, the Ants and Plants Class for 6-10 year olds, winter wildlife tracking, Bugs and Butterflies classes, salmon education, river ecology, wolf education, and much more. Her description of Science Time: It is billed for 3 to 5 year olds but we get them from 0-95. Its a fun hour at the library and most mornings I bring a live guest, everything from snakes to miniature horses, reptiles, fish, invertebrateswhatever shows up in my life or whatever I can find in nature. Her knowledge of our natural world seems limitless, but most impressive is the fact that she gives so much of her time to share with hands-on experiences for kids and adults. She has the ability to draw us into her world. The Heritage Court will be celebrated throughout the summer, with an introductory tea, the coronation ceremony, as well as participation in our local parades.

Science after School

An enthusiastic group of 4th graders from Hailey Elementary School are taking part in a program developed by the Environmental Resource Center (ERC) that gets the kids outside to investigate our natural surroundings. The group chose to do some restoration and cleanup work at the Land Trusts Draper Wood River Preserve to revegetate the area disturbed by construction of the kiosk behind the main Aspen Drive entrance. Their interest in caring for this community Preserve is an inspiration to us all! So far, they have spread native grass seed and have received donations of native shrubs like Woods rose, and serviceberry. The shrubs were donated by Whiteheads Landscaping and Big Wood Landscape. Thank you to these committed students and to Hadley DeBree for organizing these energetic kids into a working team!

good news from bruce tidwell and building Material thrift Store
The construction industry is finally emerging from the fog of our economic downturn. Numerous contractors relay to me that phones are ringing and their schedules are filling! At the Building Material Thrift Store we are feeling the change as well. We are actively salvaging decks and kitchens. Customers are buying long stored items with newfound enthusiasm. We even have houses to move.our first in close to two years. We at the BMTS are extremely excited to see the start of a healthier construction season. We appreciate what that means to contractors, service workers, and our support for the Wood River Land Trust. BMTS recycles building materials, larger household items, furniture, appliances and even homes through deconstruction or relocation. The Building Material Thrift Store, 3930 S. Woodside Blvd. in Hailey, has an everchanging inventory. Proceeds from sales help fund the work of the Wood River Land Trust.

(208) 788-0014 buildingmaterialthriftstore.org follow us!

wood river land trust

Protecting the Heart of the Valley
Board of Directors
Jack Kueneman, President Trent Jones, Vice President John French, Treasurer Robin Garwood, Secretary David Anderson Richard Carr Ed Cutter John Flattery Heather King Jane Mason Liz Mitchell Rebecca Patton Wolf Riehle John Fell Stevenson Megan Stevenson Steve Strandberg Barbara Thrasher

Now and for the Future

This newsletter is published by:

Staff
Scott Boettger, Executive Director Melanie Dahl, Community Lands Coordinator Trey Spaulding, Director of Operations Daphne Muehle, Director of Development Jill Brown, Development Assistant Keri York, Senior Conservation Coordinator

Wood River Land Trust

119 East Bullion Street Hailey, Idaho 83333 208.788.3947 (telephone) 208.788.5991 (fax) info@woodriverlandtrust.org www.woodriverlandtrust.org Tax ID# 82-0474191

Advisory Committee
Fred Brossy Ranney Draper Larry Schoen John Seiller Tom Swift Bruce Tidwell Liz Warrick

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8th annual Heart of the Valley

if you havent seen it yet, the winning entry in the adult photography category, Dog in Perpetual Motion by Beverley Robertson, will make you smile. Student first place was Proctor Loop in Fall by Brooke Beckwith. The theme this year was Our Valley in Motion which brought many intriguing entries in writing and photography. We added video as a new category, and the winner, Dancing Branch by Courtney Wangberg, beautifully captured movement. Our thanks to judges Nils Ribi and Dev Khalsa, who take the responsibility very seriously!

PHOTOGRAPHY WINNERS:

adult: First Place: Dog in Perpetual Motion by Beverley Robertson Honorable Mention: Brown Drake #1 by Glen Shapiro Staff Favorite: Snowshoe Out Goodales Cutoff by Kathi Wagner Student: First Place: Proctor Loop in Fall by Brooke Beckwith Honorable Mention/Staff Favorite: Dancing Shadows by Ryan Sandoz

thank you to our generous sponsors:

WRITING WINNERS:

adult: First Place: Seasons in Motion by Rose Rumball-Petre Honorable Mention/Staff Favorite: Our Lives Together by Rose Rumball-Petre Student: First Place: A Change for Time by Callie Weber Honorable Mention: Playing in the Wood River Valley by Abigail Barton Staff Favorite: A Valley Sonnet by Adeline Gage thank you to everyone who entered our 2012 contest! Go to our website www.woodriverlandtrust.org to see all the 2012 entries.

Mule Shoe Tavern

Ketchum/Sun Valley Visitor Center

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SUMMER 2012
The Boardwalk is Open, page 4 Wood River Land Trust Receives ORCHID Award, page 4 Project Attributes, page 5 Donors, pages 6 - 9 Workday at the Neher Preserve, page 6 Restoration Work at Boxcar Bend, page 7 Birding at Kelly Reservoir, page 8 Wildflower Walk at Sheep Bridge, page 9 The Land Trusts Choice for the Heritage Court, page 10 Science After School, page 10 2012 Heart of the Valley Contest, page 11

A pronghorn antelope rests in the sun at the Land Trusts Timbered Dome Preserve just east of Craters of the Moon National Monument

timbered dome Preserve

wood river land trust

wood river land trust

Protecting the Heart of the Valley Now and for the Future

119 East Bullion Street Hailey, Idaho 83333 208 788-3947 www.woodriverlandtrust.org
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Printed locally on 50% recycled paper using soy-based inks

Photo by Trey Spaulding