The Hailey-based Wood River Land Trust has finalized an agreement to protect 360 acres of land known as the Old Chilly property along the Big Lost River near Mackay.
Although the land trust's primary area of focus has been the Wood River Valley, the new conservation easement continues the organization's work farther to the east in the scenic Lost River Valley. The long valley is east of the Wood River Valley in the shadow of high Lost River Range.
The property is next to U.S. Highway 93 between Challis and Mackay.
The owners of the rural property, Bob and Phyllis Ching, as well as several unnamed partners, contacted the conservation organization in 2005 to discuss their options, and decided that a conservation easement would be the best way to fulfill their goal to protect the property, a news release from the land trust states.
"We wanted the property to remain in its natural state," Phyllis Ching said in a prepared statement.
A conservation easement is a legal agreement between a landowner and an organization such as the Wood River Land Trust. The landowner voluntarily gives up some development rights to protect it and its natural resources in perpetuity. Landowners typically get a break on their property taxes when they enter into easements.
The Old Chilly easement protects wetland and sagebrush habitat while enabling the Chings to retain a single homesite and continue their agricultural practices.
The property's name refers to the nearby late-1880s ghost town of Chilly. According to the land trust, the town was named for the extreme winter cold the area experiences.
Home to numerous bird species and big game animals that inhabit the cottonwood forest and sagebrush steppe, the Big Lost provides valuable riparian habitat.
"The most unique aspect of the property is the Big Lost River itself," Phyllis Ching said. "I love seeing water come up in the springtime."
Jason Kauffman: jkauffman@mtexpress.com
Idaho’s tallest mountains, the Lost River Range, tower over the Old Chilly property, near Mackay. Photo by
