Wood River Land Trust

Wood River Land Trust Wood River Land Trust works to protect and restore land, water and wildlife habitat in the Wood River Valley, Idaho and surrounding areas.

Established in 1994 by a group of concerned individuals, Wood River Land Trust has protected nearly 25,000 acres in south central Idaho and restored more than two miles of the Big Wood River and tributaries. Alongside private landowners, public agencies and other nonprofits, we strategically invest our donors' funding to accomplish community based conservation, providing benefits to the public such as clean water, scenic views, working landscapes and places to connect with nature.

09/04/2026

Add a visit to our Community Orchard at Colorado Gulch to your Labor Day Weekend plans!

Our community orchard offers a space for quiet enjoyment and for everyone to harvest fresh fruit. We carefully selected fruit tree varieties that thrive in our local climate, and over time, they will grow into a mature orchard for all to enjoy.

To keep our community orchard healthy and open for everyone, please follow these guidelines:

🍎Harvest ripe fruit only. Ripe fruit will come off easily with a gentle tug.

🍎Pull gently. To avoid damaging the branches, pull the fruit from the base where it connects to the stem.

🍎Gently move branches aside to reach fruit. Avoid bending or breaking them.

🍎Dispose of damaged fruit properly. If you find a piece of fruit that is damaged and don’t want it, please place it in a pile near the entrance.

🍎Respect the hours, The orchard is open from dawn to dusk and is closed at night.

🍎No smoking or fires are allowed in the orchard.

08/31/2026

Waking up to morning temperatures in the 40’s makes it seem like fall is just around the corner.

But once the sun comes up, it’s still summer! Two folks out casting during their lunch break today really cemented the summery vibe.

Fall will come, it always does. How are you hanging onto these last few weeks of summer?

Check out these new photos that Cory took of the Warm Springs Preserve. You can really see how the grass is starting to...
08/28/2026

Check out these new photos that Cory took of the Warm Springs Preserve. You can really see how the grass is starting to fill in, and how the new pathways weave throughout the space. The river running along the length of the Preserve really sparkles✨

If you’ve been watching this project come to life, and are curious about it, join us on a project tour of the Warm Spring Preserve restoration project. This is the largest river restoration project that has occurred in the Big Wood River basin and is a great example of how we can reverse bad land use practices along streams and rivers and restore aquatic and terrestrial habitat!

Through partnering with the City of Ketchum we have reconnected 8 acres of floodplains, constructed 2,000 feet of side channels, created close to 40 large woody debris jams and a 1 acre wetland. This is a multifaceted project and WRLT staff will present the restoration techniques use to restore habitat, the new irrigation system that will save 50 million gallons of water annually, new recreational amenities, and updated ADA access.

Did you know that in addition to our public access preserves, we partner with landowners to protect the places that matt...
08/26/2026

Did you know that in addition to our public access preserves, we partner with landowners to protect the places that matter most to them through conservation easements?

Under our care, and spanning our expansive service area (from the Headwaters of the Salmon River to the Little Wood River, and from the Camas Prairie to Craters of the Moon) these conservation easements are a huge part of our land conservation toolkit.

Private lands often provide critical linkages and important habitat that are important to protect to adequately sustain the ecosystem. Privately owned land makes up 60% of the United States, but only 3% is protected for conservation. By partnering with private landowners who share our conservation values, we have protected family farms and ranches that support climate resilience and wildlife movement, conserved key corridors, and preserved floodplains.

PS - thank you to Dark to Light for capturing these images for our video about conservation easements (have you seen it?)

08/24/2026

Join the us on Sunday, September 27, from 9am-12pm as we clean up the Big Wood River! Bring your friends and family and enjoy a morning with your Wood River Valley community, giving back and cleaning up the river. Please register for this event so we can adequately stock our check in hubs (link in bio or head to our website!)

There will be three Check-In Hubs to pick up supplies, located at:
🌱Howard Preserve in Bellevue
🌱Draper Wood River Preserve in Hailey (Lion’s Park Entrance)
🌱Warm Springs Preserve in Ketchum

After the Clean Up, we invite all volunteers to the Sawtooth Brewery Tap Room in Hailey for a well-earned drink and the announcement of our raffle prize winners. All participants will receive a FREE drink ticket from Sawtooth Brewery and a Big Wood River Clean Up Tee for participating! Raffle prizes include:

✨A month membership to Zenergy Health Club
✨Lift tickets to Sun Valley Resort
✨Rentals for four at Galena Lodge
✨and much more!

We can’t wait to see you on the river!

PS - thank you for this great video about the Clean Up that Dark To Light created for us back in 2024!

08/20/2026

The work of “connecting wild spaces and creating happy places” is never done, and we are always looking forward to our next piece of preserved land, section of restored river, and opportunity to bring our community into our work.

And yet, sometimes we have to take a step back and look at what we’ve accomplished.

The Colorado Gulch Bridge is the kind of project that took every tool in the toolbox to achieve. From acquiring the land, to restoring the river, to working closely with partners to replace the actual bridge - this project really asked all of us to “trust in the process”

So the next time you stroll across the bridge, on a hike up the canyon, or just to take in the beauty of the river, take a minute to appreciate all of the work that went into this little slice of heaven.

Rebecca’s Private Idaho has been called the most beautiful gravel race in America, and we couldn’t agree more! We will ...
08/18/2026

Rebecca’s Private Idaho has been called the most beautiful gravel race in America, and we couldn’t agree more! We will be at the vendor expo in Champion Meadows on September 11, so come on by to say “hello” 💥

We are excited to extend a 20% discount on race registration to Wood River Land Trust supporters. Shoot us a message and we’ll send you the discount code 🫡

PS thank you to RPI for the gorgeous photos, taken by Wyatt Caldwell

08/14/2026

Before we head into the weekend, we thought we’d take a break to express our gratitude for our community - for you!

Summer can go by fast as we’re out monitoring restoration projects, visiting our easements, hosting community events, and moving forward with protecting the wild spaces that make this Valley so special.

Through all this chaos, we never lose sight of who makes this all possible: the incredible community that we are rooted in. ❤️🌱

08/12/2026

“Then vs Now” walk through of the Heagle Park River Restoration.

Back in the 1970’s the Riverside Plant served the Hailey community for nearly 30 years before being decommissioned in 2000 and converted into the pump station it is today. To protect the facility, the riverbanks were armored with riprap, levees were built, and an effluent pipeline was installed along the river.

Over the decades, these changes altered the river’s natural processes. Then, in 2017, a major flood exposed just how vulnerable this section of the Big Wood River had become. Sediment and woody debris built up, the river fought its artificial confines, banks eroded, and flooding became an increasing concern for nearby neighborhoods.

Rather than continuing to fight the river, our community chose a different path: work with it.

This restoration project removed outdated infrastructure, restored natural river processes, and created a healthier, more resilient Big Wood River.

As it turns out, working with the river is a grand slam compared with working against it. ✨🌱⚡️

If you’ve been to the Warm Springs Preserve lately, and would like to know what’s going on behind the fences, then sign ...
08/10/2026

If you’ve been to the Warm Springs Preserve lately, and would like to know what’s going on behind the fences, then sign up for one of our upcoming Warm Springs Preserve Tours!

On the tour, you’ll join our River Program Team, Cory and Ryan, for a behind-the-scenes look at the Land Trust’s restoration efforts.

We have tours coming up Thursday, August 13, and Thursday, September 10. The sign up link is in our bio, and it can be found on the homepage of our website at woodriverlandtrust.org

See you there!

Address

119 E Bullion Street
Hailey, ID
83333

Telephone

+12087883947

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