Birch Creek
County: Lemhi
Acres Owned: 80
Total Acres Protected: 1,160
Highlights: Surrounded by the Beaverhead and Lemhi Mountains this preserve lies in the heart of the breathtaking Birch Creek Valley. Over 50 springs coalesce to form the headwaters of Birch Creek, one of the finest examples of an intact, high-desert spring creek system. The Conservancy has teamed up with the BLM to manage this 1,160-acre natural area which hosts the largest known population of the globally rare alkali primrose.
Activities: Fishing, hiking, hunting, and wildflower and wildlife viewing.
Birds of Prey
County: Ada
Acres Owned: 125
Total Acres Protected: 358
Highlights: Located at the heart of the 482,000-acre Birds of Prey Natural Area, managed by the BLM, this preserve provides important raptor nesting habitat. This world-renowned section of the Snake River Canyon is home to the United States’ largest nesting area for birds of prey, including hawks, eagles, falcons and owls.
Activities: Birdwatching, hiking and hunting.
Chilly Slough
County: Custer
Acres Owned: 0
Total Acres Protected: 1,020
Highlights: An unusual cooperative effort between The Nature Conservancy and five other federal, state and private agencies, ensures the protection of this incredible high desert, spring-fed wetland. Located at the base of Idaho’s tallest mountain, Mt. Borah, the area provides habitat for rare plants such as rush aster and marsh felwort, as well as a variety of wildlife, including 134 different bird species.
Activities: Birdwatching, hiking, canoeing, hunting and fishing.
Cougar Bay
County: Kootenai
Acres Owned: 88
Total Acres Protected: 97
Highlights: On the northwest shore of one of Idaho’s most beautiful mountain lakes--only minutes from downtown Coeur d’Alene--lies a remarkable wetland complex. Cougar Bay contains several hundred acres of shallow, fertile wetlands--a virtual wildlife “nursery” unmatched anywhere in the vicinity. An abundance of food and prime nesting and foraging habitat offers sanctuary to hundreds of species of birds including swans, eagles, osprey, heron, songbirds, geese and numerous other waterfowl and migratory birds. The Nature Conservancy’s 88-acre preserve protects this sensitive lakefront area from adverse development and enhances recreational opportunities for the local community.
Facilities: The Nature Conservancy is in the process of raising money for an interpretive educational center at the preserve as well as for building a more elaborate trail system around Cougar Bay.
Activities: Bird watching, canoeing, fishing and hiking.
Formation Springs
County: Caribou
Acres Owned: 115
Total Acres Protected: 115
Highlights: A natural wonder in itself! A series of remarkable geological formations surrounding magnificent terraced mineral pools and an underground cave give this preserve a seemingly lunar landscape. The pools provide a lush oasis for wintering waterfowl, deer, elk and several rare plant communities.
Activities: Hiking, birdwatching and caving.
45 Ranch
County: Owyhee
Acres Owned: 240
Total Acres Protected: 68,431
Highlights: The rugged sagebrush covered hills are home to the country’s largest population (800-900) of the threatened California big horn sheep. The ranch and its 68,000-acres of federal and state grazing allotments are home to sage grouse, mule deer, antelope, mountain lion, bobcat, river otter and red-band trout.
Activities: Access to surrounding public lands.
The Flat Ranch/Upper Henry’s Fork Project
County: Fremont
Acres Owned: 1,450
Total Acres Protected: 1,614
Highlights: Situated on the Henry’s Flats, just below Henry’s Lake, this preserve is surrounded by extensive wetlands and grasslands that support a native cutthroat fishery and numerous Yellowstone wildlife species. The Conservancy is working with neighbors to restore the river’s degraded habitat and fishery. Additionally, the Conservancy continues to operate a working cattle ranch to demonstrate that ranching and conservation can coexist.
Facilities: Visitors are encouraged to stop by the visitor’s center to sign-in, get additional information about the Conservancy’s work and to take in the spectacular view from the deck. Call (208)558-7629 for information.
Activities: Hiking, fishing, canoeing, birdwatching, hunting, and wildflower and wildlife viewing.
Gamlin Lake
County: Bonner
Acres Owned: 51
Total Acres Protected: 206
Highlights: Gamlin Lake’s undeveloped lake shore creates the perfect environment for one of the most sensitive wetland habitat areas in Idaho and the several rare wetland plant species that thrive here. The lake is haven for a variety of wildlife, including moose, osprey and a remarkable warm water fishery.
Activities: Hiking, canoeing, fishing and wildlife viewing.
Garden Creek Ranch
County: Nez Perce
Acres Owned: 1, 550
Total Acres Protected: 91,680
Highlights: The majestic hills that roll into the mighty Snake as well as the spectacular canyon and rocky draws provide an amazingly beautiful environment that supports several rare plants and plant communities, and a variety of wildlife from Rocky Mountain big horn sheep to black bears, and ruffed grouse to mountain blue birds. This preserve is an integral part of the vast 120,000-acre Craig Mountain Wildlife Management Area.
Activities: Hiking, birdwatching, wildflower and wildlife viewing, and hunting.
Hixon-Sharptail Preserve
County: Washington
Acres Owned: 379
Total Acres Protected: 5,950
Highlights: A population of Colombian sharptail grouse, a rare species that has been eliminated from large portions of its natural range, roam the rolling hills and lush grasslands with steep canyon slopes that paint the landscape. The preserve is part of a 30,000-acre BLM Area of Critical Environmental Concern and contains four of the six known sharptail dancing grounds (mating activity areas) remaining in west central Idaho.
Activities: Birdwatching, hiking and hunting (not sharptails).
Idler’s Rest
County: Latah
Acres Owned: 35
Total Acres Protected: 35
Highlights: Magnificent virgin strands of grand fir, red fir and cedar hundreds of years old mark the landscape of the preserve and surrounding area. Besides being on of the few remaining old-growth forests, this small but beautiful area supports a thriving wildlife population. This was the Conservancy’s first project in Idaho and is managed cooperatively with the University of Idaho.
Features: A self-guided trail system winds through the preserve allowing the exploration of the splendor of this grand forest.
Activities: Hiking, birdwatching and wildflower viewing.
Moscow Mountain
County: Latah
Acres Owned: 0
Total Acres Protected: 295
Highlights: One of the oldest and highest quality examples of an ancient cedar grove in Idaho containing cedars believed to be 1,000 years old and ten feet in diameter. Dainty ladyslipper flowers, trilliums, wild ginger and lush ferns are also abundant here. The Conservancy and its friends have protected this grove through a ten-year land lease from the State Department of Lands.
Activities: Hiking, wildflower viewing and picnicking.
Silver Creek
County: Blaine
Acres Owned: 883
Total Acres Protected: 9,790
Highlights: Perhaps one of the most successful private stream conservation efforts ever undertaken for public benefit, this high desert, spring-fed creek hosts the highest density of brown and rainbow trout of any wild trout stream in the U.S. and harbors over 150 species of birds. By working with farmers, ranchers and recreationists over 9,700 acres and more than 35 miles of stream have been protected in the Silver Creek Valley through purchases, conservation easements and management agreements.
Facilities: Visitors are encouraged to stop by the visitor’s center to sign-in, pick up souvenirs, check out the gorgeous view and get more information. A self-guided natural trail also points out the ecological values of the preserve. Call (208)788-2203 for information.
Activities: Birdwatching, hiking, hunting, canoeing and fly-fishing.
South Fork of the Snake River
County: Bonneville
Acres Owned: 323
Total Acres Protected: 4, 714
Highlights: This spectacular canyon, along the South Fork of the Snake River just below Palisades Reservoir, supports vibrant cottonwood, fir and aspen forests. These forests provide habitat for Idaho’s highest concentration of nesting bald eagles, as well as for the endangered peregrine falcon, great gray owl and the trumpeter swan. The Conservancy and its partners have protected 1,400 acres and eight river miles within this 25-mile stretch. Over 120,000 people visit the canyon to enjoy its magnificent views and abundance of cutthroat and brown trout.
Activities: Birdwatching, fishing and wildlife viewing.
Stapp-Soldier Creek
County: Camas
Acres Owned: 94
Total Acres Protected: 120
Highlights: This preserve, located at the base of Soldier Mountain, contains nearly two miles of Soldier Creek and hosts native grasslands, numerous beaver ponds, a lush cottonwood forest and the Wood River Sculpin (a rare fish only found in this part of Idaho).
Activities: Hiking, fishing and birdwatching.
Thousand Springs
County: Gooding
Acres Owned: 387
Total Acres Protected: 420
Highlights: The spectacular Minnie Miller falls burst forth from basalt cliffs that edge the preserve and follow the Snake River for over two miles. These falls are the last remaining undiverted falls in a 40-mile reach that once contained a "thousand" springs. The water which flows from the falls and springs on the preserve is among the purest water in the state and provides the perfect habitat for plants, fish and rare aquatic species.
Facilities: The island is home to the historic homestead of Minnie Miller, an early 1900s business woman, and her state-of-the-art dairy barn (open for tours). The preserve boasts a constructed wetland that not only naturally cleans irrigation water before it returns to the Snake, but it also creates habitat for wildlife. There is also the Columbine Trail which points out many of the ecological values of the preserve. Visitors are encouraged to stop by the information kiosk and the visitor’s center to sign-in and learn about the preserve. Call (208)536-6797 for information.
Activities: Hiking, nature walks, birdwatching and canoeing.