Spring/Summer 2010

From the Board - New Member Jessica McAleese

Newsletter
As a small acreage farmer in the
Portneuf Valley, I have spent the last
several weeks buzzing from one task to
the other, getting the farm ready for
the season. When stopping to take in
my surroundings, I enjoy the contrast
of snow melting on the peaks into
green foothills. The coming of spring
brings a certain sense of change and
new growth to my bones and I grow
giddy with anticipation for all things
blooming. I love this corner of the
world and my roots here are deep. Like
many of you, I grew up in these mountains, scrambled around on these cliffs,
fished along these rivers and skied along these ridges. And now, as I dig my
toes into the freshly turned soil and plant my spinach seeds, I find great peace
in working to grow good food for this Valley.
I am thrilled to be a new board member on the SSRLT. My interest in
the conservation of this region goes beyond aesthetics. My dedication for the
conservation and protection of southeast Idaho is rooted to the quality of life
so many of us treasure. It is the very heart of this amazing region. The sense
of place so many of us feel as we buzz around day to day, taking joy in living
in a place that still fulfills our senses. We don’t have to travel hours on end to
seek solitude, watch in awe as the red tailed hawk soars in the thermals above,
or feel that high desert wind on our cheeks. It is right out our back doors. And
yet, this place we call home is still so vulnerable. With this lies my commit-
ment to you, the Land Trust, and a call to action for all of us.
Our land is at risk, our watersheds, wildlife habitat, and working lands are
in jeopardy, and our quality of life--the heart beating through this region—is
being swiftly gobbled and transformed irreversibly. The time is ripe to work
with one another to conserve and protect our lands through Southeast Idaho.
By working together with landowners, community organizations, and others
committed to good stewardship, we have the chance to protect this region
and the lands we all love and enjoy. Thanks for your support of your local
Land Trust. I hope to see you at our spring and summer events!

Working with willing landowners, the Land Trust’s mission is to protect

and enhance natural lands, wildlife habitat, and working farms and
ranches in southeastern Idaho, now and for future generations.
 Who We Are
Welcome New Board Members!
Jessica McAleese Lisa Safford
Jessica McAleese is a wild earth enthusiast and Lisa grew up in Whiting, Indiana, a small town on
grew up in the mountains of Idaho. She is the Lake Michigan that
co-conspirator of LadyBird Farms, a small com- borders Chicago.
munity supported agriculture (CSA) and mar- She has lived in
ket farm in the Portneuf Gap area. When not Phoenix, Houston,
growing veggies, Jessica works on many different and Tampa but main-
community based projects throughout southeast tains that Pocatello
Idaho, including the development and promo- is the best place
tion of community and school gardens, sustain- she has ever lived.
able agriculture coordination with Three Rivers Having been here for
RC&D, and outreach and education with The 15 years, Lisa cher-
Pocatello Co-op. She has her Master’s in Public ishes the high qual-
Health and is ity of life in southeast Idaho. Lisa has a B.S. in
an active com- Geology from the University of South Florida,
munity mem- an M.S. in Environmental Science from Idaho
ber, serving State University, and is a Registered Professional
on the City Geologist. She is self-employed as an environ-
of Pocatello’s mental consultant and focuses on water resources.
Open Space Her passions are skiing, mountain biking, and rock
Advisory climbing with her family and friends.
Committee
and now the
Sagebrush Learn more about all the Land Trust’s Board
S t e p p e members, staff, and volunteers online by
Regional Land visiting our website.
See more online!
Trust! sagebrushlandtrust.org

Land Trust Alliance Leadership Training

Thanks to the support of the Land Trust Alliance,
the Brainerd Foundation, and the Heart of the
Rockies, Joselin was able to participate in a week
long land trust executive director leadership
seminar in March. It was an amazing opportu-
nity to learn from the best of the best in the land
trust community in regard to bulding a viable
and sustainable organization. Looking ahead,
we are going to take the valuable information
gained at this training to revisit and revitalize
our organizations’ stragic plan. We are tackling
this planning process in coming months and
would welcome participation and input from our Training participants gaze at the Pacific during a field trip of a con-
servation easement in Big Sur area.
community members.
2
 Community
Upcoming Events and Activities!
Don’t Miss the Second Annual

Great Outdoors Fundraiser

Thursday, July 8 at the Mink Creek Group Site
Please join us Thursday, July 8 for our second Annual Fundraiser and
BBQ at the Mink Creek Group Site. The event features a lamb dinner,
beer and wine, a silent auction, great live music, and kids activities.
Come and enjoy the great outdoors while supporting a great cause!
Don’t miss Steelhead Redd!

. Tickets Available at the Raven’s Next Starting June 1

Restoration Workday - Saturday, June 5

Get Involved!!!!
We will be working on weed control and other restoration
activities along the newly restored Cedar Creek, a tributary of
the Blackfoot River. Volunteers are
vital to our suc-
On the Land Tour - Saturday, June 12 cess, and there
Join SSRLT staff and Board members, along with local natural- are opportuni-
ists, Karl Holte and Chuck Trost, as we get out and enjoy our ties in almost
most recent conservation easement in Bannock County. every aspect of
the work we
Flyfishing & Float Trip - TBA (Aug/Sept) do. It’s a great
Join us for our second annual float down the Bear River. way to get out-
The date will be posted on our website later this summer. side, meet new
people, and help
Meet us at other community events protect the spe-
Listen to music while stopping by our booth at the cial places that make this a wonderful area to live . There are many
Portneuf Riverfest in Taysom Rotary Park on Saturday, ways to be involved. If you are interested in offering your knowl-
June 19. edge and skills in any capacity to help protect land in southeastern
Idaho, please contact us! Opportunities are available in land stew-
ardship, events, fundraising, publicity, and office projects. You can
also serve on the Board or a committee.

To learn more about any of our upcoming

events, visit our website: sagebrushlandtrust.org
To RSVP please call (208) 241-4662 or email
3
joselin.matkins@sagebrushlandtrust.org
See more online!
sagebrushlandtrust.org
 Land Projects
Land Trust Protected 396 acres in 2009! ...expect even more in 2010

113 Additional Acres Protected in

Cove Conservation Area
The Land Trust is excited to announce the
protection of 113 acres just across the river from
the Land Trust’s Kackley Preserve and adjacent to
other Land Trust conservation easements along the
Bear River. This new conservation easement adds
to the Cove Conservation Area and protects the
area’s diverse open space values, including riparian
areas along the Bear River, wetlands and springs,
as well as prime agricultural and ranch land. The
project continues the broader conservation of lands
in the Bear River Drainage aimed at protecting
and improving habitat for Bonneville Cutthroat
Trout and countless other species. The conservation
easement allows the landowners to continue tradi-
tional farming and ranching, but forever prohibits
development, harmful land uses, and activities on
the property. In cooperation with the landowner,
fences were built along the river and surrounding
natural springs to exclude cattle, and new watering
systems were constructed to move cattle away from
these sensitive areas. View Detailed MaP At
sagebrushlandtrust.org

Flying Elk Conservation Easement Last December, the Land Trust closed its first
conservation easement in Bannock County! The
282-acre conservation easement sits along Rapid
Creek amid rolling agricultural fields, wooded
hillsides, and aspen and maple groves that yield
spectacular fall color displays – all providing critical
habitat for foothill wildlife as well as scenic open
space.
In late December 2009 Sagebrush Steppe
Regional Land Trust accepted the donated con-
servation easement, which will protect the family
property from development, and ensure that con-
servation values are protected forever. Along with
reducing subdivision and excessive development,
the conservation easement also prohibits harmful
activities such as grading, dumping, and mining,
while allowing for the continued agricultural use,
which has historically included farming and ranch-
ing. The property will remain under the ownership
of the landowners and will be managed to protect
important riparian habitat along Rapid Creek.
See more online!
sagebrushlandtrust.org

4
Home Range
Our Region’s Native Junipers
If one tree defines Pocatello it would have to be the juni-
per. Junipers dot our hillsides and push against homes sprouting
in their territory. They are so common that we take them for
granted, but junipers are interesting trees. Junipers are often
called ‘cedars’ – a good example of just how confusing common
names can be. True cedars are in the Pine family. Junipers are
in the Cypress family.
Two species of tree-sized junipers are native here. Utah
juniper (scientific name Juniperus osteosperma) is the most
common. It is a stiff, stubby tree. The scale-like leaves feel
coarse – like potscrubbers. The berry-like cone (which takes
two years to mature) contains one and sometimes two seeds.
Scratching the blue blush from older cones exposes a reddish
brown cover beneath.
Rocky Mountain juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) has a finer-
textured appearance, but the branches feel pointed and prickly.
Each berry-like cone holds two seeds – sometimes one. Because
Rocky Mt. juniper generally bears male and female cones on
separate trees, berries will be found only on the female trees. It
has a larger range than any other juniper species in the West,
but it is not as common around Pocatello as Utah juniper. The
nursery trade has developed many varieties of Rocky Mt. juniper
including ‘Skyrocket’ and ‘Wichita Blue’.
Both junipers grow slowly. Rocky Mt. Juniper grows 0.79
inch in diameter per decade until it reaches 170 years old.
Thereafter the growth rate declines to a rate of 0.255 inch in
diameter per decade after 250 years of age! Utah juniper reaches
25 feet tall, and Rocky Mt. juniper rarely exceeds 35 feet.
Rocky Mt. juniper typically lives 250-300 years, although
Foreground: Juniper loaded with berries. Background:
Henderson Conservation Easement along the Bear River with
the northern Wasatch mountains beyond.
Eliza Hasselquist and Sandra help monitor easement.
“Old Juniper” in Logan Canyon is believed to be 3,000 years
old. Utah juniper may live as long as 650 years and begins to
produce seed only when about 30 years old. The seeds are so
long-lived that, in one study, 17% of Utah juniper seeds germi-
nated after 45 years.
Junipers are very drought tolerant. They can push a tap-
root deep into the soil, but it is the lateral roots, which extend
as far as 100 feet from the tree and just several inches below the
surface, that collect most of the tree’s needed moisture.
If you are fortunate enough to have native junipers around
your home, remember that they are very flammable. So keep
them a safe distance from your home’s structure. And remem-
ber that they do not need, nor appreciate, extra water.
By Sandra Thorne-Brown, a
Land Trust member and active
volunteer, as well as a Tree
Commission member and urban
forester. She has volunteered her
time helping with everything from
event coordination to easement
monitoring and baseline docu-
mentation. Thanks Sandra for
your contribution to the Land
Trust’s lasting sucess!
Landowner Outreach
This March, the Land Trust held its first community outreach
meeting in Bannock County. It was a great opportunity for
landowners to get to know the work of the Land Trust, and
we have talked with several people about protecting their
family land. We are looking to expand this effort into the
6 other counties of our service area: Bear Lake, Bingham,
Caribou, Franklin, Oneida, and Power Counties. If you, or
anyone you know, would like to learn more about our work
across southeastern Idaho, please contact us to arrange a
meeting.
See more online!
sagebrushlandtrust.org 5
 Other Happenings
Executive Director Celebrates 2 Years It has been a great couple years for me, and for the
Land Trust! Thanks to the support of our community
and our conservation partners, we have protected
over 600 acres and have several projects in the works.
We have strengthened our partnerships and increased
our community support exponentially. Our 2009
annual giving campaign doubled the contribution
projections for renewing members, and tripled those
of new members. Thanks!! These contributions
make up about 15% of our 2010 operating budget
and are critical to our ongoing ability to protect wild-
life habitat and working lands in Southeastern Idaho,
and to sustain my position. Our 2009 fundraiser at
the Mink Creek site was a great time with music
stylings of Steelhead Redd and brought in 5% of our
annual budget. I can’t wait to see everyone this year
on July 8. Recently, the Land Trust welcomed 2 new
Board members, Lisa Safford and Jessica McAleese.
I am thrilled to add their knowledge, expertise, and
motivation to our efforts. I want to thank everyone
for making my time in southeastern Idaho so mean-
ingful. I love playing in our mountains, rivers, and
wildland. Thank you for your ongoing support.
Joselin enjoys the great outdoor recreation
acoress Southeastern Idaho

Conservation Planning
The service area of the Sagebrush Steppe Regional includes identifying funding sources and cultivat-
Land Trust covers the 7 southeastern counties of Idaho: ing partnerships, finding landowners interested in
Bannock, Bear Lake, Bingham, Caribou, Franklin, voluntary conservation easements through increased
Oneida, and Power. This is a lot of land for one Land outreach.
Trust, and our conservation planning process is helping In the next few months, Heidi Albano, who has
to guide our efforts to achieve meaningful conservation been volunteering for the Land Trust for over a year,
of our region’s valuable natural resources. It will also will be working through all the data we’ve gathered
help us avoid postage stamp conservation, or isolated and putting together a report. Thanks to a grant
conservation projects. Conservation planning is a tool from the Heart of the Rockies initiative in support of
for land trusts to identify high priority lands for con- this planning process, she will get a little compensa-
servation within our service area. To do this, the Land tion for all her hard work!
Trust goes through a process that identifies conservation
targets, like protection for threatened species, working
lands, and historical community values.
The Land Trust started its conservation planning
throughout our service area back in December in
Soda Springs. This meeting brought together resource
experts in the Blackfoot and Bear River watersheds to
identify critical wildlife habitat, farms and ranches, and
key community resources (like public access). In late
February we held another meeting to identify priority
areas in the Portneuf River Basin. Currently, we are
analyzing the information gathered from the resource
experts across southeastern Idaho to develop an inte-
grated conservation plan. This plan will not only iden-
tify spatially the key private lands for conservation, but
also strategies to achieve our conservation goals. This

6
Thanks to those that contributed since Fall Newsletter in 2009!
To All Our Volunteers!
$10,000 - $24,999 Kate Delate and Bob Bloxham Daniel and Melissa Green
Heidi Albano
Heart of the Rockies Initiative Randy and Becky Budge Byron Kelley
Boy Scout Grand Teton Troup 34
Wilburforce Foundation Peter and Cathy Frischmann Steve and LeAnn Kenison
Kate and Bob Delate
Frank and Judy Harmon Richard Knudson
Cathy Frischmann
$5,000 - $9,999 Gene and Sue Ann Hoge Michael and Dorothy Lower
Eliza Hasselquist
Anonymous Donor Floyd and Ruth Johnson Jane Matkins
Karl Holte
The Norcross Foundation Dr. Paul Link Fred and Carol Stirling
Bob and Jude Flandro
Ralph and Jackie Maughan Alicia Tauscher
John and Carol Matkins
$1,000 - $4,999 Muriel Roberts Richard and Pam Tucker
Ellery Maughan
Anonymous Donor Matt and Hannah Sanger Martha and Paul Wackenhut
Rick Nordseth
The Land Trust Alliance Bud and Ann Smalley Kevin and Pamela Ward
Dana Olsen
David and Pam Maguire Robert Brown and Sandra
Clark Parker
Maguire and Penrod Thorne-Browne In Kind Contributions
Muriel Roberts
Pocatello Attorneys Congregational United Ace Hardware
Alissa Salmore
Monsanto Church of Christ Alpine Enterprises
Bruce Smith
Jim and Bonnie Shaw United Way of Southeast Idaho Bruce Brown
Peggy Stolworthy
Babette Thorpe Charles Williams and Kate Delate and Bob Bloxham
Sandra Thorne-Brown
Walmart Rosemary Smith Costco
Steelhead Redd
Rick Williams Niccole Fuhriman
Land Trust Board Members
$500 - $999 Glacier Graphics
Lance Bethke
Bob and Jude Flandro $50 - $99 ISU Outdoor Program
Bill Davidson
Tim and Jessica Lindstrom Ben and Heidi Albano Juniper Hills Country Club
Marjanna Hulet
Bruce Smith Guy and Vicki Anderst John and Carol Matkins
Tom Lucis
Carl Anderson Ellory Maughan
Jessica McAleese
$250 - $499 Fred Belzer Steelhead Redd
Deb Mignogno
Allen and Mary Eng Larry Ghan Town and Country Gardens
Garry Ratzlaff
Tim Flandro Clyde and Lee Ann Gilbert Turn It Up Productions
Lisa Safford
Joan Hansen Joan Hansen
Babette Thorpe
June Heilman Niles and Eliza Hasselquist Planned Giving and Bequests
Matt Lucia Patricia Isaeff Priscilla Hearst
Tom Lucia James and Sharon Manning A Very Special Thanks
Deb Mignogno Wayne and Judy Minshall
Rick Nordseth Greg Mladenka Looking for a Lasting Way to Contribute?
Andrew and Susan Pierson Dana Olson
Planned Giving may be for you...
Muriel Roberts Dick and Donna Sagness
David and Stella Sandquist Pete Savage By participating in our planned giving program, you can create a
Michael Thomas and Nick and Tacia Tsakrios lasting legacy. By remembering us in your Will or Trust, you can
Alissa Salmore be assured that we will be able to continue protecting and restoring
$49 and under the southeastern Idaho lands you love. Planned giving is a great way
to insure the future of your local land trust. Please contact us if you
$100 - $249 Sandi Arena Fisher
are interested in learning more.
Dale Azevedo Richard and Peggy Garvin
Lance and Karen Bethke Matt Germino You Can Also Donate Online! Safe and Secure,
Every effort has been made to ensure accurate representation
of contributions. If you find an error, please let us know.
www.sagebrushlandtrust.org 7

 NON-PROFIT org
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PERMIT NO. 51
Pocatello, Id

PO Box 1404, Pocatello ID 83204

(208) 241-4662
joselin.matkins@sagebrushlandtrust.org
www.sagebrushlandtrust.org

Printed locally on recycled paper

Acres Permanently Protected With Your Support: 1,504

Spring/Summer 2010

In This issue: Welcome New Board

Members...Page 2
Upcoming Events
...Page 3
Land Project
Update...Page 4
Our Native
Junipers...Page 5

Also, see us online at www.sagebrushlandtrust.org, visit us on and watch us on