Rathdrum land protected

Dr. Mary Kamberos held dear a special 48-acre property for 43 years, one that she had inherited from her father who bought it in 1930. In her will, she stipulated that the land be forever protected. After her death, INLC was called on to make her wish come true, with the Dr. Mary D. Kamberos Conservation Easement.

This beautiful land is just outside of the Rathdrum, Idaho city limits and 25 miles northeast of downtown Spokane. It connects the foothills of Mount Spokane and Rathdrum Mountain with the Rathdrum Prairie, providing an invaluable wildlife corridor as well as a buffer against development. Moreover, it straddles the edge of the Rathdrum aquifer, and contains a stream that crosses the property and vanishes directly into the Rathdrum aquifer, which provides clear, clean water for hundreds of thousands of people. Nine thousand people view the Kamberos property every day from Highway 53, as well as Highway 95, and Interstate 90.

The Kamberos easement consists of 40 acres of mixed forest, with an understory of native shrubs, as well as an eight-acre hay meadow. It hosts ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, Douglas fir, grand fir, larch, Oregon grape, snowberry, syringa and many wildflowers and grasses including lupine, sego lily, and arrowleaf balsamroot. Family members have personally observed elk, coyotes, deer, bears, moose, bobcats, cougars, raccoons, porcupines, bats, and skunks, as well as Red-tailed Hawks, owls, flickers, bluebirds, juncos, goldfinches, Pileated Woodpeckers, quail, robins, and Rufous, Calliope, and Black-chinned Hummingbirds.

Dr. Kamberos had a clear vision for her cherished property, to retain it in its natural, undeveloped state as a habitat for birds and animals, to protect the Rathdrum aquifer, and to provide a wildlife corridor from Mt. Spokane to the Rathdrum Prairie. INLC’s conservation easement fulfills that, as it honors and ensures her important legacy.