Spread over 432 acres along the East Fork of the Salmon River and surrounded by public land on three sides, Greenfire offers wonderful wildlife viewing. Coyotes, salmon, eagles, spotted bats, peregrine falcons, deer, elk, bears, wild horses and pronghorn antelope have all been spotted from eth main house. Wolves, bighorn sheep and moose roam watching a few miles of Greenfire.

 Recreational opportunities abound near the preserve. Strolling around Greenfire is enjoyable and often rewarding for birding and wildlife viewing. Numerous day hikes into the White Clouds and Boulders are within a 30-mile radius of the preserve.

Excellent fishing and mountain biking are also nearby, as are several hot springs. One of Greenfire's many great advantages is the long season for hiking, often year-round at low elevations.

My own experience illustrates the recreation, relaxation and wildlife viewing that WWP members can find at Greenfire. My husband Dale and I rented the big house at Greenfire over the recent Christmas holidays.

We sought respite from the canned Christmas carols, fake icicles and other commercial trappings of the season. We found immediate refuge at the preserve.

The East Fork of the Salmon, which flows next to the house, supplied constant, relaxing background music. In the evenings, we enjoyed watching dozens of deer come down to graze Greenfire's grasses.

At night, the Milky Way glittered in the black winter sky, far from city lights. Mornings brought out a three-coyote "vole patrol," which amused us with their pouncing and playing.

During the short days, we took awe-inspiring day hikes, one to a spot on Bureau of Land Management land known as the "Paint Pots." The Paint Pots were a vision of southern Utah, with slot canyons, red and yellow rocks glazed by a skiff of snow, and absolute quiet. We felt like the luckiest people on earth, standing in an undiscovered place of such beauty while masses of holiday shoppers were mobbing malls in "civilization."

The other board members and I sincerely hope that WWP members will take advantage of similar opportunities to enjoy wildlife and the outdoors at Greenfire. We encourage you to see for yourselves how the removal of livestock and the restoration of native habitat benefits not only wildlife and the arid western landscape but also the human soul.