BY KAREN BOSSICK

Thanks to a 9-year-old—and many others—the drive to preserve the Hailey Hot Springs Ranch is well underway.

The Wood River Land Trust has raised the $10 million in donations it needs to meet its due diligence deadline for the 2,300-acre property, also known as Democrat Hot Springs Ranch.

The donations included a $20 gift from a 9-year-old who wanted to support the permanent protection of the land just west of Hailey. Other donors included a retired civil servant and longtime Land Trust volunteer, who made a five-figure gift; a retired firefighter, who gifted retirement assets, and a couple that made a six-figure gift, stating that the project is “a true definition of a noble effort.”

The donations were raised in just 90 days to meet the deadline, said Amy Trujillo, executive director of the Wood River Land Trust. Now, the Land Trust needs to raise $6 million more by Dec. 31, 2025. Five million of that would be added to the $10 million already raised for the acquisition. The remaining $1 million would help cover costs of caring for the property into the future.

“It’s a big task and will take all of us. Now more than ever, with the availability of federal funds previously earmarked for this project uncertain, this will be a community-drive success,” said Trujillo. “Our community is stepping up in a big way, understanding that opportunities like this—to-protect an entire canyon forever—are extremely rare.”

The property went on the market this summer. Its acquisition would preserve public access to popular hiking and biking trails, create an uninterrupted 6.6 miles of continuous trails from Colorado Gulch to thee top of Democrat Gulch and keep residential development out of the area.  It would also preserve habitat for the sage grouse, sandhill crane, elk, mule deer and pronghorn that use it.

The Wood River Land Trust is eyeing ways public access to the hot springs could be resumed.

Want to know more? The Wood River Land Trust is offering site visits with refreshments through mid-March:

11 a.m.-noon Tuesday, Feb. 25

1-2 p.m. Tuesday, March 5

2-3 p.m. Thursday, March 13

RSVP by emailing caroline@woodriverlandtrust.org.

Donations may be made at https://www.woodriverlandtrust.org/ways-to-give?blm_aid=35372.