Utah Open Lands executive director Wendy Fisher said the Giles family farm, nestled in the heart of the North Fields, is full of unique grasslands and a rich variety of plants and animals.
“You’ve got sandhill cranes standing next to cows; you’ve got really amazing, beautiful grasses,” she said. “It’s one of the more visually stunning fields that you can see.”
Over four years of work went into securing permanent protection for the 60-acre ranch, which has been in the Giles family for generations.
The federal Natural Resources Conservation Service contributed over $2 million to the easement, $650,000 came from a Wasatch County open space bond and about $145,000 came from Utah’s LeRay McAllister Working Farm and Ranch Fund.
Fisher said that money doesn’t come close to the value of the land stewarded by Alan Giles and his son Chadd.
“It’s not what somebody could have sold the property for on a fair market value,” she said. “There is a significant decision that these landowners are making, and it really is about how much they care about the community and how much they love their land.”
The land is still a working farm. The fields within the easement are primarily used for grazing.
“Chadd’s probably out there today calving,” Fisher said.
The Flying A Ranch joins the 102-acre Kohler farm as permanently protected land in and near the North Fields, which locals often call the “crown jewel” of the Heber Valley.
Other easements are still in the works for the area.
The easement is finalized against the backdrop of the Utah Department of Transportation’s determination that building a bypass through part of the North Fields will be the best solution to traffic problems in Wasatch County.
Laren Gertsch has been working for years to place nearly 170 acres of his farmland under an easement. However, the bypass interrupted those plans.
UDOT materials show the agency plans to acquire about 50 acres of Gertsch’s land for the highway.
Fisher said Utah Open Lands won’t give up on the North Fields.
“Until I’m told, ‘No, your hopes are completely dashed,’ we’re going to continue to look for funding and preserve as much of the North Fields as we can,” she said.
She said she’s grateful for the tenacity and generosity of the Giles family and all the farmers working to preserve their land in the Heber Valley.
