Little Valley Reservoir
Sagebrush Steppe Land Trust’s Little Valley Reservoir project permanently protects 931-acres
Sagebrush Steppe Land Trust’s Little Valley Reservoir project protects a 931-acre working ranch. This property links public lands with a previously conserved 200-acre private ranch, providing critical wildlife connectivity.
The property forms an important refuge on the landscape, offering critical winter range for mule deer and elk. It also supports greater sage-grouse, and Idaho Fish and Game has identified potential breeding areas in close proximity.
The project’s rolling sagebrush steppe is punctuated by limber pine, juniper stands, and aspen and willow-lined draws, creating a mosaic of habitat types across the ranch. On the west parcel, several developed water sources help disperse grazing cattle, while a small spring on the east parcel provides an additional watering point. The western portion of the parcel, a blend of sagebrush with scattered deciduous and coniferous trees, is especially valuable, serving as key winter range for mule deer and elk.
Sagebrush Steppe Land Trust, with support from the Keep It Connected program, closed the Little Valley Reservoir project in early 2023. These conservation easements contribute to a larger watershed-scale conservation effort between Sagebrush Steppe Land Trust, the Bear River Land Conservancy, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the NRCS to expand conservation opportunities for private landowners throughout the Bear River Watershed.
“Since 2021, Sagebrush Steppe Land Trust (SSLT) in Idaho and Bear River Land Conservancy (BRLC) in Utah have been working together with a number of other private and public partners to advance conservation in the Bear River Watershed. Over the past three years, SSLT and BRLC have facilitated or closed 7 conservation easements protecting over 10,000 acres in the Bear River Watershed. Of these 7 projects, the Keep It Connected program has provided a critical funding component that enabled us to leverage nearly $8 million of other private, state, and federal funding to complete 4 of the conservation easements that protect over 7,200 acres of important wildlife habitat.
As small non-profit land trusts, funding from the Keep It Connected program is invaluable in helping to provide the funding for due diligence and transaction costs that unlocks our ability to complete these projects but is very difficult to raise from other funding sources. Without the Keep It Connected program, most of these projects would have taken significantly longer to close and may not have been completed at all.
We are extremely appreciative of our partnership with the Heart of the Rockies Initiative, Heart of the Rockies Foundation, and the Keep It Connected program!” – Matthew Coombs, Bear River Watershed Coordinator, Sagebrush Steppe Land Trust