STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

The Wood River Land Trust will celebrate 30 years of conservation in the Wood River Valley this summer with a variety of community events.

The community is invited to take part in:

Boxcar Bend Volunteer Party on June 15

Weed Warrior Day at Howard Preserve—June 28

Hailey Rocks! Summer Music Series—July 11 at Hop Porter Park

Big Wood River Cleanup and Howard Preserve Anniversary Picnic—Sept. 21

The Wood River Land Trust will provide the main dish for the Howard Preserve’s 20th Anniversary Picnic, said executive director Amy Trujilo, and the community will be asked to bring side dishes. There will be an array of activities on that day, including scavenger hunt.

There’s such a deep history there,” Trujilo said.

Andrew Bowman, president and CEO of the Land Trust Alliance, which supports land trusts like the Wood River Land Trust, will speak at the organization’s annual donor event on July 16.

And the Wood River Land Trust hopes to continue its speaker’s series in fall during its yearlong celebration themed “30 Years of Connecting Wild Spaces + Creating Happy Places.”

“This anniversary is a reflection of all that we’ve been able to accomplish with the help of our community,” said Trujillo. “It is also a recognition of the work still to be done and our continued commitment to protecting the wild spaces and happy places important to our community.”

The Wood River Land Trust was founded by a small group of citizens in 1994. It has created 16 public nature preserves, protected nearly 28,000 acres of wildlife habitat and restored more than 19 miles of river and streams since that time.