Collaboration of Course!

Part 3: Completing the Promise – Partnership with the U.S. Forest Service

Part 3 of 3 in the Annie Creek Conservation Story

In September 2025, a 94-acre property along Annie Creek in the Frank Church – River of No Return Wilderness officially completed its journey back to the wild, but the origins of that conservation journey started years earlier.

The final step in Annie Creek’s journey was a moment to celebrate. The Wilderness Land Trust sold the Annie Creek parcel to the U.S. Forest Service which officially placed this special land into permanent protection within the Frank Church – River of No Return Wilderness. What began as a private, vulnerable property has now become part of a public legacy, a place where water flows clean and cool, wilderness thrives, wildlife roams free, and people can experience the awe of untouched nature for generations to come.

Through careful collaboration, Annie Creek moved from private stewardship to federal protection. Legally, it is now managed under the standards of the Wilderness, ensuring its forests, streams, and wildlife are shielded from development, but how does this happen?

Each year, purchase proposals are identified by individual National Forests and submitted to regional offices and forwarded to the national office. The national office identifies the purchases which will be included in the President’s Land & Water Conservation Fund list which is presented to Congress. (https://www.fs.usda.gov/land/staff/LWCF/faqs.shtml)

Enacted in 2020, the Great American Outdoors Act provides permanent and full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, thereby increasing funding for the Forest Service’s LWCF land acquisition program. This investment will improve public access by funding strategic land acquisitions, support locally-led conservation efforts and protect our natural heritage. Land is bought from landowners at fair-market value (unless the owner chooses to offer the land as a donation or at a bargain price). The Fund receives money mostly from fees paid by companies drilling offshore for oil and gas. Other funding sources include the sale of surplus federal real estate and taxes on motorboat fuel. (https://www.fs.usda.gov/land/staff/LWCF/index.shtml)

But Annie Creek is more than a protected parcel. It now links to a larger network of contiguous habitat, supporting wildlife movement, biodiversity, and ecosystem resilience. For people, it provides access to solitude, recreation, and the profound experience of being in a truly wild landscape.

From vision to permanence, Annie Creek’s story spans a remarkable circle: a funder’s passion sparked the project, local expertise guided it, national partners ensured its completion, and federal stewardship secured its forever protection. Every hand involved helped turn a private promise into a public legacy.

Every acre conserved, wilderness or not, starts with people working together. You can be part of that impact, whether through a donation, volunteering, or simply sharing the story of the lands you love. At Payette Land Trust, we are proud to connect passionate supporters, big and small, with the extraordinary landscapes in the heart of Idaho, helping ensure these open spaces are protected for generations to come.

Previous: Part 2: Bridging Local and National: PLT and the Wilderness Land Trust