Wood River Land Trust plans to create $16 million public preserve
The Wood River Land Trust has launched a campaign to raise $16 million to buy the 2,300-acre Hailey Hot Springs Ranch west of Hailey and protect the land as open recreational space.
The Hailey-based nonprofit shared the news in an embargoed news release dated today, Wednesday, Jan. 15.
The envisioned preserve would encompass more than 550 acres directly south of the Land Trust’s Simons Bauer preserve, on the south side of Croy Creek Road, and more than 1,600 acres on either side of Democrat Gulch Road, north of Croy Creek Road.
The Land Trust stated that the total cost of land acquisition is about $15 million, and another $1 million is needed for “long-term stewardship of the property.”
Since November 2024—between “government funding, funds on-hand, and early commitments”—the Land Trust has secured “over $8.3 million.” The Land Trust said that it needs to raise another $1.7 million by Feb. 11 to be eligible for additional federal funding. Once its $10 million goal is reached, the organization would have until the end of 2025 to raise the remaining $6 million, it said.
Blaine County Recreation District Executive Director Mark Davidson stated that the Rec District would work with the Land Trust post-acquisition to create new trail connections and “safe biking paths” and “hopefully [restore] public access to the hot springs.”
Future plans could also include “a separated bike path along Croy Canyon Road from downtown Hailey,” according to the press release.
The Hailey Hot Springs Ranch is currently owned by Seattle-based Sweet Potato Ranch LLC, according to Blaine County property records. It flanks the 6-mile-long Democrat Road, which is surrounded by public BLM and U.S. Forest Service land to the north, south and east.
The Land Trust described the property as one of the last “remaining intact landscapes” in the Wood River Valley with “wetlands, hot springs, winter range, and sage grouse habitat” as well as rich history.
| The Hailey Hot Springs Hotel once thrived as a resort in the early 1880s, offering soaking and live brass-band concerts, according to reporting from the Wood River Times. Hot water from the springs was piped about 3 miles east to a hot pool at the posh Hiawatha Hotel, also established during Hailey’s early-1880s mining boom (the hotel site is now occupied by Atkinsons’ Market). |
Preserve Would Prevent Residential Development
The Land Trust stated that acquiring the ranch would create an “uninterrupted 6.6-miles of continuous trails” and “nearly 3,000 acres of contiguous public open space” from Colorado Gulch to Democrat Gulch.
It would also preclude development proposals on about 360 acres in Democrat Gulch, the Land Trust stated.
“Coming together to conserve this property will protect wildlife migration routes and clean water that connects to the Big Wood River downstream, and protect recreational access that so many people enjoy,” the nonprofit stated.
WRLT Executive Director Amy Trujillo stated that the property was listed on the market in summer 2024, sparking concern among residents “about what would happen to this iconic canyon they’ve enjoyed hiking and biking in for years.”
“Previous owners have tried to block access or propose developments there, and the future of the property has been on everyone’s minds,” Trujillo stated. “This property has been one of our top conservation priorities over the years, and after many different attempts to protect it, we have an opportunity now to acquire the property to benefit our entire community.”
The Land Trust plans to partner with the Heart of the Rockies Initiative, The Nature Conservancy-Idaho and the University of Idaho in the formation and maintenance of the preserve, according to its press release.
Tess O’Sullivan, a program manager with The Nature Conservancy, stated that it would work with the Land Trust to secure a federal grant from the USDA’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program. The University of Idaho would use the preserve as a “living laboratory and an extension of its operations on nearby Rinker Rock Creek Ranch,” according to Wednesday’s press release.