Wendy Fisher, executive director of Utah Open Lands, said she met Steve Farrell in 1994, after the nonprofit succeeded in preserving 1,000 acres of land known as Snake Creek Canyon. That open space, now part of Wasatch Mountain State Park, was one of Utah Open Lands’ first big wins, and Fisher said Farrell was a big part of the process.“I have known Councilor Farrell to be one of those leaders who sought out a way to protect landowners’ ability to exercise their private property rights to preserve their land,” Fisher said. After decades of work, Farrell is stepping out of the spotlight in Wasatch County. As a farewell gift, Mountainside Resort Foundation is donating $1 million to Utah Open Lands in honor of Farrell’s years of public service. Since Farrell’s first years on the Wasatch County Council and the start of Utah Open Lands, thousands of acres have been preserved as open space in Wasatch County. “Giving the landowner options is key to land preservation, in my mind,” Farrell said. “The partnership with Utah Open Lands has allowed landowners who want to protect this rural heritage and the agricultural nature of our county with an option to leave that legacy.” Farrell’s legacy on the Wasatch County Council includes strides to preserve the North Fields near Heber City — an effort echoed by Heber City Council. The entities have pushed to keep that open space in mind while discussing topics like the proposed U.S. 40 bypass route with the Utah Department of Transportation, which has featured options through the North Fields area. “Back in 1994, after we did that celebration, Steve turned to me and said, ‘Well, what about the North Fields?” Fisher said. “I think he’s always recognized that that pastoral land that everybody sees as you drop into the Heber Valley is something that has necessarily been important.” Fisher said that “back in the day,” conservation easements were not as common as they are now. “Not everybody got it,” Fisher said. “But Steve did.” In 2018, the County Council added an open space bond on the ballot, allowing voters to opt for a tax increase in exchange for open land preservation. Since then, the County Council and Utah Open Lands have preserved hundreds of acres of open space. Most recently, the nonprofit secured protection for 102 acres known as the Albert Kohler Legacy Farm along Midway’s entry corridor. That project used funds from both Wasatch County and Midway City open space bonds, plus funding secured from the U.S. Natural Resource Conservation Service’s Agricultural Conservation Easement Program. To date, the nonprofit has protected over 18,000 acres in Wasatch County. In 2023, landowner Gary Barnett worked with the nonprofit and county to protect more than 3,100 acres of his land under a conservation easement known as the Forty Fifth Star preserve.With Mountainside Resort Foundation’s $1 million donation to Utah Open Lands, Fisher said that total amount will be donated over multiple years. The community foundation, which Barnett implemented, is primarily funded by community reinvestment fees.“With Extell’s and Reef Capital’s ongoing sales, the foundation is pleased to be able to provide the multiyear donation to Utah Open Lands for such purposes in honor of councilman Farrell,” a Utah Open Lands press release read.The post Utah Open Lands receives $1 million donation in honor of outgoing Wasatch County councilor appeared first on Park Record.