Photo by www.ktvb.com. Mr. Purdy in May of 2012.
[dropcap]W[/dropcap]hile certain self described “conservative” TV and radio talk show pundits, along with “anarchists,” as they’ve recently been called by speaker Boehner, find a savior and a hero in one Cliven Bundy, a real cattleman and true American patriot dies.
It’s a story of a man Mr. Bundy never was and will probably never come to be. His name – Leonard “Bud” Purdy, an Idahoan. My attachment to his story relates to fishing Silver Creek many times. Mr. Purdy assured that Silver Creek would stay one of the west’s best trout streams by giving the prime water to the Nature Conservancy in the 1990s. He donated a 3,500-acre conservation easement along Silver Creek, which is adjacent to his own Silver Creek Preserve. The easement permanently protects the creek and its environs from future development.
Silver Creek brown trout. Image by www.nature.org.
Mr. L.N. “Bud” Purdy had a long history of commitment to excellence in rangeland management and countless examples of his stewardship ethic on his ranch and rangelands. The deeded lands of his ranch border the world-famous trout stream, Silver Creek. Concern for these resources lead Mr. Purdy to adopt innovative irrigation practices, rotational grazing systems, fencing and other management changes to minimize run-off. Picabo Livestock was one of the first ranch operations in the west to partner with The Nature Conservancy and others and create a scenic easement to protect this stretch of Silver Creek from development years into the future.
Bud Purdy died at his Silver Creek ranch in Idaho on April 14th – he was 96. There will be celebration of his life at the Limelight Room in Sun Valley on May 4th at 3pm – I wish I could be there.
To read a tribute to Mr. Purdy, written by Rocky Barker for the Idaho Statesman, click here . . .
