Important Bird Area Conserved

On a sunny morning in early April 2008, Greg Burns invited staff from the Teton Regional Land Trust to tour his property - about 200 acres of pasture, farm fields and healthy cottonwood forests along the South Fork of the Snake River downstream of Twin Bridges in Madison County, Idaho. Armed with binoculars and accompanied by wildlife biologist Rob Cavallaro, Greg and TRLT staff were looking for birds.

They weren’t disappointed. Within a few hours, they had identified yellow warblers, Mac- Gillvary’s warblers, song sparrow, red-naped sapsucker, veery, ruby-crowned kinglet, Townsend’s solitaire, warbling vireo, eastern kingbird, cedar waxwings, Bullock’s orioles and Lazuli buntings mingling with the more common northern flicker, robins, black-billed magpie, European starling and black-capped chickadees. Belted kingfishers zipped along the river, while white pelicans and California and Franklin’s gulls flew overhead. A pair of wood ducks floated along the Reid Canal, Sandhill cranes foraged in the pastures, flipping over piles of manure in their search for grub. Osprey, kestrel, red-tailed hawk and Cooper’s hawk nested or roosted in the large cottonwoods.

In all, Greg and Land Trust staff identified 27 different species of birds on the property that day, which is not surprising given that the property lies within an Important Bird Area (IBA) designated along the South Fork by the National Audubon Society and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. The IBA program identifies areas throughout the world that are most important for maintaining bird populations.

In December 2008, Greg and Ginny Burns took steps to ensure that this wonderful mix of wildlife habitat and working lands would be protected forever, by donating a permanent conservation easement to the Teton Regional Land Trust. "Our family has owned the property for 60 years," Greg explained, "and my wife and I have always felt that this is a very special place."

Greg and Ginny began negotiating the conservation easement with a couple of goals in mind. They wanted to make sure the cultivated fields and pastures remained available for farming and grazing. They appreciated the wildness of the land between the levee and the river and wanted to manage that for the health of the forest and wildlife. They knew that anglers and boaters frequently floated along the stretch of river along their property, and they were willing to prohibit building anything along that stretch that would impair the views from the river. They wanted to continue using the property for hiking, fishing and hunting.

"We want to see the natural and cultural resources of the land protected for future generations and we are very grateful to have had the opportunity to work with the staff of the Teton Regional Land Trust to do this," said Greg.