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This year marks Summit Land Conservancy’s 20th Anniversary as Park City’s local land trust–- 20 years of saving the landscapes that are the heart of our community. The first 20 years of forever…
To honor the places we have protected, we will highlight and share some of the stories about these precious lands and how the Conservancy has grown over the years.
Located just off Instersate-80 in Tollgate Canyon, Rocky Point Preserve sits adjacent to the Silver Creek Neighborhood and the Snyderville Basin Planning District. The property is covered in Gambel Oak, Bigtooth Maple, Mountain Brush and grasses that are prime habitat for large game (deer, elk, moose), ground mammals (marmot, squirrel, ermine), and birds (turkey, ruffed grouse). If you're lucky, you may even hear an elk (or four) bugling in the distance during the fall rut season. Rocky Point Preserve offers views of a streambed surrounded by Aspen grove hillsides and jagged rocky outcroppings. The landowners maintain several trails that traverse the property and connect to a greater network of neighborhood trails used by the residents of Tollgate Canyon and Silver Creek/Red Hawk.
"Back in 2007, the 5-year-old Summit Land Conservancy held a pivotal Board retreat. The question before us was whether or not to expand our existing conservation program to include purchasing conservation easements. Easements are valued based on the development rights of the land, and even in 2007, we knew that buying these rights would be expensive.
That Board retreat was the kind of thing nonprofit gurus write books about. We gathered in the bar of the Yarrow Hotel, now the Doubletree, on Park Ave. No drinks were served because we were meeting early in the day. The discussion was both wide-ranging (where the heck is Henefer, anyway?) and pointed (who is going to do all this fundraising?). In retrospect, it seems like an easy decision, but at the time it was critical and the answer wasn’t obvious. Ultimately, the Board decided to heed the calls from folks in Eastern Summit County, and we found Henefer as well as the money.
But sometimes it’s easier; sometimes landowners are able to donate the entire easement, so we don’t have to navigate federal funding programs or hope for dollars from private foundations. Such was the case with Rocky Point Preserve. The plat map is one of the best ways to see the importance of this 263-acre easement. A swarm of small lots, representing hundreds of units of development, crowds around the edges of this land, and demonstrates what a different landowner might have chosen to do.
Ari Ioannides and Ember Conley had a different idea. They live on this land, and enjoy sharing it with the elk, moose, and other wildlife. Even more, they have permitted a public trail across the property so others can share it too. Ari and Ember gave a substantial gift to us and to the future when they donated this easement. The Conservancy’s ability to accept this gift is supported by all of our other supporters. Writing the easement, creating the catalogue of the conservation values, and setting aside stewardship funds, were made possible because so many other individuals make gifts to save land.
This month, we will conclude another donated easement on 5,200 acres in Morgan County. Here again the generosity of the landowner is met because people believe in the Summit Land Conservancy-- in our ability to find partners and work in concert with them for the benefit of the wildlife and the human life all across the Wasatch Back."
Learn more about the Conservancy’s work and how you can save the lands and waters you cherish at www.wesaveland.org.
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