Why was IWF driving in reverse in Carey?

Why is an IWF truck on that flatbed in Carey, Idaho? Read more on where we are.

So many Idaho landscapes are facing a similar situation: highly productive basins of private ranch land parcels are peppered with smaller sections of public land. With Idaho’s population exploding, these large, private, working lands that contain critical habitat will determine the health and integrity of many of our herds, birds, and the character of Idaho in the coming decades. Especially faced with ever mounting pressure to sell land for subdivision. Many ranching communities in Idaho have land stewards, but what a group of landowners nestled between Craters of the Moon and the Pioneer Mountains have done sets this group apart from others.

The Pioneers Alliance

The Pioneers Alliance is a group of ranchers, conservationists, hunters, anglers, and land-use managers. These folks came together in 2007 to maintain the integrity of the Pioneer Mountains and Craters of the Moon region of south-central Idaho. Stronghold populations of antelope, elk, and sage-grouse call this 2.5-million-acre landscape home. Numerous conservation easements have been secured and initiated by landowners in the foothills to protect the working lands and creeks in perpetuity, preventing their fragmentation and development. These voluntary easements also benefit nearby public lands and can shape the future of land management decisions. While differing views are bound to form on specific actions, every Pioneers Alliance member has a similar goal of keeping this landscape in working hands and allowing wildlife to flourish for generations to come. IWF is a proud partner in the Pioneers Alliance and is devoted to working alongside landowners, cattlemen, and public land managers to help improve conditions both for working landscapes and for wildlife habitat.

Post-Sharps Fire Healing

While the Sharps Fire of 2018 burned much of this area, the strong foundation of the Pioneers Alliance members has emerged from the black blankets of post-fire ash. Landowners worked with the Bureau of Land Management to seed areas of high ecologic importance to reduce the risk of non-desirable invasive plants. We joined a field tour this Summer to check on the recovery efforts. We were impressed with the success of the seedings and thankful for favorable spring conditions. Meetings over the year have brought everyone together to discuss access issues, hunting pressure, sightings of sage grouse on leks, and ways we can all pitch in to help this landscape heal.

Sharps Fire scars. Photo: Tess O’Sullivan.

Sage-grouse priority area post drill-seeding.

While the Sharps Fire of 2018 burned much of this area, the strong foundation of the Pioneers Alliance members has emerged from the black blankets of post-fire ash. Landowners worked with the Bureau of Land Management to seed areas of high ecologic importance to reduce the risk of non-desirable invasive plants. We joined a field tour this Summer to check on the recovery efforts. We were impressed with the success of the seedings and thankful for favorable spring conditions. Meetings over the year have brought everyone together to discuss access issues, hunting pressure, sightings of sage grouse on leks, and ways we can all pitch in to help this landscape heal.

Sportsmen Involvement

Despite having our truck stuck in reverse while on a tour with Idaho Fish and Wildlife Foundation, IWF has been awarded a $10,000 IFWF grant for beaver dam analogue installments on several private land parcels to retain late season water, restore wet meadows, and improve stream complexity. IWF will be joining additional partners within the Pioneers Alliance on this large landscape project in the Fall to complete dozens of these structures. This will benefit sage grouse, curlew, mule deer, antelope, and many other species that make up this wild place. We’ve seen great success with these projects in the past and are looking forward to pounding posts and grabbing willows.

Beaver dam analogue installation. Photo by Becca Aceto.

If you hunt in this area, or don’t, but simply care about conserving Idaho’s working lands, then follow along. We will bring you along on the progress that has been made, and the partnerships formed. Hopefully next time we don’t have to take you along down the dirt road along the Little Wood in reverse and call a towtruck. These efforts will not only improve habitat for hunting, fishing, and trapping, but will continue the treasured relationship that sportsmen have with private landowners. This is only possible with conservation-minded landowners. Without them, this landscape could change rapidly, away from open landscapes and toward development and fragmentation.

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