BY KAREN BOSSICK

A Wild Game & Wine Fest to protect an important property in Slaughterhouse Canyon is being held on March 6.

Wood River Land Trust wants to protect Spirit Woman Ranch, the 80-acre gateway in Slaughterhouse Canyon east of Bellevue. And it needs to raise the final $60,000 by March 31 to secure permanent public access to thousands of acres of public lands in the Pioneer Mountains while preserving wildlife corridors and water resources.

In that vein, the Wood River Land Trust is partnering with First Lite and Roots Wine Bar to host the Wild Game & Wine Fest in Hailey. The fest will feature five game-inspired small plates with curated wine pairings by such local chefs as Sean Temple, Chris Simpson and Ashley Roop with curated wine pairings by Roots Wine Bar.

Spirit Woman Ranch sits east of a proposed Bureau of Land Management trail in Slaughterhouse Canyon.

The ticket purchase includes a tax-deductible donation to protect Spirit Woman Ranch. And guests will also be entered into a First Life Raffle featuring high-end outdoor gear.

Tickets may be purchased at https://www.woodriverlandtrust.org/events/wild-game-wine-fest.

Even those who can’t make the dinner can make an impact with a donation as a donor is currently matching gifts up to $10,000. Donations can be made at www.woodriverlandtrust.org or by calling Meg Pulliam, the Land Trust’s director of philanthropy, at 208-806-2333.

Spirit Woman Ranch has been owned by the same family for nearly 25 years. They named it Spirit Woman Ranch in remembrance of a beloved family member, her spirit and her First Nation heritage.

The family has allowed public access to thousands of acres of adjacent public lands through their property during all those years. But public access could be denied if a private interest was to purchase and gate the property.

Private interests have gated special properties throughout Idaho, including near McCall and Bogus Basin ski area.

“Sometimes, protecting a single parcel of land can be the key to keeping thousands of acres of public land open to the community for generations to come. Spirit Woman Ranch is the perfect example of this, said Amy Trujillo, executive director of the Wood River Land Trust.

In addition to providing access to hunting and multi-use trails, preserving the land will protect a migration route for Owinza mule deer, an important migratory species that summer in high elevations within the Pioneer and Soldier Mountains and Craters of the Moon National Preserve.

It will also protect a half-mile of Slaughterhouse Creek, including a pond and riparian wetlands. That rare wetlands has been ranked “Most Resilient” by the Nature Conservancy’s Resilient and Connected Network analysis, which identifies land crucial for the area’s environmental future.

The Wood River Land Trust has raised $560,000 towards the $620,000 price tag with one month to go.