Nutrien donates more than 600 acres to the City of Soda Springs, Idaho

Published: Jul 18, 2024

The City of Soda Springs, Idaho received a large land donation from Nutrien subsidiary, Nu-West Industries in May 2024. The land, Ledger Creek, is a 608-acre wetlands conservation property located south of Soda Springs which includes 200 acres of wetlands, a six-acre pond, almost one mile of stream, 400 acres of upland habitat, and the associated water rights.

The property was originally bought by another mining company in 2001 but was transferred to Nutrien in 2004 as part of a business transaction. Nutrien maintained the property for 20 years and recently donated it to the City of Soda Springs, along with $150,000 in cash and three years of maintenance and engineering support. The City will use the property to connect its existing trail system to the Bear River and create a recreational area for the community.

“We’re happy to see this property take the next step toward public education and recreational use along with long-term protection. That has been the intent for the property since it was originally purchased back in 2001.  Over the past 20 years, Nutrien has made a number of habitat improvements to the property, which holds waterfowl and upland birds most of the year, and deer and elk over the winter months. The city has been great to work with on this process and we look forward to continuing that relationship on future development efforts,” says Jon Bronson, Nutrien’s Sr. Manager of Remediation. 

Remediation work at the Nutrien subsidiary Nu-West Industries’ mine sites began in 2013. The bulk of the work is anticipated to be completed in the early 2030’s. However, post-closure maintenance and monitoring will continue beyond 2030.

Another example of how Nutrien supports environmental sustainability and conservation in the area is the Upper Blackfoot Confluence Conservation Partnership. Nutrien was a founding member of the unique partnership, which was started in 2012 with two other mining companies and local conservation organizations including Trout Unlimited and the Idaho Conservation League. The partnership funds and implements projects to restore key river habitat that has been degraded from years of human activity.

To learn more about Nutrien’s other remediation and reclamation work, visit p. 43 of the Global Sustainability Report.