The Council has embarked upon its first ever preservation plan for cultural and historic resources with the goal of making it the best-in-state.  Begun in February, 2006, the initial public review draft is now available in PDF format (5 Mb - click on image above). The plan contains a comprehensive timeline of important events in Ada County history, a thorough review of past Council inventories of historic properties , educational efforts and much, much more.

Council contact for this project is Leslie Toombs, who can be contacted at 287-7941. Council committee members are Curt James, Bryan Nickels and Al Bolin.

The Council is working with the Dry Creek Historical Society to preserve the historic Shick-Ostolasa Farmstead at Hidden Springs.  One of less than a handful of pre-1870s structures still in existence in Ada County and one of the oldest historic sites in the State of Idaho, the site has seen little change since the late 1800s, providing a rare glimpse of what life was like in pioneer days.   The Council is committed to helping with fund raising and sharing CLG grants to make this project a reality.  To learn more, visit our Schick-Ostolasa page by clicking here or on the Hidden Springs image above.

Council contacts for this project are Jack Clark, who can be reached at 287-7266 and Bryan Nickels.  Claudia Druss of Hidden Springs is the project manager.

The Council has formed a Steering Committee in order to improve the quality and effectiveness of the Council.  As part of this, our website has been updated to provide more information to the public and to be presented it in a manner that is easier to find and more useful.  Ongoing plans for the website include creating a password protected section to facilitate collaboration among Council members.  Other goals of the committee are to improve collaboration and communication with other preservation groups and to document procedures for existing programs to insure their continued improvement and success.

Council members Brian Tandrow, Curt James and Ada County Development staff Leslie Toombs make up this committee. 

The Council is supporting efforts of the Parks & Waterways Department to create an Oregon Trail trailhead east of Highway 21 on the cliffs south of the Boise River.  The project is eventually intended to link to the Oregon Trail Historic Reserve to the west and to Bonneville Point to the east.  As part of this effort, the Council is embarking on a study of the Oregon Trail in Ada County, with the goal of creating a comprehensive plan to mark and interpret the Trail in Ada County.

Council contact for this project is Curt James ( curtisljames44@hotmail.com).   Al Bolin is also a member.