A Fond Farewell Message
Our hearts are full of gratitude as we bid a fond farewell to our longest serving board member and the Chair of our Board, Glen Busch.
I am not the type of person who seeks out the spotlight. I’m much more comfortable working in the background, but I am stepping away from the board at the end of this year. This has caused me to reflect on how much we have accomplished: both as an organization and as a community.
I have been involved with land conservation in Cache county and across the Bear River Watershed for nearly 25 years. I’ve spent the last ten years on the Conservancy’s board, and have served as the board Chair for the last four years. In that time, I have seen development pressure threaten working farms, wetlands, and wildlife habitats. Many of the open spaces which define this region have uncertain futures, and it is clear that the need for conservation has become more urgent.
The Bear River Land Conservancy has grown right along with that need. Over the past decade, we have matured, we have expanded our capacity, we have strengthened our partnerships, and we have helped protect places which will forever remain part of northern Utah’s landscape long after all of us are gone. We’ve protected places like Evan’s Ranch which itself protects Sagwitch Basin, an important heritage site for the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation. We have been instrumental in protecting an enormous portion of Bear River wetlands by Great Salt Lake. We have also preserved a small family farm with our Schiess Ranch easement.
As I prepare to take my leave, I am excited to know that there are many exciting projects in the works. We continue to make progress toward protecting Fuhriman’s Elkhorn Ranch in the heart of Cache Valley. We have a truly breathtaking project in the works which we hope will connect Cache Valley with Rich county, protecting enormous migratory pathways through the Bear River Mountains. We have other large ranch projects throughout the Bear River watershed which I am very optimistic about.
Each of these conservation projects represents years of patient work, relationship building, fundraising, and persistence. They also represent something much larger: a promise that future generations will inherit at least some of the open land, agricultural heritage, wildlife habitat, and sense of place that we enjoy today.
I am tremendously proud to be part of this work. I am even more proud of the people behind this work. Our staff have approached very difficult and incredibly complicated projects with professionalism, patience, and pragmatism. Above all, I am extremely grateful and proud for the integrity our staff has shown over the last few years as we make and keep our commitments to landowners, project partners, and each other. In particular, I am grateful for the efforts of our Executive Director, Gabe Murray, and our Bear River Watershed Coordinator, Matt Coombs. They could have chosen careers in the private sector and would have been extremely successful, making far more money than what we can afford to pay them. Instead, they are driven by their passion for these special places to conserve them for future generations.
I also want to thank our newest staff, Jaimi Butler, for bringing such enthusiasm and joy to our work which can so often revolve around the dry, boring, detailed complexities of conservation easement law. We are so lucky to have her with us.
Conservation work is rarely quick or easy. Projects can take years. Funding can be uncertain. Negotiations can be complicated, and our responsibility does not end when a conservation easement is signed. BRLC makes a permanent promise to uphold and enforce each easement and protect its conservation values. That is a responsibility measured not in years or decades, but in perpetuity.
That permanent responsibility is one reason I feel comfortable stepping away now: we have done the work we need to do to ensure that this organization will persist. A huge part of that work has been done by the board of directors, without whom I would not feel comfortable stepping away. Our board brings their judgement, expertise, and commitment to countless meetings and decisions, including our recent pursuit of national Land Trust Alliance accreditation.
During my time as Board Chair, I have seen Bear River Land Conservancy develop so many strategic partnerships. I am so proud of our longstanding partnership with The Nature Conservancy and of our staff-sharing model with Sagebrush Steppe Land Trust. I am grateful for our partnership with Stokes Nature Center and for the perpetual guidance and support of Summit Land Conservancy. We would not be able to accomplish our work without these critical partnerships.
Finally, I would like to thank and recognize a few individuals who have mentored me, inspired me, or pushed me to take on greater responsibilities over the last 20 years, including Bryan Dixon, Joe Fuhriman, Dave Rayfield, Chris Call, Trevor Irish, Mark Brunson, and so many others. Thank you all for working alongside me for the last ten years. Thank you for trusting me to serve as Chair. Most importantly, thank you for caring about this remarkable place we call home, and for helping ensure that critical parts of it remain open, healthy, and protected for generations to come.
Looking to our future, I am confident in the next generation of board leadership, beginning with our Chair Elect Shawn Milne. As a final ask, I would like to invite everyone reading this to volunteer, share BRLC’s story, or contribute financially so we can continue to be successful and save the places which make our home feel like home.
