For the week of July 4 - July 10, 2001

Silver Creek 
conservation 
conflict resolved

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By TRAVIS PURSER
Express Staff Writer

To compensate for violating a conservation easement on Silver Creek property last summer, the Purdy ranching family has agreed to increase the amount of its land protected from development by 200 acres and to repair about three-quarters of a mile of cattle-damaged stream bank, according to Geoff Pampush, director of The Nature Conservancy of Idaho.

Nick Purdy did not respond to several Mountain Express phone messages this week. But in a statement to the conservancy, he wrote, "The violation was unintentional, but we realize it needed to be solved."

He stated that he was "satisfied" with the solution.

The Purdys have also agreed to amend the easement to clarify points about the size and design of homes the family can build on the protected land, Pampush said. And the family has agreed to support the conservancy in its request that the Blaine County planning department notify holders of conservation easements whenever property owners ask to develop the land.

The compensation measures follow six months of negotiations during which the conservancy and the family worked to settle a dispute over a home the Purdy’s built on their Double R Ranch immediately downstream from the world famous Silver Creek Preserve.

Under the terms of the conservation easement the family entered into with the conservancy in 1998, the Purdys could build on their 3,460 acres up to five homes that were no larger than 2,500 square feet and 16 feet high.

In exchange for building fewer homes than they might have been able to under county land development rules, the Purdy’s get a tax break.

The first home, completed last year, however, is 28 feet high and occupies between 2,700 and 3,782 square feet, depending on whether finished floor area or the entire area under the roof is measured.

It was a lack of specifics on how to measure the size of the cabins that Pampush and the Purdys say caused the problem.

The home raised the ire of conservationists, who said it violates the spirit of conservation easements, which is to preserve the character of farmland and native animal habitat.

However, Pampush said Monday he believes any ill effect the violation might have had on securing future easements or maintaining existing ones has been avoided, because "we’ve resolved the issue."

In fact, he believes it will have a positive effect because everyone involved has learned how to avoid similar mistakes in the future.

Steve Wolper, founder of the Blaine County Citizens for Smart Growth advocacy group, said he is "concerned" that the settlement doesn’t adequately compensate for the damage done to the scenic values of Silver Creek.

Also, he said, the county should adopt an ordinance requiring applicants for building permits to notify the county about any existing conservation easements.

A county permit the Purdy’s held to build a second 2,500-square-foot home expired in December 1999, and the family has not yet secured a new one.

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