1999 News Releases

December 10, 1999

High-Density Subdivision in SNRA Averted  - Forest Service Acquires Conservation Easement From Pivas   - Sawtooth Society Facilitates Agreement

September 3, 1999

Volunteers Needed to Rehab Historic Fences in SNRA

August 19, 1999

Sawtooth Society Event Nets $37,000 - $6,000 Earmarked for Boulder Mountain Goat Viewing Site

July 18, 2000

Landmark Volunteers Visit Sawtooth National Recreation Area

July 7, 1999

Sawtooth Society Donates $10,000 for SNRA Trails

March 26, 1999

New License Plate to Benefit SNRA

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December 10, 1999

High-Density Subdivision in SNRA Averted  - Forest Service Acquires Conservation Easement From Pivas   - Sawtooth Society Facilitates Agreement

December 10, 1999 – The USDA Forest Service, on behalf of the American public, has paid $2.3 million for a conservation easement on 160 acres of land owned by WOMAC Land and Cattle Company in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area (SNRA).  WOMAC is a partnership managed by Challis-area residents Bob, Joe and Julian Piva.  The property had been offered for sale as a 20-unit subdivision. The agreement was facilitated by the Sawtooth Society, the non-profit citizens group that was formed in 1997 to help protect the SNRA.

Under terms of the conservation easement agreement, WOMAC retains ownership of the property, but relinquishes the right to develop and sell all but three home sites.  The three home sites range from 48 to 55 acres and each have building restrictions that preserve the natural and historical character of the SNRA.  The Forest Service is responsible for enforcing the conservation easement, which is legally binding even if ownership of the property changes hands.

The agreement came more than three years after WOMAC announced that it intended to develop the Basin Butte Ranches subdivision, located approximately five miles west of Stanley.  The announcement prompted concern on the part of policymakers, the press and public because such development, while legal, is contrary to the purpose of the SNRA, which was established by Congress in 1972 to protect the natural, scenic, historic pastoral and recreational values of the area.

When discussions between the Forest Service and WOMAC to restrict development on Basin Butte Ranches in exchange for a conservation easement broke down in August 1997, the

Sawtooth Society met with both parties, urging them to resume talks.  This summer, the Society facilitated an agreement between the Forest Service and WOMAC regarding the non-financial terms of the conservation easement agreement on Basin Butte Ranches.  The Society also shared the cost of an appraisal with the WOMAC that would establish the fair market value of the conservation easement on Basin Butte Ranches.  The appraisal was completed this fall and approved by the Forest Service after a thorough review to ensure that it conformed to federal appraisal standards.

Commenting on the transaction, Society President Bethine Church said, “The agreement between the Forest Service and the Piva families is of substantive and symbolic importance.  Substantive because it stops a high-density subdivision from being built in the shadow of the Sawtooth Mountains and preserves open space in the incomparable Sawtooth National Recreation Area.  Symbolic because it’s a model of how those with legitimate, but differing objectives can constructively resolve their differences.”

Senator Mike Crapo summarized his feelings regarding today’s announcement.  “I think that we need to start with the recognition of the tremendous environmental beauty and heritage that we have in the SNRA and why all of us are so committed to making sure that we preserve it,” Senator Crapo stated.  “With that in mind, we’ve waited so long to finish up the protection with these easements that its time that it finally happened.  To me its just a tremendously rewarding opportunity to be here and to work with the Forest Service and to see how the Forest Service and the Sawtooth Society have worked well together with the private sector and the private landowners in making sure we achieve the protection of our environment that is so critical here.”

Senator Crapo added, “It’s a wonderful step forward, but we’re not done yet.  We have a tremendous amount of effort underway to make sure in Washington that we get the necessary funding to finish the job.  I’m hopeful that as we do this that the entire state, in fact the entire nation, will recognize how we have been able to protect the interests of private property owners, while making sure that the interests of all of us in preserving these tremendous and grand and beautiful environmental treasures that we have here in Idaho…..”

Bill LeVere, Sawtooth National Forest Supervisor, said, “We are pleased to recognize this very significant accomplishment.  Since the establishment of the SNRA in 1972, nearly $53 million has been invested on behalf of the American people in carrying out the Congressional mandate to preserve and protect the many special values of this area.  This is being achieved through the purchase of conservation easements, such as the one we are celebrating today.  We want to express our sincere appreciation to the Piva family, the Sawtooth Society and the Idaho Congressional delegation for their support and willingness to work together to make this happen.”

The members of the Piva family that comprise WOMAC Land and Cattle Company said, “We are happy to have achieved a mutually agreeable conservation easement contract with the Sawtooth National Recreation Area.  We commend the SNRA administration, especially Carol Brown, SNRA Lands Specialist, and Bob Hayes and the Sawtooth Society for their understanding of and respect for private property rights and the importance of those rights to property owners and the communities in which they live.  This conservation easement contract helps maintain the tax base of Custer County, so vital to schools and emergency services supported by property tax dollars; while also protecting the primary purposes for which the SNRA was established.  The conservation easement program of the SNRA, as mandated by Congress in 1972, can and does work when initiated with courtesy and respect, and pursued with fairness and consideration to all parties involved.”

After a hiatus of more than a decade in its program to acquire conservation easements on private land in the SNRA, the Forest Service has concluded six agreements covering 248 acres during the past year.  The stepped up effort was made possible when Congress resumed federal funding to the agency for the acquisition of conservation easements.  With the active support of Idaho’s congressional delegation, $5.6 million in federal money has been appropriated to preserve open space in the SNRA since 1996.

The 756,000-acre SNRA includes approximately 25,000 acres of private property, more than 90 percent of which is now protected from visually impairing and large-scale development by conservation easements.  About 2,250 acres remain unprotected from such development.

The Sawtooth Society and Forest Service are implementing a strategy to acquire conservation easements on those properties that, if developed, would represent the greatest threat to the integrity of the SNRA.  Successful implementation will require the continued appropriation by Congress of federal funds to the Forest Service.

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September 3, 1999

Volunteers Needed to Rehab Historic Fences in SNRA

Volunteers are needed to assist the Sawtooth Society in reconstructing log worm fences in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area (SNRA) on Saturday, September 18.

The project, called Adopt-a-Fence, will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the junction of Highway 21 and Stanley Lake road, approximately five miles west of Stanley.

Volunteers will be taught how to construct and repair fences.  The Society will provide the necessary materials and equipment, but volunteers should bring work gloves.  Volunteers may work an entire five hour shift, including lunch break, or for as little as two hours.

The log worm fences are a signature of the SNRA, and the Adopt-a-Fence project will help ensure that their historic, esthetic and functional qualities will be enjoyed for generations to come, according to Bob Hayes, the Society’s executive director.

To volunteer or for more information, call 208/387-0852 or e-mail at sawsocty@micron.net.

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August 19, 1999

Sawtooth Society Event Nets $37,000 - $6,000 Earmarked for Boulder Mountain Goat Viewing Site

Stanley, Idaho – A benefit dinner and auction held to raise funds for the Sawtooth Society over the weekend netted approximately $37,000.

All proceeds will be used by the Society to protect the natural, historical, and recreational characteristics of the 765,000-acre Sawtooth National Recreation Area (SNRA).

Society executive director Bob Hayes said the Society will invest approximately $6,000 to purchase two high-power spotting scopes that will be installed at the mountain goat viewing site planned the Prairie Creek area on Highway 75, north of Ketchum in the SNRA.

The event, “Sagebrush Soiree”, was held Saturday evening, August 7, at the Headwaters Ranch in the Sawtooth Valley.  Ninety-three people dined on roasted lamb, bid on items in live and silent auctions and were entertained by a local country bluegrass band, Headwaters.

Hayes said the Headwaters Ranch was chosen for the event because it symbolizes all that is special about the SNRA.  “Thirty years ago, this historic property, located along the Salmon River with a panoramic view of the Sawtooth Mountains, was coveted by land speculators for its potential as quarter-acre ranchettes.  Thanks to the creation of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area in 1972, this shortsighted scheme was thwarted and the Headwaters Ranch, under the protective care of current owners, Roland & Sally MacNichol, retains its original western ranching character,” Hayes said.

All auction items were donated.  The live auction included a three-day horse pack trip for four people into the Sawtooth Wilderness Area courtesy of Mystic Saddle Ranch, a five-day float trip for two people provided by Rocky Mountain River Tours, original paintings by artists Venture Coy and Roy Mason, a guided fly fishing trip for two anglers with Silver Creek Outfitters, an evening of jazz piano provided by Alan Pennay, sport fishing off the Southern California coast for two people with skipper Drew Lawler, and extended winter weekend at Jim & Mary Anne Thompson’s lodge in the Sawtooth Valley, and a gourmet picnic at Pettit Lake’s oldest and most exclusively situated log cabin courtesy of Doug & Ann Christensen.

Silent auction items included a one-hour airplane tour of the Sawtooth, White Cloud, and Boulder Mountains courtesy of Ted and Helen Pardoe, overnight accommodations at Sun Valley Lodge provided by Sun Valley Company, a shopping spree at Paula’s in Ketchum, veterinary services at St. Francis Pet Clinic in Ketchum, a painting by Linda Lawler, pen and ink illustrations by Donna-Marie Hayes, and Winfield’s Jewelers of Boise supplied ten gift certificates.

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July 18, 2000

Landmark Volunteers Visit Sawtooth National Recreation Area

Stanley – Thirteen students, ages 15-17, from 10 states have converged on central Idaho to work for two weeks improving recreational facilities and services in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area (SNRA).

They are associated with Landmark Volunteers, of Sheffield Massachusetts, a non-profit organization that promotes community service among young people.  Participants are volunteering their time and are providing their own transportation to and from Idaho.

The Sawtooth Society, a local non-profit organization that serves as an advocate for the SNRA, is hosting the Landmark group.  The Society has arranged for housing, food and ground transportation for the students and their adult supervisor.

Since their arrival in the Stanley-area on Sunday, July 9, the young men and women have rehabilitated the campground at the inlet of Redfish Lake, painted the U.S. Forest Service work center at the Fourth of July Creek and constructed a log worm fence around the resource natural area at the historic Pole Creek Guard Station.  Before their departure on July 22, they will also work on the Harriman Trail north of Ketchum.

The days have been demanding, yet the volunteers appear to thrive on hard work.  Says Cullen Weaver, 17, from Lancaster Pennsylvania, “I like physical labor and enjoy collapsing at the end of a long day, covered with grit and ready for a sound sleep.”  She is a first year participant with Landmark.

But hard work and no play make for dull days, so short periods of time are reserved for recreation.  Last week, the group was treated to a horseback ride into the Sawtooth Mountains, courtesy of Mystic Saddle Ranch.  This week, the volunteers will take a guided raft trip on the upper Salmon River, courtesy of The River Company.

The young people and their supervisor, Jackie Cole, are staying in three log cabins and a yurt at the Crooked Creek Ranch, several miles west of Stanley.  The ranch is owned by Society members Hans and Terry Carstensen, who donated its use to the group.  Last week black bears paid visits to the ranch on two consecutive nights, only to be frightened away by the blaring sound of a young volunteer’s trumpet.

Asked why they volunteer their time for community service, most of the students cite a desire for adventure and an opportunity to do something different.  Typical is Barry Janicula, 16, of Atlanta Georgia.  A second year Landmark participant (he worked at Hells Canyon National Recreation Area in 1999), he says, “I wanted a new experience, to meet people and to see various parts of the country.”  One young women candidly acknowledged that volunteering was “my mother’s idea,” adding, “I probably won’t tell her so when I return home, but I’m really glad she made me do it.  I’m having lots of fun!”

A 15-passenger van for transportation in and around the area has been donated by the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation.

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July 7, 1999

Sawtooth Society Donates $10,000 for SNRA Trails

Stanley  – Trails in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area will be more accessible to visitors this year as a result of a $10,000 grant from the Sawtooth Society.

The Society’s grant will enable the U.S. Forest Service to rehabilitate and maintain approximately 230 miles of trails in the White Cloud Mountains.  Among the many trails targeted for maintenance in 1999 are: Champion Creek, Chamberlain Creek, Germania Creek, Big Boulder Trail, and Boulder Chain Lakes.

According to Bob Hayes, executive director of the Sawtooth Society, the organization uses donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations to help maintain trails, campsites, roads, wildlife habitat, and environmental education programs in the SNRA because federal funding for such projects has been sharply reduced.  He said, “We aim to ensure that visitors to the SNRA enjoy a quality experience, one that’s not diminished by a poorly maintained infrastructure.”

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March 26, 1999

New License Plate to Benefit SNRA

Legislation authorizing a motor vehicle license plate to enhance recreational facilities and services in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area (SNRA) was signed into law today by Governor Dirk Kempthorne at a ceremony in Hailey.

The Sawtooth Society and the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation initiated the legislation.  It was sponsored in the Senate by Cecil Ingram (R-Dist.16) and in the House of Representatives by Wendy Jaquet (D-Dist. 21) and Tim Ridinger (R-Dist. 21).

A portion of the proceeds generated from the sale of the SNRA license plates will be deposited into an account administered by the Department of Parks and Recreation.  The department will work with the Sawtooth Society to identify and fund worthy projects in the SNRA.  The first year fee for the new plate will be $35, and $25 a year thereafter.

 Bob Hayes, executive director of the Sawtooth Society, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that serves as an advocate for the SNRA, said, “The Sawtooth National Recreation Area is s national treasure and Idaho’s crown jewel.  It’s also the favorite outdoor playground of Idahoans, and a magnet for out-of-state visitors.  This special license plate gives motor vehicle owners a unique opportunity to voluntarily support the creation, maintenance and improvement of trails, campsites and other recreational amenities in the SNRA.  In addition to serving the needs of recreationists from Idaho and elsewhere, the SNRA license plate will benefit central Idaho communities and businesses that depend on tourism for their economic well-being.”

 Hayes reported that the Society will pay for start-up costs associated with the special plate, and will oversee its design, which is subject to approval by the Idaho Department of Transportation.  The Society will also be responsible for marketing the special plate.  He said the SNRA license plate will be available for purchase by motor vehicle owners in January 2000.

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