The Nature Conservancy has purchased a 1,461-acre property adjacent to Silver Creek Preserve.

The acquisition ensures the protection of significant acreage in the Silver Creek ecosystem where the Conservancy has worked for nearly 50 years.

Located in the heart of an ecologically and culturally important landscape, conserving this property and its freshwater streams is vital for maintaining connectivity—especially for wildlife migrations—between large blocks of private and federal lands.

Over the next several years, The Nature Conservancy will implement a series of restoration projects to improve the habitat values for fish and wildlife. These efforts will include stream, wetland and riparian restoration, installation of wildlife-friendly fencing, sagebrush habitat rehabilitation, native plantings, and more.

The property currently has 1,370 acres of agricultural lands that will remain in production under regenerative agriculture practices in partnership with TNC’s agriculture advisors, that support healthy soil and clean water. Collectively, these efforts will improve wildlife habitat and enhance water quality and quantity—not just on the property, but throughout the entire Silver Creek ecosystem.

“This project reflects TNC’s deep commitment to the region and offers a rare opportunity to continue expanding our protection of Silver Creek’s unique ecosystem,” said Mark Menlove, Idaho State Director of The Nature Conservancy. “Conserving this property will safeguard irreplaceable habitat in a critical area that TNC has worked for decades to restore.”

Since 1976, The Nature Conservancy, partners and landowners have protected more than 12,000 acres in the Silver Creek landscape through conservation easements in one of the most successful stream conservation efforts ever undertaken for public benefit and a model for community-based conservation.

The Silver Creek system provides critical habitat for an abundance of wildlife, including moose, bobcats, coyotes, eagles, more than 150 species of birds, and aquatic species like native trout.

The Nature Conservancy will draw on its local stewardship expertise from the nearby Silver Creek Preserve to manage the property and restoration activities and secure a conservation easement, at which point it will be sold to a landowner committed to stewarding the land into the future.

TNC raised private funding from anonymous donors to purchase and restore the property. 

The Nature Conservancy is a global conservation organization dedicated to conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends. Guided by science, the organization creates innovative, on-the-ground solutions to the world’s toughest challenges so that nature and people can thrive together.

The organization is tackling climate change, conserving lands, waters and oceans at an unprecedented scale, providing food and water sustainably and helping make cities more resilient in 81 countries and territories.

To learn more, visit https://www.nature.org/en-us/.