STATE NEWS
EDUCATION NEWS
KETCHUM
What Does Your Cell Phone Weigh? PG 9
Changing Of The Guard PG 4
Idaho Capitol Open Again PG 5 SUN VALLEY
DOVE
HAILEY
BELLEVUE
PICABO
CAREY
WOOD RIVER WEEKLY
YOUR VOICE IN THE WOOD RIVER VALLEY
Free | April 21 - May 4, 2021 | Vol. 2 - No. 8 | woodriverweekly.com
“ We h a v e n o r i g h t t o b e l i e v e t h a t f re e d o m c a n b e w o n w i t h o u t s t r u g g l e . ” ~Che Guevara
A SILVER (CREEK) LINING
A young cyclist takes in the view of the 881-acre Silver Creek Preserve south of Bellevue. Photo credit: The Nature Conservancy
Visitor center, new programs coming to 881-acre preserve
W
By Eric Valentine
hen Lou and Cindy Lunte packed up their belongings 32 years ago and moved out of the log cabin they had built in perhaps the most scenic open space in the entire south Wood River Valley, they thought they were saying
goodbye for good. Grateful to head out to promising new jobs, the young couple also felt something was incomplete. “We built it and then only got to live there briefly,” explains Lou Lunte. “So now it’s kind of like coming home.” Lunte has spent the past year as the preserve manager for Silver Creek Pre-
Fly-fishing enthusiasts enjoy Silver Creek Preserve, home to a globally unique aquatic ecosystem that features one of the highest densities of stream insects in North America. Photo credit: The Nature Conservancy
serve—a thriving, 881-acre high-desert ecosystem southeast of Bellevue with a creek that runs through it and an abundance of wildlife, including eagles, elk, coyotes, deer, bobcats, and moose. As many as 150 species of birds have been identified along the nature trail there and its globally unique aquatic ecosystem features one of the highest densities of stream insects in North America. That’s a big deal because without the bugs there are no bigger animals, too. And what a year it has been. The Luntes retired from their longtime positions with The Nature Conservancy pre-pandemic and made the move back to the log cabin just west of Picabo when Lou landed the preserve manager position in May. Although the tiny visitor center there could not offer social distancing measures, the acreage offered something more northern Sawtooth recreation spots couldn’t—less crowds. “Up north was just too busy, people didn’t want to travel too far, so they came south and discovered all this,” Lunte said. “It seemed like every other visitor we talked to was from the Valley and it was their first time here.” Lunte could not utilize the 450-squarefoot visitor center given COVID safety measures, and the outside deck—a cher-
ished spot for overlooking the bird watching and fishing spots below—could only fit a couple people at a time. And even in non-pandemic times, the facility had to conduct group tours from the parking lot, Lunte said. So it’s with an abundance of excitement that Lunte is welcoming the visitor center upgrade now underway. The infrastructure improvements are part of the comprehensive Silver Creek Enhancement Plan, a five-year project led by The Nature Conservancy to enhance the overall visitor experience, expand community and youth education opportunities and continue restoration and habitat enhancement of the creek ecosystem. This first portion of the project features the construction of the redesigned visitor center, which includes the creation of a new classroom facility and other essential upgrades that will increase visitor accessibility and safety and provide new opportunities for youth and community engagement. The existing structure will be replaced by an updated and modernized visitor education center that better supports community needs, designed by Continued SILVER CREEK Page 2