Friday, August 1, 2008

Sagebrush Soiree a success

Sawtooth Society nets $58,000 at ‘Celebrating Salmon’ fundraising event


By JASON KAUFFMAN
Express Staff Writer

Photo courtesy of David Genter, the Sawtooth Society Devan Jackson, left, stands with Elizabeth Tierney during the Sawtooth Society’s annual Sagebrush Soiree fundraiser in the Sawtooth Valley. Held last Saturday, the event raised about $58,000 for the organization.

More than 120 supporters of the Sawtooth Society gathered at the Lost Creek Ranch in the Sawtooth Valley over the weekend helped raise about $58,000 for the nonprofit organization.

The money will be used to support the organization's programs and its efforts to protect and enhance the scenic 756,000-acre Sawtooth National Recreation Area (SNRA).

The theme of this year's annual fundraising event, "Celebrating Salmon," celebrated the history and culture of salmon in the SNRA. It was especially appropriate as wild chinook salmon lay in deep pools just yards away from the event, a Sawtooth Society news release states.

Attendees at the Sagebrush Soiree fundraiser had the chance to win a raffle for one of ten prizes. They included rafting on the Lochsa River, guided salmon viewing and natural history tour, lodging at the Hot Springs Ranch, a mountain goat field tour, backcountry trekking and yurt lodging, original salmon art, guided mining tour at the historic Bayhorse District and a guided tour of Railroad Ridge.

The remaining items were auctioned off to benefit the Sawtooth Society's work.

"This is a great gathering for folks, but the work that we support is critical to keeping this place special," said Devan Jackson of Stanley, owner of Pioneer Outfitters. "This is incredible country and I feel blessed every day to have been raised and work here."

The Sawtooth Society has funded numerous projects in the SNRA, including helping local ambulance, search and rescue and fire services and educational programs at local U.S. Forest Service visitor centers and at the Stanley Museum. The group has also funded trail work over the years, along with leveraging other funds for rebuilding structures and bridge replacements.

For more information on the Sawtooth Society, go to www.sawtoothsociety.org.




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