“We’re as grassroots as it gets.”
— Kristin Troy, Founding Executive Director
It was bold, ambitious and more than a little bit crazy–start a local organization devoted to private lands conservation in Central Idaho. That was the vision of LRLT founders Joe and Fran Tonsmeire and fellow ranchers Tom McFarland, Mike Overacker and Don Olson. Alarmed by an increasing number of properties being subdivided and developed, even in isolated drainages such as Hayden Creek where the Tonsmeires had ranched for thirty-some years, the group set to work forming the organization now known as Lemhi Regional Land Trust with the goal of providing alternatives to other landowners to selling their land piece by piece to developers.
Joe Tonsmeire at the 2006 Working Lands Celebration. 
Fran Tonsmeire at the 2009 Working Lands Celebration
But how? As Joe shared in a interview in the Post Register in 2005, “We’re just a bunch of local guys squeezing this work in between whatever else we’re doing because we believe in preserving the aspects of what we’ve got here.” That was one of the Tonsmeires’ gifts: bringing together the right people to get the job done.
In the summer of 2005 Joe stopped by the office of Idaho Adventures, a Salmon based river outfitting company. He was there to chat with co-owner Kristin Troy because, as he told her with a grin, LRLT needed “a little help.” Kristin began quizzing him about LRLT although she was already busy running Idaho Adventures with her husband, Mark, and wasn’t looking for another job.
“Is there an office?”
Nope.
“Checkbook?”
Nah.
“ANY funding?”
Nada.
Then she asked Joe why he’d decided to her approach her about the job. He answered simply, “Because I think you care about what we’re trying to do.” Unable to argue with Joe’s logic, Kristin committed ten hours per week and LRLT took up residence in the upstairs of Idaho Adventures.
Those first years were lean ones, with no clear idea where the funding would come from to keep the organization going, let alone funding to purchase conservation easements. Every single penny was stretched as far as it could possibly go. There was also a steep learning curve to master the technical details of negotiating a conservation easement, understanding just what exactly “perpetuity” meant, and trying to figure out how to ensure LRLT would be around in perpetuity to meet those commitments.
Everything about LRLT had to be started from scratch, but Joe & the board were on a mission. As Joe put in his unmistakable Alabama twang, “I just don’t want to see this valley get all screwed up.” It quickly became obvious that ensuring that the rural way of life, wildlife habitat and ranches of Central Idaho would stay intact was a priority for the community as well. Landowners began stopping by the office to see if a conservation easement was a possibility on their property, donations began showing up in the mail and the attendance continually grew at the annual fundraising picnic. It was humbling and awe inspiring to see how deeply people cared about the mission of LRLT.