Landowner donates Idaho land once planned for subdivision

An anonymous landowner has donated 0.26 square miles of mule deer winter range in Pocatello to a local land trust.

The donation to the Sagebrush Steppe Land Trust ends previous plans of converting the property into a subdivision, the Idaho State Journal reported. The property represents the southern portion of roughly 0.62 square miles the city annexed more than 10 years ago, in preparation for a proposed 900-unit residential and commercial development.

Sagebrush Steppe Land Trust Director Matt Lucia said the trust “hopes to continue to work in this landscape to create a buffer between core winter range and residential and commercial development.”