STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

Just $400,000 is needed to make the Warm Springs Preserve a reality.

Donors met a campaign committee member’s $1 million match, secured a $1 million price reduction offered by the property owner and beat the year-end goal by more than $1 million in the final moments of the Year 2021.

To date, 687 donors, the Warm Springs Preserve campaign committee and Spur Community Foundation have raised $7,599,446.90 to save the wooded property, lovingly referred to as the Ketchum dog park.

The city of Ketchum is $400,000 away from the $8 million purchase price of the property and $1.4 million away from its full campaign goal. The additional million dollars will allow the city to provide irrigation and other site improvements.

The full amount to purchase the 65 acres of the Warm Springs Ranch property must be in hand by April 2022.

“I can’t thank this community enough for responding so generously to the two year-end incentives,” said Mayor Neil Bradshaw. “We don’t have much further to go and with the support we’ve had so far, I’m confident we will get where we need to be.”

If fundraising is successful the Preserve will be kept as open space in perpetuity for off-leash dog activities, walking trails, Nordic skiing and snowshoeing and informal gatherings and activities. Organized sports and reserved private or commercial events will be restricted.

To learn more visit www.warmspringspreserve.org. Or, email questions to warmspringspreserve@gmail.com