The Land Bulletin
Protecting and restoring our natural lands and healthy waters since 1994.
Double Springs Ranch
In this Issue...
Protecting Double Springs
Ranch, page 1
Barbara Farm: An Organic
Oasis, page 1 & 3
President’s Message, page 1
Your Choices Can Protect
the Big Wood River, page 2
Heart of the Valley
Photographs and Writings,
page 4
Heart and Soul, page 5
ADOPT A PRESERVE:
Connecting to Cedar Bend,
page 6
Sage Grouse Strut, page 6
MARCH 2006
Protecting Double
Springs Ranch
D
r. Doris Tunney approached Wood
River Land Trust in the summer of
2005 about permanently protecting
her working ranch in the Pahsimeroi River
Valley at the foothills of Mt. Borah. The
majority of Double Springs Ranch, approxi-
mately 550 of its 640 acres, is pivot-irrigated
cropland used to grow specialty horse hay.
The Ranch is also an inholding—a piece
of land surrounded on all sides by public
lands. These surrounding lands have been
designated by the BLM as winter range for
elk. The voluntary agreement between
Doris and Wood River Land Trust prohibits
subdivision of the Ranch to protect the land
for farming and wildlife habitat.
Doris recalls seeing the land for the
first time and learning it was for sale. “The
land is very unique and special,” she says. “I
Barbara Farm: knew if I purchased it I had to protect it.”
An Organic Oasis
President’s Message
John Flattery, Board President
S
ince our founding
over 10 years ago,
Wood River Land
Trust has employed the
classic conservation
tools to protect open
space and wildlife habi-
tat in the Wood River
Valley. These tools
John Flattery
include donations of
conservation easements, donations of land,
and donations of money with which to
purchase land in need of protection. Our
Judy harvesting challenge today, as development pressures
continue to increase, is determining how
F
red and Judy Brossy know how to make things we can play a role in the public process and
grow in the Magic Valley. After twenty-two influence growth patterns so that our natu-
years of managing Barbara Farm, Fred and ral areas and wildlife habitat are protected
Judy successfully protected the farm in perpetuity for future generations.
and made it their own. Continued on pg 3 Continued on pg 7
1
 Meet Our Board of Directors
Liz Mitchell
Board Member
“What I love about the valley is that
no matter the time of year, there is
always an opportunity to explore
right from the back door. I felt it
was important to join Wood River
Land Trust to help preserve open
space and wildlife habitat right here
in the valley.”
As an environmental lawyer, Liz has been involved
with highly contentious issues. She recognizes the value of
people working collaboratively to protect their environment
and quality of life, not just for their benefit but also for the
next generation. Liz says, “my 7-year old nephew is obsessed
with fishing in the Riverside Pond in Hailey and it is great
to know that he will be able to continue to fish there and in
the Big Wood River as he grows up.”
Liz moved to the Wood River Valley in 2000 from
Oregon, where she practiced environmental law for a non-
profit firm. She currently has her own practice.
She and her husband, Mike, spend their free time nordic
and backcountry skiing, trail running, and trying to get at
least one red tomato from their garden. Liz joined our board
in February 2005.
Your Choices Can Protect
the Big Wood River!
These simple actions will keep our water clean and our
fish healthy.
• Site new homes as far away from the river as possible to
lessen flood risks.
• Preserve cottonwood trees and native vegetation along the
riverbanks to stop erosion, provide shade, and preserve the
cool water temperatures fish need during hot months.
• Use native plants including Coyote Willow, River Birch,
Redtwig Dogwood, and Chokecherry when landscap-
ing along river banks. Immediately beyond the stream
bank use Booth, Geyers, or Whiplash Willows. Also use
Elderberry and Currants.
• When possible, do not remove cottonwood trees that fall
in the river; in-stream wood slows the erosive action of
high flows.
• Construct paths to the river with hand tools and size them
four feet wide or less.
• Use fish-friendly construction materials, such as water-per-
meable asphalt for driveways, to allow water to return to
the aquifer.
• Keep our water clean by using organic fertilizers and pest
control methods in your yard.
• Pass this information along to a neighbor, friend, or land-
scape company!

“A city of trees, all scraping the For more information or a complete list of recommended plants
to use in the floodplain, contact Wood River Land Trust at
sky, line the river that rushes by like 788-3947.
calmness on a busy day.”
—Tessa Barrow

THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS PLANNED GIFTS TO

TO MAKE A PLANNED GIFT WOOD RIVER LAND TRUST
TO WOOD RIVER LAND TRUST.
Cash Contributions Cash Contributions
Planned gifts enable future generations to enjoy the
natural areas that make this valley special. Will or Living Trust Land Contributions

You may wish to consult your tax advisor to deter-

mine which types of donations—cash, land, stock IRA or SEP IRA Voluntary Conservation
transfers, or a combination thereof—are best suited Agreements
to your estate plan. 401 K

For more information, contact Jan Peppler

Life Insurance Policies
GIVE A GIFT
at (208) 788-3947 or T H AT W I L L L A S T

FOREVER
jpeppler@woodriverlandtrust.org.

2
Barbara Farm: An Organic Oasis, continued from page 1
The 1800-acre Barbara Farm three miles west of Shoshone on the
northern edge of the Snake River Plain contains 300 acres of irrigated
farmland surrounded by sagebrush and basalt outcrops.
The Little Wood River bisects the farm, creating a river corridor
that provides a home for many species that otherwise would not exist.
Because the farm is managed organically, no synthetic chemicals or fer-
tilizers are used, so the farm is a safe haven for wildlife including deer,
elk, beaver, fox, owls, and songbirds.
Thanks to a partnership two years in the making, the Brossys were
able to protect Barbara Farm by collaborating with Wood River Land
Trust, the Farm and Ranchlands Protection Program (FRPP) through
the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and the land’s
former owner, Ernest A. Bryant III. This partnership resulted in a
396-acre conservation agreement that forever protects 297 acres of
irrigated farmland and 99 acres of riparian area from future subdivision Cooper Brossy on the tractor
and development to ensure the land will remain in cultivation and the
wildlife habitat will be protected for all time. This is Fred and Judy’s story . . .
Making the Farm Our Own by Fred Brossy

D
espite its neglected appearance, when Judy and I first drove down the lane at Barbara Farm with a local realtor in May of 1983,
I knew it was a special place. The next month, when I showed the farm to my employer as a prospective acquisition for a
ranching operation, he had the same impression and immediately decided to purchase it. Over the next twenty-three years in
my official capacity as Manager, and my self-appointed role of land steward, I have become intimately connected with many different
facets of the farm, and have grown to love it as if it were my own.
Initially, our relationship with the land was like that of a new bride with her first home—we worked hard to clean
up the effects of years of inattention by the former owners and to make the farm our own. At the same time, we were
making the farm more “farmable,” with improvements to the irrigation systems and buildings. During those early years
on the farm, there was also the challenge of figuring out how to make it “work” as a farm in the commodified world of
modern agriculture. Due to its small and irregular-shaped fields, Barbara Farm does not lend itself well to the “econo-
mies of scale” necessary to survive in conventional agriculture today. After eventually facing this reality, we moved towards a 100-
percent irrigated pasture and livestock operation. Several years into this venture, it became apparent that the farm lacked sufficient
irrigation delivery systems to keep 300 acres of grass adequately irrigated during the heat of the summer. This realization came at the
same time I was seriously considering farming organically.
Part of the uniqueness of Barbara Farm is how well it fits within the wildness of the
desert surrounding it and the river flowing through it. Our challenge was to farm in a
manner that minimized, as much as possible, disruptions to the surrounding ecosystem.
An obvious first step in this direction was to avoid using chemicals such as herbicides
and insecticides that are harmful to the farm’s flora and fauna, so adopting organic meth-
ods seemed to make sense. Moreover, the grass and legume pastures we had used for
raising livestock had increased the soil’s fertility over the years, which made growing our
first organic row crops more feasible. For the last ten years, Barbara Farm has been certi-
A handfull of carrot seed fied organic. Today we grow potatoes, beans, wheat, asparagus, and vegetable seed crops,
which are marketed under the Ernie’s Organics label, as well as hay and pasture to main-
tain soil fertility. Our plans for the future include marketing more of our crops locally and producing our own energy right on the farm.
Farming organically can be particularly challenging, but it is extremely rewarding as well. As a farmer, I am very gratified
to be able to grow not only healthy and nutritious food, but also to be part of the miraculous process of growing and select-
ing seed—the most important part of sustainability. Because we have been able to create a sustainable farming operation
at Barbara Farm, when the opportunity arose to purchase it, we were ready to take the next step and move from manager/
stewards to become owner/stewards. We are very proud to have been part of the conservation agreement process that
ensures that this land will remain a farm forever, and we are very grateful to the NRCS and Wood River Land Trust and
the generous donors who made this possible.

3
 Photographs & Writings Honor the Heart of the Wood River Valley
T Winners of Wood River Land Trust’s 2005 Heart of the Valley Multi-Media Contest
his fall, Wood River Land Trust asked com-
munity members to send their photographs
and writings that captured their favorite
places in the Valley. The response was inspiring, as
was the array of special places that were chronicled.
Entries featured runs on Baldy, secluded spots along
the Big Wood River, a playground’s furthest reaches,
and our cottonwood forests to name a few.
We received a number of beautiful photographs
and eloquent writings this year, and the public
response to these works has been great. Dozens of
people made a special trip to the Images of Nature
Gallery during the December Gallery Walk just to
see these photographs.
Participants were honored and winners
announced at a reception on January 17th at the Sun
Valley Center, Hailey, where all submitted photo-
graphs and writings were displayed for the public.
4
PHOTOGRAPHY:
1st Place: “Less is More” by Joshua Wells
2nd Place: “First Snow, from Dollar Mountain” by Beverly Robertson
3rd Place: “The Fall Trailing of the Sheep” by Jennifer Montgomery
Honorable mentions:
“God’s Perfect Fall Day for Jim Agnew” by Sheri Hodge
“Grandkids Searching for the Pot of Gold” by Jim Hodge
Staff Favorite: “Little Fall Creek” by Wayne R. Clayton.
SHORT WRITING:
1st Place: “Heart and Soul” by Sky Smith
2nd Place: “The Woods” by Tessa Barrow
3rd Place: “Mountain of My Dreams” by Tom Marron
Honorable Mentions:
“My Own Private Kitty Hawk” by Hunter Scarborough
“Olympic” by Brad Thomas
Staff Favorite: “My Own Private Kitty Hawk” by Hunter Scarborough
above right, Ms. Michel Polas’s
10th grade WRHS writing class
who submitted entries to this
year’s contest.
above left, 3rd Place:
“The Fall Trailing of the Sheep”
by Jennifer Montgomery
1st Place: “Less is More”
by Joshua Wells
About his photograph Joshua
writes, “’Less is More’ is symbolic
of one of the many successes
environmental organizations have
had in preserving the prolific eco-
logical and environmental attri-
butes of the Wood River Valley.
Unlike other resort destinations,
the Wood River Valley remains
a place where residents and visi-
tors can still escape the crowds
and find peace and solitude in
nature.”
 Heart and Soul by Sky Smith, 1 st
Place Winner, Short Writing Division

W
hile the businesses in our valley compose the physical, pumping heart that keeps our econo-
my and society afloat, the little niches in which one may relax and reflect make up the true
heart of the valley. People find their niches on their couch, in the woods, or maybe at some
restaurant. I found my niche on a log, by the river, a half-mile south of River Run.
Most days after school when stress levels reach a ridiculous height, I hop on my long board, fire
up some tunes, and kick off down the bike path. Weaving between scattered, fallen leaves I come to
a place where two benches face a row of trees behind which runs the river. Between these benches
winds a path. The path goes down for about thirty feet, then rises to a sort of shelf on which stands
a row of tall, yellow-leaved trees. Poking my head through the low branches, the shimmering river
gleams in my eyes. I sit on a log facing north so that the trees stand to my right, the river runs to my
left, and Bald Mountain frames the blue sky straight ahead. Bold and strong, the ridges of the moun-
tain that made this valley famous are lined with forests of thick, green pine trees. These majestic
ridges border a beautiful blue sky splotched and streaked with wispy, swirling clouds.
The peaceful murmurs of leaves in the breeze, and the bubbling and whispering of the river pro-
vide a calming soundtrack. The earthy scent wafts in my nostrils, refreshing yet musty, and the firm
log gently supports me from below.
My paradisiacal environment eases my mind into a gentle state of philosophical reflection. My
state of peacefulness causes me to question the nature of the ceaseless bustle in town just a mile
away. An angry customer yells at her bank teller, an impatient driver flips off a slow moving old lady.
While forced by their busy lives into their most selfish, primitive state, the people ironically slave
away to keep a civilized society on its feet. The whole thing reminds me of a bunch of apes navigat-
ing a warship. I chuckle over this ironic situation, and I can almost hear the river chuckle with me.
My nourishing oasis saturates the dry sands of my mind, extricating me from the binding con-
fines of our dog-eat-dog society. The heart of the valley pumps blood and oxygen into my thirsty
veins. For the moment I rest in absolute peacefulness. This moment of stability enables me to take a
deep breath and strengthen my resolve to keep on kicking.
Regardless of where I find myself and what I do in my spastic life, my niche remains static. The
leaves still whisper, the river still shimmers, and the sturdy log sits still and waits for me. The heart
of the valley keeps pumping.

2nd Place: “First Snow from Dollar Mountain” by Beverly Robertson

5
 ADOPT-A-PRESERVE: Connecting to
Our Cedar Bend Preserve WE MET OUR CHALLENGE!
Thank you to everyone who

I f you visit the trails along the Big Wood River in Hailey, you’re bound to find
people out enjoying the land—walking after work, enjoying swimming holes in
the summer, catching a trout, or checking out the birds and wildlife. These trails
are part of Wood River Land Trust’s 4.5- acre Cedar Bend Preserve as well as lands
helped us reach and exceed our
2005 year-end challenge goal of
$300,000! This was our most
ambitious challenge to date, and
owned by the State of Idaho.
your response was generous and
You’re also bound to see the neighborhood moose when visiting the Cedar Bend
area. Moose sightings are common these days on and near the protected habitat of the overwhelming.
Preserve. Next time you’re at Cedar Bend be sure to look for the moose tracks!
This inspiring support resulted
in a $150,000 gift from an
anonymous donor and our
Board of Directors, effectively
matching every dollar donated
with an additional fifty cents.
Meeting this challenge helps
us continue to protect the
natural areas, wildlife habitat, and
healthy waters that make this
valley special. With your help,
we have now permanently
protected 4,628 acres in the
Wood River Valley and
above, Enjoying the Cedar Bend trails on a surrounding area.
sunny winter morning

above right, Moose mom with her twins at

THANK YOU!
Cedar Bend

See the Sage Grouse Strut Their Stuff!

W
ood River Land Trust’s 320-acre Square Lake
Preserve south of Bellevue contains a sage
grouse mating ground known as a lek. On the
lek, males spread their plumage, strut, and inflate air sacs
on their chests to create loud “plopping” sounds during
elaborate rituals to attract females.
Depending on the weather, this ritual is performed
early in the morning before the sun rises throughout the
month of April. If you are interested in viewing this
amazing performance, please contact Heather at 788-
Photo courtesy of Robert M. Griffith

3947 or hkimmel@woodriverlandtrust.org. Groups will

be small and dates may be flexible.
Sage grouse populations have declined drastically in
the Intermountain West due to the loss of critical sage-
brush habitat. Wood River Land Trust works to protect
important wildlife habitat like this so our future genera-
tions can enjoy the same magnificent displays of nature
as we enjoy today!

6 A male sage grouse’s mating display.

THANK YOU TO OUR LOCAL BUSINESS SUPPORTERS! President’s Message
Continued from page 1
Alpine Tree Service, Pat Rainey KD Excavation
Atkinsons’ Markets Lava Lake Land and Livestock, LLC As Blaine County and its municipalities
Backwoods Mountain Sports Mama Inez and The Bank Bar search for creative ways to protect the
Bigwood Bread Oak Street Take Out & Catering Big Wood River and its wetlands as well
as local hillsides and wildlife areas, they
Blue Ice Vodka Phoenix Quality Framing have recognized Wood River Land Trust
Boise State Radio River Bend Brewing as a valuable resource and partner. We,
Brooks Welding Saintsbury Vineyard in turn, recognize this as an opportunity
Calera Wine Company Silver Creek Distillers to become the “go to” non-governmental
agency for land protection and conserva-
Catering by Ric Lum Silver Creek Outfitters tion advice. We believe that we have
Cowboy Coffee Company Silverstream Information Technology, already made a significant impact and
Flolo’s One Hour Photos & Portraits Sarah Gray can do more.
Guffy’s Sun Valley Brewing Company
Staff has recently:
Iconoclast Books That’s Entertainment
• Provided scientific data to the City
Images of Nature Gallery The Real Estate Magazine of Ketchum showing the importance
Jane’s Paper Place White Otter Outdoor Adventures of protecting sensitive areas near the
river and has proposed using incen-
tives that encourage landowners to
protect these areas;
• Testified at the City of Sun Valley’s
We facilitate the reuse or comprehensive plan hearings to urge
the City to protect land along Sun
recycling of homes, building Valley Road for open space; and
materials, and larger household • Participated in discussions about
items. Proceeds from the sale Blaine County’s Vision 2025 and
other planning and zoning issues.
of materials are dedicated to
Wood River Land Trust’s pres- Looking to the future, I see many addi-
ervation of natural areas and tional opportunities to be involved in the
process.
healthy waters throughout the
208-788-0014 Wood River Valley. Opportunities include:
www.buildingmaterialthriftstore.org • Identifying habitat areas that should
be off limits to development;
• Cataloging wetland and other envi-
ronmentally sensitive areas; and
Board of Directors WRLT Staff Advisory Committee
John Flattery, President Scott Boettger David Anderson • Identifying scenic corridors and open
Clark Gerhardt, Vice President Executive Director Peter Becker areas that are environmentally sensi-
Ed Cutter, Treasurer
Melanie Dahl
Julie Gallagher tive and in need of protection.
Robin Garwood, Secretary Larry Schoen
Executive Assistant
Jerry Bashaw John Seiller
Tom Bentley Kate Giese Our expertise can help protect the sensi-
William Burnham Stewardship Coordinator This newsletter is published by: tive areas we all have come to cherish.
Heather King Kathryn Goldman Your support and participation in this
Patricia Klahr Project Coordinator process is vital to its success.
Jack Kueneman
Bill Lehman Diane Kahm
Liz Mitchell Data Manager
Steve Strandberg
Joan Swift
Allison Kennedy
Planning Coordinator
“The sun peeked over the tips
Tom Swift
Chris Thompson
Heather Kimmel of the surrounding mountains,
Program & Membership Wood River Land Trust
Barbara Thrasher
Coordinator 119 East Bullion Street and the chair lift glided through
Bruce Tidwell Hailey, Idaho 83333
Doris Tunney Jan Peppler 208-788-3947 (telephone) a strip of cleared trees with
Liz Warrick Major Gifts Officer 208-788-5991 (fax)
info@woodriverlandtrust.org (email)
moist snow drizzled over
www.woodriverlandtrust.org (web) their pine needles.”
Tax ID# 82-0474191
—Natalie Hague
7
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PERMIT NO. 21
83333

119 East Bullion Street

Hailey, Idaho 83333
www.woodriverlandtrust.org

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Acres Permanently Protected to Date: 4,628

Printed on recycled paper

Honorable Mention: “God’s Perfect Fall Day for Jim Agnew” by Sheri Hodge