Cache Valley • Most of Kendra Penry’s happiest memories take place in wild, open spaces — climbing trees, exploring woods, sledding down hills without a sled, and returning home covered in dirt.
“They helped shape me,” Penry said, “and helped me to learn independence and to grow and to really value the world around me.”
In her view, the same is true for many others. This belief drove her to work tirelessly in 2022 to promote an initiative to preserve such spaces. The initiative, which appeared on the Cache County General Election ballot, aimed to safeguard open spaces for the community. It is also the reason why she now serves on the advisory committee for the initiative she championed and why she loves her role as the director of Logan Canyon’s Stokes Nature Center.
“They are so valuable to each and every person,” she said, “whether we realize it or not, to be connected to our neighbors and to our own health. Everybody deserves to have that access, no matter their background or their job or who they are. The community as a whole has to put value on it so that each individual can have access to it.”
The $20 million Open Space Bond, approved by Cache County voters, is designed to protect the rapidly growing county and create trail corridors. The funds will support projects to protect scenic visas, preserve open lands near the valley’s gateways, improve trail connectivity and benefit agriculture, waterways and wildlife.
This summer, the funds became available.
Rather than purchasing land outright, the county plans to use the funds to purchase development rights from landowners, said County Executive David Zook. This arrangement compensates landowners for agreeing not to develop their properties.
The funds can be used to acquire conservation easements, trail easements, or property for open space preservation and trail development. Farmers and ranchers who enter agreements with the county can continue using their land as they wish, provided they do not develop it.
“They can’t turn it from a farm into a neighborhood,” Zook said, “that won’t be allowed. But they could still use the land in its open form.”
This approach allows people like Joe Fuhriman, who operates and lives on Elkhorn Ranch, Cache Valley’s first settlement, to preserve both the land he has spent his life working on and his family’s history. It also protects the wildlife and water that the ranch calls home.
Fuhriman’s property, settled by Brigham Young in 1855 and visible from Highway 156, includes a major wildlife corridor, miles of farmland and the Blacksmith Fork River. Fuhriman, who grew up on the property, recalls being surrounded by waterfowl, birds of prey, fish and deer his whole life.
“You’d be surprised, the number of people that tell me ‘Make sure you don’t develop that. That’s the most beautiful property in the county,’” Fuhriman said. “When I was growing up, even as a small, small boy, I thought I didn't want to develop this. I want to keep this place as it is.”
Elkhorn Ranch was the first of two properties already approved by the Cache Open Space Advisory Committee and the County Council. This committee, appointed by the County Executive, is composed of volunteers passionate about the initiative for a variety of reasons. For Penry, the committee is a chance to advocate for preserving land that supports wildlife and provides joy to the community.
For Clair Ellis, a COSAC volunteer, it’s about ensuring taxpayers’ dollars are spent wisely. Ellis, who sells farm equipment and works closely with landowners, did not vote for the bond in 2022 — not because he opposes open space but because he prefers taxes and budgets to go through a standard process.
“The county cannot afford to simply buy everything and lock it away forever,” he said. “We’re going to have to be very selective. What I was very happy to find is I think every other committee member has that same view.”
The committee has developed five criteria for evaluating properties: preserving prime agricultural land, promoting trail connectivity or public use, protecting waterways and wildlife habitats and maintaining scenic vistas. Members score each property out of 100 based on these factors.
One way the committee evaluates properties, Ellis explained, is by looking at other valleys in Utah that have been heavily developed and asking, “What if these areas had been preserved?”
“When you enter the county, there’s kind of that ‘wow moment’ when you drive over the hill and you see the whole valley open in front of you,” Ellis said. “People want to preserve that. And those are things that taxpayers, who are not farmers, are interested in, and so we’re balancing those.”
The committee has already approved two properties for funding: Elkhorn Ranch and a farm in Richmond. Gabriel Murray, executive director of the Bear River Land Conservancy — a nonprofit dedicated to preserving open space in Cache Valley — said the county’s initiative is crucial to the nonprofit’s mission. The organization had been working with Elkhorn Ranch for years to secure its preservation, and these funds make all the difference.
Elkhorn Ranch’s historic significance, public visibility — with more than 25,000 daily drivers passing the property — role as a working ranch and abundant wildlife habitat make it a prime candidate for preservation, Murray said. A tributary of the Logan and Bear Rivers flows through the property for more than half a mile.
Through the initiative, the county has the chance to ease development pressures, Murray added.
“It’s kind of timely, I guess you could say so right now,” he said. “We have the growth and we have the pressure, but we also have the opportunity. We’re working with second, third, fourth generation landowners, many of which have a desire to see their land preserved and see those benefits for future generations. That won’t always be the case, but it is the case today in Cache Valley, and Cache Valley is a beautiful place.”
