February 2026 Newsletter | Utah Open Lands

GAINING GROUND
MEMBER NEWSLETTER

UTAH OPEN LANDS | February 2026

We’re living in a moment when a lot feels uncertain and fast-moving. It can be hard to tell what will last, and what won’t.

At Utah Open Lands, our job is simple to describe and hard to do well: we make and keep permanent promises.

This month’s newsletter is a glimpse into that. What we’re working on right now, and why it matters.

We’re glad you’re here. Thanks for being part of it.

2026: The Year of the Horse

As the Lunar New Year ushers in the Year of the Horse, Utah Open Lands is naming 2026 our Year of the Horse, too. It’s a natural fit, and one that reflects how this work happens. Horses ask something simple and demanding of us. Slow down. Pay attention. Show up with intention. You don’t get very far by forcing things. Trust is built through consistency, and leadership is proven through action. And if you stay with it, something else begins to take shape. Confidence grows from steady support and earned trust. And the connection that develops becomes something almost sacred. Something beyond words. A quiet understanding of something deeper.   That way of working is grounding. It creates belonging. And when it’s done well, the hard work is rewarded with something that lasts: a shared commitment to one another. Protecting and stewarding land works the same way. At Utah Open Lands our work is rooted in relationships. Trust is earned over time. Leadership requires true listening and following-through. Confidence matters most when decisions are complex and permanent. Commitment is what makes stewardship endure. And connection to place, to community, and to shared purpose is what makes a permanent promise worth keeping. This year, we’re centering on the five values that guide both natural horsemanship and our work: Trust, Leadership, Confidence, Connection, and Commitment. These values shape how we show up, meaning how we listen, follow through, and keep our commitments, every day, for every piece of land. Throughout the Year of the Horse, we’ll be sharing stories that show what this looks like in real life. Stories from the land. Stories from the people who care for it. Stories that reveal partnership through action and practice. And yes, some stories from the back of a horse. Because every piece of land carries meaning for the people connected to it. As 2026 gets underway, this year is about being grounded. It’s about building relationships that last. And it’s about showing up together.

Pear Tree Llamas, One Step Closer to Protection

Utah Open Lands has secured a $200,000 state funding commitment from the LeRay McAllister Working Farm and Ranch Fund toward the conservation of the 40-acre Pear Tree Llamas property in Midway. Wasatch County has already committed $750,000, and Midway City has committed another $750,000. Together, those commitments have built strong momentum and moved permanent protection meaningfully closer for a landscape that plays an important role in the broader Heartland of the Heber Valley (which you’ll learn more about in the next article). Even so, $3,175,000 remains to be raised to complete the project. Pear Tree Llamas is a working agricultural landscape with a lot happening on it. It's home to ten llamas. Every other year, they’re sheared, and their coats are processed into fiber that’s spun into yarn. Their manure is also sold locally as natural fertilizer. The land also supports the grazing of roughly 50 head of cattle from the Kohler Dairy, an operation already protected by Utah Open Lands. As grazing land becomes harder to come by, this connection matters. It reflects a deliberate approach to land protection and to the long-term health of working agricultural systems. Protecting Pear Tree Llamas helps ensure that nearby operations like Kohler can continue to function and adapt as part of a connected landscape. Beyond agriculture, the property holds an intact stretch of sagebrush steppe where pollinators, birds, foxes, and deer still move through the landscape. As development density increases on all sides, that open swath becomes an oasis where wildlife move, feed, and rest. The Pear Tree Llamas project is one of several landscapes within Utah Open Lands’ Heartland of Heber Valley campaign. It’s cared for with intention, humility, and a deep sense of responsibility for what it gives back.

The Heartland of the Heber Valley

The Heartland of the Heber Valley is our campaign to protect the working lands, water, and open space that have shaped the Heber Valley for generations. These lands sustain water systems, support agriculture, and define the character of both Heber and Midway. This work is happening at a time of real pressure. Growth across the valley continues to accelerate. Landowners are being asked to make important choices, often with lasting consequences. We are currently working with several landowners to protect a dozen landscapes in the Heber Valley. The biggest obstacle in protecting these places is raising the necessary money to make protection happen. When a conservation easement is put in place, the development rights being permanently restricted are professionally appraised. Landowners may be compensated for that value through a combination of public funding and private support, and many choose to donate a portion of the value as well. That shared investment reflects a true partnership: with landowners, funders, and the community working together to protect land while keeping it privately owned and actively used. Because these easements are permanent, completing projects at this scale requires assembling millions of dollars over time. At the end of 2024, Utah Open Lands was awarded significant federal funding intended to support Heartland of the Heber Valley protection efforts. That funding did not move forward as anticipated, which has slowed progress and adjusted timelines. We have since been invited to reapply, and we remain engaged in that process while continuing to move projects forward as opportunities allow. Taken together, these realities make the Heartland work both more complex and more urgent. Our team remains deeply committed to this work and to the landowners who are choosing to engage in it. The Heartland of the Heber Valley reflects a shared belief that growth and protection do not have to be mutually exclusive. Working lands, water systems, and open space can still have a place in the valley’s future. And careful, permanent conservation remains the most effective way to protect the landscapes we love.

Stewardship Doesn't Hibernate

The work just shifts. Same promise, different season. In winter, we do less on-the-ground sitework, and more of the planning that makes the next field season run smoothly. Preparation for the next season begins as soon as the previous monitoring season is finished. Right now, our Stewardship Team is deep in that work. That means laying out this season’s schedule, reviewing management plans, and talking with landowners about their stewardship goals and the property’s future needs. It also includes addressing what surfaced during last season’s monitoring, following up on questions, planning invasive species work, and, when necessary, working through potential easement violations with clarity and care. That part of stewardship is not always easy, but it is essential. Permanent protection only holds if someone is willing to uphold it. And that is where the Year of the Horse values show up in real life, as a way of working, and not just words on a page. Steady, consistent, and grounded in follow-through. Protecting land isn’t seasonal. It’s a promise we keep all year, every year, forever.

Stewardship Under Your Feet

Stewardship comes in all shapes and sizes. Every action, even a small one, can make a big impact. Carrying a reusable water bottle helps cut back on single use plastics. Keeping hiking footwear clean minimizes the risk of transporting invasive weeds. Every day, we are faced with choices that can impact the landscapes we love. Despite there not being much snow this year, many of us are still finding our way onto skis and snowboards. That makes this a good moment to talk about one small choice that can have a positive impact. Some ski and snowboard waxes contain PFAS, often called “forever chemicals.” These substances don’t break down once they enter the environment. They move with snowmelt into soil and water, where they accumulate and persist. And they’ve been linked to serious health concerns for both people and wildlife. In other words, what’s on your skis does not stay on your skis. The good news is that this is one of those moments where stewardship is surprisingly simple. Choosing a non-fluoro ski wax keeps harmful chemicals out of the watersheds, soils, and the places we care about. It is a small change that adds up over time, especially in landscapes that see heavy winter use. Our community has already started to treat this like the real stewardship issue it is. In 2023, Park City passed an ordinance prohibiting its use and sale. If you have old fluoro wax sitting in a garage drawer, you don’t have to guess what to do with it. Recycle Utah accepts it in Park City for safe disposal, and more than 600 pounds have already been turned in. You can also mail it in through mountainFLOWs take-back program. And if you’re not sure what to buy next, most local ski shops can point you toward PFAS-free options that work great. So when you’re heading out—whether it’s Round Valley, Bonanza Flat, or your favorite resort—choosing PFAS-free wax is one small, but very big and meaningful way you can show stewardship for the water and land beneath your feet.

Stewardship on the Ground

The UOL stewardship team unanimously agreed that their favorite moment of 2025 was participating in the release of three fledgling flammulated owls at Bonanza Flat Conservation Area (BFCA). Flammulated owls (Psiloscops flammeolus) are migratory, exclusively nocturnal, cryptically colored, and smaller than a grapefruit: a combination that has landed them on the ‘most wanted’ list for many birders. Affectionately dubbed ‘flammies’, one of the young owls was rescued from Bonanza Flat last summer after it was discovered by hikers on a popular BFCA trail. The nestling was found in broad daylight, and conscientious hikers carefully marked its location to keep it from being disturbed before flagging down a Park City Trails ranger for assistance. After trying unsuccessfully to locate the young owl’s nest, the ranger transported the bird to a wildlife facility in Salt Lake City. There, it was rehabilitated and prepared for release along with two other fledgling flammies that were rescued near BFCA on the Wasatch Back. While removing a wild animal from its environment is always a last resort, we could not have asked for a better outcome in this situation. The hiking community worked together and exemplified good stewardship that day by protecting the young owl until it could be safely relocated, ultimately leading to its successful release. Flammulated owls are identified in the Bonanza Flat Adaptive Management & Stewardship Plan as a key species, and it was especially heartening to discover that there was a breeding pair in an area of the Property we have not previously seen. Since these migratory owls tend to return to historic nesting areas, we look forward to focusing future breeding bird surveys on the location the fledgling was found in 2025. All three flammies were banded by Hawkwatch International, which means that we may be able to learn more about their behavior and distribution if they are captured or identified again in the future. Conservation doesn’t end when land is protected. It continues through dedicated stewardship, community engagement, and through every individual that chooses to pause, notice, and care. We continue to be inspired by the ways our community shows up to protect natural spaces and wild things.

With Gratitude

Thank you for spending a little time with us, and for caring about this work.
We’re grateful to be doing it with you.
Here’s to the Year of the Horse, and to what we’ll make possible together.