A River Ran Through It Ranch Submerged By Last Spring’s Floods To Become A Wildlife Preserve

A large wetland will be preserved for wildlife along the St. Joe River, thanks to a Spokane Valley family’s agreement with the federal government.

The 1,135 acres cover most of the Hepton ranch downstream of St. Maries. The land was turned into a shallow lake last May, when floodwaters tore a 150-foot gash in the private riverside levee.

Faced with rebuilding the levee and repairing 16 miles of ditch, the owners decided to accept an offer from the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

They’ve signed an option to sell a conservation easement. The land will be surveyed, and a final price established, in the next three to six months. Both sides expect the deal to go through.

Family members declined to give the estimated value of the easement. Bob and Dave Hepton own the land with their mother, Clara.

Clara and the late Virgil Hepton of Greenacres, bought the riverside ranch in 1949.

“Mom would like to make it a showplace for wildlife,” said Bob Hepton, who lives in Asotin, Wash.

A conservation easement would mean no farming or ranching can be done and no structures can be built. But the property will remain private. The family may open a hunting club there.

“We’ll still have to pay the taxes on it. It has to pay its way,” Bob Hepton said. “All our retirements are tied up in this ranch and the other one (at Greenacres).”

The biggest benefit of the transaction is probably getting people out of harm’s way in the flood plain, said district conservationist Mark Addy. “Another is providing wildlife habitat.”

Addy would not reveal the estimated cost to taxpayers, saying he was unsure if that was public information.

The conservation service plans to stabilize the dike where the water broke through, to make it safe and to prevent erosion. State and federal wildlife agencies already are looking at how they might improve the waterfowl habitat, with plantings or perching platforms.

There are similar easements being discussed in North Idaho, but “this is the big one,” Addy said. “There was an environmental evaluation we had to go through because of the size, scope and benefits involved. It ranked really high, nationally.”

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