By Mike McKenna
For more than a dozen years the Wood River Land Trust has been quietly yet steadfastly working on a dream to acquire land around Colorado Gulch and to add it to the open space of the Hailey Greenway.
That dream is now at their fingertips, but the Land Trust needs help from the community.
A few weeks ago, a brief 30-day window to purchase 150 acres of the Stevens family ranch at Colorado Gulch presented itself. The board and staff at the local nonprofit quickly rallied into action.
“We knew that it was an opportunity we couldn’t afford to miss,” said Scott Boettger, executive director of the nationally accredited Wood River Land Trust. “If we didn’t make this happen, 50 years from now people would never forgive us––and we wouldn’t forgive ourselves. This is open space in the heart of Hailey, right along the river. It’s important to our community. It’s something we have to protect and open to the public, if we have the chance.”
The first move to acquire the property was lead by the dedicated and passionate members of the WRLT’s board of directors. They raised over one-third of the $800,000 needed for the purchase. A line of credit for the rest has been acquired from Bank of the West, but the Land Trust still needs help to pay off the other $500,000.
Last week, the City of Hailey and WRLT agreed on long-term protection and management plans, which cleared the path for the Land Trust to purchase the property that runs from Lawrence Heagle Park, west and south of downtown Hailey, down to Colorado Gulch, so it can be opened to the public and connect it to the Hailey Greenway. The Land Trust will also restore a trail and bridges on the property and areas damaged by grazing and other practices.
“The City of Hailey is our partner in preserving and restoring the Greenway,” said Keri York, WRLT director of conservation. “We are all working together to make this happen. Our main goal is to provide public access.”
The Colorado Gulch acquisition will nearly double the size of the Hailey Greenway, which offers trails and access to the Big Wood River on the western edge of Hailey. It currently runs from the Bullion Street bridge to the Della View subdivision. Home to the iconic Bow Bridge and the Draper Wood River Preserve, the Hailey Greenway is one of the most popular places in the Valley to walk with friends or dogs, to watch wildlife, to fish, and to take photographs.
Adding 150 acres to the Greenway at Colorado Gulch means that we’ll have more access to what we love about life here in the Wood River Valley. And more peace of mind that open and wild places will stay open and wild forever.
The community can help make this a reality for generations of people and plants, for fish and for butterflies, for moose and for elk, for years to come.
To find out more, contact Lisa Huttinger at LHuttinger@woodriverlandtrust.org or call (208) 788-3947.