Next Pioneers Alliance Meeting April 24 at 7 pm!
Meetings are held at Carey City Hall and all are welcome. For more information contact Trish at 578-4083.
Photo by Bill Mullins
Pavilion Dedication and Field Tour Wrap up
The Boyd L. Stocking Memorial Pavilion Dedication in Carey this past Saturday was a great success! The day was started with a field tour hosted by the Pioneers Alliance showcasing the Pioneers-Craters area. The tour involved a flight over the landscape provided by Lighthawk, and later a discussion of key issues and projects in the Pioneers among the attending landowners and representatives of various agencies.
Later, the Alliance collaborated with the City of Carey, the Little Wood River Irrigation District, and the Carey Economic Revitalization Group (CERG) to put on the dedication ceremony for the pavilion. Opening statements were provided by Dustin Colton of the Carey City Council, Vonnie Olsen of CERG, and Jim Peterson of the Little Wood Irrigation District. The key speakers of the ceremony included Congressman Mike Simpson as well as county commissioners Angenie McCleary and Larry Schoen.
We were glad to be a part of such a great event, and thanks to everyone who contributed!
Lois Stocking and Congressman Mike Simpson cut the ribbon to the pavilion.
Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve Awarded Grant by National Park Foundation
The Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve was recently awarded a 2012 Impact Grant by the National Park Foundation. The National Park Foundation is a non-profit organization that serves as one of the primary charities of National Parks in the US. The funding from this grant will contribute to the continued efforts of the Passage for Pronghorn project, which works to improve the pronghorn migration corridor by removing or altering fences.
Learn more about the grant here.
The unique landscape of the Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve
The Landscape
One of the jewels of America’s natural heritage, the Pioneers-Craters landscape ranges from sagebrush steppe, grasslands and lava flows to river, foothill and mountain ecosystems, supporting an array of wide-ranging and migratory wildlife.
Pioneers Alliance Hikes Friedman Creek
On Monday, members of the Pioneers Alliance, including Mike Stevens of PMG and colleagues from The Nature Conservancy, Idaho Conservation League and the Bureau of Land Management, toured portions of the Friedman Creek Wilderness Study Area. This is a spectacular and remote area in the heart of the Pioneer Mountains. The area provides superb big game habitat and we were impressed by the extensive beaver activity along Friedman Creek. We hiked for several hours along an overgrown trail along Friedman Creek – the shade and water along the creek were a welcome relief from temperatures in the 90s – and came away amazed at the scale, ruggedness and beauty of the place.
Hiking in the Friedman Creek Wilderness Study Area
Discussions on Wildlife Management and Conservation Easements
Brett Stevenson, Central Idaho Associate for the Idaho Conservation League, wrote a blog post on ICL’s website in response to an editorial in the Idaho Mountain Express. (Read IME’s article here)
Brett identifies that the newspaper took on a challenging task of “distinguishing between conservation easements and wildlife management issues” and further clarifies the difference between the two topics. We support the perspective in her blog post and encourage people to read it as well as the editorial. (Read the post Conservation Easements and Wildlife Management here)
