Land Protected > Conservation Easement Lands New Big Springs Creek Conservation Easement Land!!
April 10, 2009: Nan and Larry Stone strongly believed that the scenic open space and fish and wildlife habitat along Big Springs Creek in the Pahsimeroi Valley deserved protection. So in 2008, working with the Wood River Land Trust, the Stones placed a conservation easement on their 160 acres there. Residents of the Wood River Valley for over 30 years, Nan and Larry enjoy the fishing, hunting, and wildlife viewing opportunities in the valley. “Nan and I purchased the Big Springs property to be part of preserving the future of the Pahsimeroi Valley,” Larry commented. “It is one of the last undeveloped valleys in Idaho.”
Located near the little town of May, Big Springs Creek and another unnamed creek, both tributaries of the Pahsimeroi River, flow across the property and provide 74 acres of riparian habitat for wildlife such as mule deer, bald eagle, and long-billed curlew. The Big Springs Conservation Easement is the first Land Trust project to benefit three species of trout and salmon that are listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act: bull trout, Chinook salmon and steelhead trout.
Protection of natural stream courses is an important part of maintaining and improving fish habitat. “Big Springs provides year-round habitat for bull trout, and rearing habitat for Chinook salmon and steelhead,” says Kathryn Goldman, Wood River Land Trust Project Coordinator. “Protecting these riparian areas is a key part of keeping water clean and maintaining the cold temperatures these fish need to survive.”
To enhance migration of salmon, steelhead, and bull trout, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game is working with the Bureau of Reclamation to improve fish movement through Big Springs Creek and will install a new fish passage structure this summer.
Along with these improvement efforts and thanks to the conservation easement completed by Nan and Larry Stone with the Wood River Land Trust, Big Springs Creek will be protected forever. |
| Conservation Easement Lands are permanently protected pieces of land owned by, cared for, and restored by Wood River Land Trust. These areas are open to the public for fishing, hiking, bird and wildlife watching, and other activities.
Conservation Easement Lands
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