Location: Tendoy, Idaho on Kenney Creek and the Lemhi River.
Land Size: 585 acres
Year Completed: 2011
Project Timeline
- 2007: The Nature Conservancy (TNC) receives funding for a conservation easement on the Kenney Creek Ranch.
- 2009: Current owners of the Kenney Creek Ranch decide to sell the ranch. In December, LRLT and TNC begin acquiring the Kenney Creek Ranch by purchasing the main 505 acre parcel
- June-December 2010: Purchased three adjoining parcels totaling 80 acres, reconnecting them to the original ranch and adding over 1/2 mile of additional Lemhi River frontage.
- August 2011: Conservation easement is completed and ownership of the Kenney Creek Ranch is transferred to long time Lemhi area ranchers, the Tonsmeire Family in exchange for a conservation easement on her 1,040 acre Hayden Creek Ranch.
Funding for this project was provided by the Snake River Basin Adjudication Habitat Fund and Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund.
This conservation easement provides for the continuation of ranching and agricultural activities and helps to protect the water quality and quantity in Kenney Creek and the Lemhi River. Additionally, functioning riparian and wetland ecosystems and spawning and rearing habitat for anadromous and resident fish will be preserved. Re-connection of Kenney Creek to the main stem Lemhi River is also accomplished through a water management agreement.
Project Partners
- The Nature Conservancy
- Idaho Department of Fish and Game
- Upper Salmon Basin Watershed Project
- Upper Salmon Basin Watershed Project Technical Team
- Shoshone-Bannock Tribes
- Bureau of Land Management
