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Rinker Ranch to Provide a Map for the Future
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Monday, June 25, 2018
 

STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

Initially, Harry Rinker thought the land would be suitable for homes on the range—2,000, to be exact.

Then, he said, he realized that the 10,400 acres that comprise Rock Creek Ranch west of Hailey shouldn’t be developed but be placed in a conservation easement, instead. And so he sold it to the Wood River Land Trust and the Conservancy in 2014 for $6 million—a fraction of its fair market value.

“I thought it would be selfish for us to use it in development or as a cattle ranch. There’s elk, deer, moose and sage grouse there that would be lost forever if it didn’t stay in its present condition. So, the family talked about it and we came to the unanimous thought to leave it to the Nature Conservancy in perpetuity,” said Rinker.

A crowd of University of Idaho alumni, local ranchers and representatives of conservation organizations feted Rinker’s decision this past week as they threw a celebration renaming the Rock Creek Ranch the Rinker Rock Creek Ranch.

Rinker, his wife Diane and other members of the Rinker family beamed as University of Idaho President Chuck Staben and Lt. Gov. Brad Little took off the wraps on a painting of the ranch’s iconic 1920s barn during the Thursday evening cocktail reception at Gail Severn Gallery.

The name change will take place once the deed is transferred to the university in early fall.

At the heart of the celebration is an unfettered landscape of meadows and buttes, sage grouse leks and rock outcroppings that has remained largely unchanged since Shoshone Indians wandered through on their seasonal journeys and Oregon Trail pioneers drove covered wagons across it.

Its high-quality wildlife habitat is uniquely encompassed in the entire Rock Creek drainage, and that includes critical habitat for sage grouse, which have been at risk of being listed as an endangered species.

And its high-quality range land makes it a perfect fit for a living laboratory for research mapping out  best agricultural and sustainable environmental practices and preserving a sustainable environment.

What makes it even more unique is that the ranch is open to use by hikers, bicyclists, equestrians, bird watchers, hunters and others. And ranch managers provide occasional education events for the public, ranging from wildflower walks to a look at the cows that inhabit the range.

Karen Launchbaugh, director of the University of Idaho Rangeland Center, recounted how her grandfather had tried to get rid of open spaces like the Rock Creek Ranch.

“Now we’re trying to preserve these open spaces,” she said, adding that the collaborative research at Rock Creek is “a brand new idea.”

The Land Trust and Conservancy sold Rock Creek Ranch to the university for just over $1.2 million—half the $2.4 million price—this summer. The Rinkers made a gift to U of I to help with the purchase.

Lt. Gov. Brad Little recalled bringing Rinker together with the other parties at the Picabo convenience store.

“Harry had sent an email saying he wanted to make a modest donation,” Little recounted. “This was more than a modest donation. “

Staben recalled thinking it was crazy when he was approached with the idea of the University of Idaho acquiring the ranch with the Wood River Land Trust and Nature Conservancy helping the university. The ranch is critical for dynamic research, he added. Rangeland defines more than 50 percent of Idaho and determining how best to manage it will help reduce conflicts.

“This represents a commitment to excellence on your part and I guarantee you the university will live up to that commitment,” he told Rinker.

Rinker, 97, grew up near Tacoma, Wash., on a farm without indoor plumbing or electricity—an ironic beginning for a guy who would go on to build luxury homes in a resort like Sun Valley.

In 1953 he moved to California where he became one of the pioneer developers of Orange County, Calif., building thousands of homes and several shopping centers in Anaheim, Buena Park, Garden Grove and Stanton.

He turned his attention to shopping centers in 1960, building more than 30 centers throughout the West, in addition to industrial parks and offices.

He and his wife Diane were vacationing in Sun Valley when they met fellow developer Bill Janss, who  was in the process of buying Sun Valley Resort from Union Pacific Railroad.

“We enjoy Sun Valley and we’re here every summer and every Christmas,” Rinker added.

Ten years after first visiting Sun Valley, the Rinkers built a home on 200 acres on a hill in Gimlet where they live when not at their lavish estate in Newport Beach, Calif.

Once here, Harry Rinker developed part of Gimlet. And he created Golden Eagle, a lavish neighborhood of manmade ponds and manicured lawns at the mouth of Greenhorn Gulch.

Rinker, who also owns the Peregrine Ranch north of Hailey, helped build the bike tunnel under the highway at East Fork. And he’s proposed a 659-lot development southeast of Bellevue on Gannett Road.

Keri York, with Trout Unlimited noted that there are not many collaborations like the one between the University  of Idaho and the conservation organizations.

Scott Boettger , executive director of the Wood River Land Trust, noted that the University of Idaho had stepped in to help manage the property after Idaho Fish Game had had to bow out.

“It goes to show that sometimes Plan B is better than plan A,” he added.

Today there are several research projects underway from a project dealing with invasive weeds to one trying to pinpoint the ideal range cow using satellite technology.

“I’m excited about what’s happened the last two years,” said Launchbaugh. “Come back five years from now—it’s going to be amazing.”

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