STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

For the past century, nature has mostly managed the 65 acres that comprise Ketchum’s Warm Springs Preserve.

Grasses and aspen have reseeded themselves. And Warm Springs Creek straightened, digging a gully, as homes were built alongside and the bank was shored with riprap.

Tuesday morning the preserve got a boost from 50 volunteers recruited by the Wood River Land Trust to give nature a helping hand following a year-long project to restore the floodplain and add ADA-accessible paths to the preserve.

Cory McCaffrey, the river program director at the Wood River Land Trust, stands at the near paths overlooking a new one-acre wetlands.

Those who turned out were greeted by a park that looked very different from before.

“I had not been out here since last summer and I’m amazed,” said Trish Klahr, a board member of the Land Trust. “It was dry all winter and spring so I was a little worried, but it looks great.”

The volunteers, who included 20 employees from Cox Communications were quickly put to work planting rushes along the stream meandering through the preserve. They removed rocks from the dirt so that they won’t interfere with mowing. And they planted penstemon, blanket flower, flax and other wildflowers, along with currant bushes and 3-foot willow and cottonwood trees.

“It’s 9:30 in the morning and I’ve already planted two trees,” whooped Kia Painter, who was on the Cox crew. “I feel great!”

Trish Klahr shovels the topsoil and compostable mulch that volunteers spread around the tree plantings.

This is the largest stream restoration project in the Big Wood River Basin, the Land Trust’s River Project Director Cory McCaffrey told the volunteers. The last major project addressing the land took place a half-century earlier when workers removed soil from the south 40 to build a nine-hole golf course.

The City of Ketchum acquired the property in 2021 with the help of donations from local citizenry. And the Land Trust developed a Master plan that involved restoring eight acres of floodplain, 2,000 feet of side channels and an acre of wetland habitat to improve trout habitat and mitigate flooding downstream.

The work has also involved installing water-conscious landscaping and efficient irrigation, expanding trails for walking and winter recreation and creating welcoming spaces for informal gatherings.

“We didn’t see redds in here the last few years,” said the Land Trust’s Director of Philanthropy Meg Pulliam, referring to the nests fish make for spawning. This year we’re seeing redds, the fish coming to spawn. That’s exciting to me.”

Twenty volunteers from Cox Communications helped out, as part of their commitment to making the community better through Cox Charities.

Workers have built 40 woody debris structures, log jams and pools and built restrooms and a welcoming center. And the road and parking lot are slated to be paved today.

The bulk of the work, including the installation of benches and picnic tables, should be done the week after Fourth of July, said McCaffrey.

Cox Communications donated $300,000 to the preserve said Victor Watson, who oversees Cox Charities for the local office. The 20 Cox employees who showed up to work on Tuesday included a few members of the company’s Atlanta office.

“The first place we lived here was on Shady Lane so we frequent this area with our dogs all the time,” said Leslie Doyle. “With our money and time, we’ve got to give back.”

Kia Painter waits to see if the hole is big enough for the cottonwood she is holding in her hand.

The Wood River Land Trust will conduct tours showcasing the work that has been done every other Thursday throughout the summer, said Pulliam. The next tours will be from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. June 25 and 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. July 9. Sign up at https://www.woodriverlandtrust.org/.