Wood River Land Trust

VOLUNTEER WITH THE LAND TRUST

MAY 4 | 4:00-6:00 PM | BCRD Native Plant Arboretum

Come volunteer at the BCRD Native Plant Arboretum! Learn about native Idaho plants, including the state tree and state flower. We will be doing some light pruning, raking, weeding, and plant wildflowers and shrub seedlings. We may also do some trail cleanup.

The Arboretum is located north of Fox Acres Road and the Wood River (“bike trail”) trailhead in Hailey.

For Directions and additional information, please Sign up through THIS LINK.

MAY 8 | 10:00 AM-12:00 PM | Restoration and Weed Pull Event with the ERC at Simons/Bauer Preserve

We are partnering with the Environmental Resource Center (ERC) to host a Restoration and Weed Pull Event one Saturday a month, May-July. We will have a short guest speaker at each event to discuss topics about Biodiversity, Pollinators, etc. We will do some wildflower identification and invasive species management, and other restoration needs.

Parking for the Simons/Bauer Preserve is at Lion's Park in Hailey.

For D irections and additional information, please Sign up through THIS LINK.

SEE WHAT WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED SO FAR THIS YEAR

APRIL 14 | 4:00-6:00PM | Greenhouse Seedling Transplant

Our Pollinator Initiative project needs help transplanting, repotting, and thinning seedlings at the Sage School greenhouse. In June at the pollinator meadow, we will be planting these seedlings at the Howard Preserve and various restoration projects throughout the season.

APRIL 22 | 1:00-5:00 PM | Colorado Gulch Fence Project

We need help taking down a fence in the Colorado Gulch Preserve. The project will involve metal clippers and walking on uneven surfaces, in and out of the woods, and carrying heavy material. Please bring gloves and problem-solving skills.

APRIL 27 | 1:00-6:00PM | Beaver Pond Project at Rock Creek

Our beavers have been super active lately Rock Creek tributary out on the Rinker Rock Creek Ranch!, We will need to install a pipe below a beaver dam. The pipe will help keep the water flowing and prevent flooding on Rock Creek Road. We will need volunteers to wear waders, be willing to carry heavy materials, and climb in and out of the stream. If you are eager to get dirty, this is the project for you!

CHECK OUT WHAT WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED IN 2020:

September 22 | 4-6PM | Native Plant Arboretum at WR Trailhead at Fox Acres Road

At this fun and lovely evening we pruned dead limbs, weeded, and prepared areas for planting wildflowers.

September 12 - Valley Wide!

We had 9 people contribute between 1-3 hours at the Howard Preserve for a total of 20 hours; We had 9 people contribute 3 hours each along the Draper Preserve in Hailey for a total of 27 hours; We had 16 people contribute 3 hours each along the river in Ketchum for a total of 48 hours.

This brings us to a grand total of 95 hours contributed on Saturday! That's amazing!

Plus we pulled 1,100 pounds of trash out of the river and its floodplain!

May 12,19, 26, June 2, 9,16, 23, & June 30
Colorado Gulch Pollinator Meadow

This Spring the Wood River Land Trust embarked on a pollinator initiative project at our Colorado Gulch Preserve. The goal of this project is to bring first-hand awareness to the blight of our native pollinators (like Monarch Butterflies that have declined by 90% in the West) by planting native wildflowers and creating habitat in our approximately 10-acre meadow at the Preserve.

Pollinators are central to the health of any productive ecosystem, and their populations are currently declining across the globe. They allow for plants to reproduce, and help create genetic diversity amongst our plant populations. They are critical to our food system, as many crops also rely on pollination. With that being said, their populations are being threatened. Habitat destruction, the misuse of pesticides, and climate change are all contributing to the declining numbers of these important pollinators.

The Wood River Land Trust has identified the health of local pollinators as a priority, and we have taken action by creating pollinator habitat at our Pollinator Meadow Project, at Colorado Gulch Preserve.

Throughout the meadow, we have created a variety of different pollinator habitats. Structures made out of wood and brush have been scattered throughout the meadow. While we generally think of pollinator habitat as flower fields, these brush piles and logs also provide critical nesting space.

The pollinator islands are the main attractions in our meadow. These “islands” are made of a variety of native and pollinator-friendly annuals and perennials. They include everything from Black-Eyed Susans to Showy Milkweed.

We couldn’t have embarked on this project without the support of our volunteers. They have donated over 70 hours this spring and have done amazing work planting starts, creating woody structures, and building fencing out on our meadow. We truly wouldn’t have done this project without the support of our community!

We would like to thank the Mountain Express for their awesome write up about this project - check it out by clicking here!

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT

2015 Ed and Carmen Northen Ed and Carmen Northern moved to the Wood River Valley in June, 2003. Since they had lived near the ocean for so many years, they thought they would visit the Valley and experience the mountain winter before taking the plunge. They moved here for two years and fell in love with the un-crowded spaces, the nearness of the Big Wood River and Silver Creek, and easily accessible mountain ranges for hiking, fishing, mountain biking and camping.

The two of them are committed to being good stewards of the Land Trust’s Boxcar Bend and Draper Wood River Preserve, and they have spent countless hours maintaining trails, pulling weeds, and performing other land management duties.

Of their association with the Land Trust, Carmen notes that they liked the idea of being involved with a local conservation group

"It seemed a natural choice to team up on projects since we have the same goals in wanting to protect the river and the wild areas of the valley."

— Ed and Carmen Northern Preserve Stewards

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