Stack Rock Reserve will grow to more than 2,000 acres under a new deal approved by Boise City Council Tuesday.
City officials will pay $420,000 to M3 Eagle LLC for 840 acres between Bogus Basin and the existing Stack Rock Reserve.
That company was the developer of the stagnant Spring Valley Ranch project until 2016, after years of promising to build more than 7,000 homes in Eagle.
Council Pro Tem Lauren McLean joined in the unanimous vote, saying this new land will preserve critical habitat for animals and plants.
“It’s a really special piece of land that we are able to acquire at an incredible price and it connects with one of our most popular reserves to make what will be the biggest reserve in the city, which is the Stack Rock Reserve,” McLean says.
The money comes from a 2001 levy worth $10 million set aside to preserve open space.
McLean says she has high aspirations for a similar levy passed by voters earlier this month.
“I hope that we can do as well as the first levy did. It really exceeded our wildest expectations, but we still have [$118,000] left in that first levy that has to be used on acquisitions,” she says.
Boise bought the original 1,300 acre Stack Rock Reserve in 2010 with help from a $1 million donation from local hiker Fred Alleman.
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