OTHER PROJECTS

The Van Riper Easement Benefits the Entire Community

October, 2007- The 40 acres west of town recently incorporated into Lone Pine State Park have been in the Van Riper family for over 50 years and have been an integral part of their lives.  Sandra Van Riper’s grandparents were among the earliest pioneers in the Flathead, with their roots in Demersville and then Kalispell.  Her parents were prominent business people helping Kalispell and the entire Flathead Valley grow.  The 40 acres had been a part of an old sheep ranch and then used for cattle grazing and logging when her parents bought it in the 1950s.  It became part of their ranch west of town, providing limited grazing for horses, but more importantly it was a small piece of “wilderness” where she grew up. 

Not a summer day passed, nor few winter days, when she did not climb the hill on horseback or on foot to seek the solitude and peace that was present amongst the trees.  Each place and area had a name such as Sun Valley, Shadow Vale, Little Rockies, or Vanilla Tree and some mossy knolls assumed an almost shrine type reverence for her.  She knew where the Bitterroot bloomed and where the first Crocus would peak through the spring snow patches. She picked wildflowers for the dinner table and afternoon wild strawberries from the forest floor.  She knew the best places to see a coyote, a bobcat or a deer.  She counted the stars at night from the meadows and watched the valley pass by from the cliffs. In short, she grew up on that hill overlooking the Flathead Valley.  No life problem was ever too large to face on that hill, under a tree, under the sky, inside her soul.

Sandra’s parents began to divide their ranch and eventually passed the 40 acres on to Sandra.  Her mother explained when she gave it to her that although it was of lesser economic value than other parts of the ranch, it was perhaps their most precious piece.  She told her that she knew that Sandra would take care of the forest and land.   Life carried Sandra far away from the forest on the hill, but through the years just knowing that small piece of land remained pristine and intact was so often a salve for her soul.  The trees grew and matured and are now approaching “old growth” stages, and there are few such pockets of forest left unscathed in the valley.  Over the years, neighbors logged their land, homes were built on adjacent pieces, and civilization encroached.  Offers to buy the land have been numerous.  But this special piece of land is in her trust.  In 2006, Sandra decided to start working on a conservation easement for the property because it allows her to know that it will be protected in perpetuity. 

Sandra could think of no better way to pass it on than to have it be incorporated into Lone Pine State Park.  It is her sincere wish that every child that grows up in the Flathead Valley will make a pilgrimage into the forest and spend a little time under those trees. This land, being close to Kalispell as the city grows, will hopefully serve as a respite for generations to come.  To that end, she passed this small piece of land into the Park for the use, enjoyment and enrichment of everyone.