One piece at a time
Chapter 3, The Making of Inspiration Ridge Preserve
Inspiration Ridge Preserve encompasses two wildlife corridors connecting developed areas in Homer, Alaska to critical wildlife habitat. Ed Bailey and Nina Faust conserved this land in an effort to alleviate development pressure that would have cut wildlife off from critical habitat. This is the story of Inspiration Ridge Preserve.
Inspiration Ridge Preserve spans 693 acres outside of Homer, Alaska. But it all started when Edgar Bailey and Nina Faust purchased 32 acres of land in 1986 on the ridge above Homer. Ed had always dreamed of creating his own wildlife preserve, and it quickly became their shared dream. And so when they were about to retire in the mid-1990s, they decided to buy lands adjacent to the property where they lived, because they knew the area would be a great wildlife preserve.
Aerial image of Inspiration Ridge Preserve.
Upon retiring, Ed and Nina turned their attention to building the preserve in earnest. When Ed’s parents passed, they purchased a 160-acre homestead next door.
And with that purchase, Ed and Nina were off to the races. And as time went on, it proved to be a marathon and not a sprint. There were particular parcels that Ed and Nina knew were priority areas for wildlife and watershed protection, especially areas that abutted already protected conservation land. This meant they needed to have a strong strategy and a commitment to their goals.
“For the most part, there were lots of willing sellers,” Nina explains in a video interview. “We were in competition with local developers that really wanted to buy a lot of these parcels to subdivide.”
On the recording, Nina laughs as she says, “the realtors called us first, and we bought it right away, sometimes even before it got listed because they liked the vision of what we were doing.”
The welcome sign featuring sandhill cranes in flight. Photograph by Nina Faust.
Through tireless outreach and diligence, Ed and Nina pieced together more than 20 parcels to reach the current 693-acre footprint of Inspiration Ridge Preserve.
While Ed and Nina placed conservation easements on the parcels, they ultimately wanted to donate the land to a land trust to ensure their vision for the Preserve would continue in perpetuity. Nina and Ed considered many partners, but ultimately their vision was best shared with the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies. They worked as a team to write a management plan for the Preserve, and ultimately the land was donated to the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies along with the establishment of a maintenance and operation fund and endowment. When the endowment grows to its target size, interest from the endowment will fund management of the property in perpetuity. Donations made today will contribute to the ongoing management and maintenance of this critical wildlife habitat.
Ed and Nina hiking in the woods.
“Inspiration Ridge Preserve is not only a place with one of the most beautiful views of all of Homer, in my opinion, but it also has substantial watershed value,” explains Nina in a video interview.
“Combine that with the state and Borough adjoining lands, and it gives us a two-pronged corridor that allows animals to have free movement in perpetuity.”
Nina stands alongside the fireweed on Inspiration Ridge Preserve. Photograph by Nina Faust.
Nina continues to serve as the Property Manager on Inspiration Ridge Preserve, maintaining the fields and trails that she so lovingly created and stewarded alongside Ed. She lives in a house in the heart of the Preserve, and her windows gaze out on the dream she built with Ed.
“Being out and observing what’s out there—for me—it’s like a life-saving, soul-saving remedy.”
Nina enjoys a patch of wilderness on Inspiration Ridge Preserve.