The project began on a site that was once an eighty acre pasture for Angus cattle twenty six years ago. During that time, a small creek snaked slowly through the pasture until it poured into the South Fork of the Boise River. Over many years the cattle trampled the creek perimeter until it became lost among shrub willows, sedge grass and marsh vegetation.

 
The ranch was purchased by my client for the initial purpose of extracting gravel, and secondly to build a homesite alongside the lake created once the gravel was removed. With permits secured, the site was excavated into two small lakes, each with an island planted within natural vegetation beneficial for upland game bird habitat. One residential site is built on the north lake. The event center is built on the south side.
Several hundred Willow, Ash, Poplar, Birch, Pine and Spruce were raised on site. Once irrigation was complete, these trees were planted along the lake perimeter. Serviceberry, Hawthorne, Sand willow and Dogwood were planted near the lakeshore to shelter fish nesting in the shallow sand close to shore. A blanket of Red Fescue stabilized the earth beneath the tree canopy. Boulders are placed to support steeper slopes.
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The grounds contain a grand private beach, terraced lawns and paver patios. A spawning creek weaves its way through Birch clusters, bridged over by an entry road of tumbled pavers.
In collaboration with the architects, the building site, pathways and parking areas were defined. To eliminate flood concerns the ground was raised substantially with compacted fill to elevate beyond recorded high water. The site was then terraced using dry stacked sandstone walls with periodic inset large boulders. An eight foot wide concrete pathway gently follows the lake perimeter, providing access to the campus features.