Utah Open Lands launches Heber Valley conservation campaign with $2 million matching gift

The Provo River runs through the Northfields in Heber Valley. Photo: Utah Open Lands

HEBER CITY, Utah — Utah Open Lands has launched a campaign to permanently protect working lands, water, and open space in the Heber Valley, backed by a $2 million matching gift the nonprofit says could help unlock additional public and private funding.

The organization says the Heartland of the Heber Valley campaign needs more than $10 million for conservation projects already in its pipeline. The effort comes as Wasatch County, one of the fastest-growing counties in Utah, faces development pressure that the group says threatens the agricultural land and waterways that define the valley.

Executive Director Wendy Fisher said the campaign’s top priority is the North Fields, a stretch of agricultural land north of Heber City that she described as a unique hydrological system. The area’s wetlands and waterways support return flows to the Provo River.

“When you drop into the Heber Valley, and you see those braided streams, and you see a pastoral horizon dotted with cows, it automatically gives you that slower pace of life, that sense of place,” Fisher said.

The campaign’s featured projects include the Christian Michel property, Pear Tree Llamas, Heart of Midway, Gertsch, and the Albert Kohler Legacy Farm. Some already have partial public funding committed. Others still require major fundraising.

Utah Open Lands says it has protected more than 25,000 acres of working land and open space across Wasatch County over three decades. Its primary tool is the conservation easement, a legal agreement that permanently limits certain types of development while allowing the land to remain in private ownership.

Fisher said the process often takes years and involves family discussions, appraisals, and fundraising before a deal closes.

“The decision to preserve their land doesn’t happen overnight, nor does the conservation easement happen overnight,” Fisher said.

The county’s population is expected to double over the next 30 years, according to the organization. Fisher said that growth makes conservation more urgent.

“We know what happens with poor planning,” Fisher said. “We know what happens when we lose treasured landscapes. We lose a piece of the place we call home.”

The campaign also faces a funding gap. Utah Open Lands had secured a federal Regional Conservation Partnership Program grant for some projects, but Fisher said the funding was frozen and later clawed back at the beginning of 2025. The organization is now pursuing alternative funding paths.

Fisher said the $2 million match gives the effort early credibility with potential donors and public agencies.

“First and foremost, the $2 million matching gift demonstrates the power of people coming to the table to save what they care about,” Fisher said.

She said open space protection should be treated as part of long-term community planning alongside development.

“Part of our stewardship responsibility to the next generation, when we look at growth, is to shift our frame of reference, shift the paradigm, so that we are planning for and investing in those things that make community and not just the things that make profit,” Fisher said.

Utah Open Lands expects to announce the completion of several separate conservation easements in the Heber Valley in the coming weeks. Those were funded independently of the new campaign.

Fisher said the organization will continue seeking private donations, grants, and community support, and that broad local backing will be key to attracting larger funders.

“When you can go to a donor, and you can say, ‘I have 1,000 supporters of this initiative,’ that means something,” Fisher said.