Stepping foot into the Wood River Land Trust's heavily forested
Draper Wood River Preserve in western Hailey can be a
transformational experience. The hiker's ear is immediately
deluged with a cacophony of birdsong. Once one is cloistered
within the preserve's 84 acres of protected forest, the hubbub
of the nearby city is drowned out and replaced with the pleasant
chorus of birds and subtle rustling of overhead leaves. On an
especially wet and misty day last week, a moist fragrance
permeated the woods. If the day had been a hot June day instead,
hikers would likely have noticed another remarkable fact of
these rare forests: the substantial cooling effect that's
inherent in this dense riparian greenway. Wildlife know these
facts well. More species—especially birds—use these forests for
foraging and cover than any other Western habitat. But more on
that later. Often unseen by Western residents as they go about
their day-to-day lives is the tree that more than any other
defines the narrow ribbons of green that h