Pioneering Cycles

Boise is in a desert.  This became apparent as we wove East on Highway 21 up to Idaho City, sagebrush lining the road and the constant flow of the Boise River rolling down toward the Treasure Valley.  We learned last night that the Foote Family created the vision of irrigating the Treasure Valley using water from the Boise River along with hot spring output from Warm Springs Road.  This incredible feat of engineering made Boise the location to settle, drawing from the boom towns of Idaho City and Silver City, into the Treasure Valley to create industry in agriculture and manufacturing.  During these resource booms mining and hunting drew from the land at unsustainable rates, leaving a legacy of scars on the land and wildlife.

As we continue to pioneer water rights in the Treasure Valley, we must consider the impacts of climate change on the Boise watershed.  Water rights are complex and connected by the actions of various stakeholders, including the Department of the Interior, City of Boise, Corps of Engineers, farmers, citizens, private companies and more.  Each day along the Boise River, environmental and sociological factors converge to inform decisions about volumes of water to release from each dam, based upon data from academic and governmental groups.  If we approach and analyze problems from various perspectives then we can create more balanced solutions.

"Dairy cows eat 365 days per year," Rick informed us.  "Those crops need water."

"We push through an additional 479 acre-feet of water each spring for the young salmon," Brian said with pride.  "This begins their journey toward the ocean."
 

"Yeah things used to be different around here," Bob reflected before an ancient circuit board.  "Guys used to flips these switches around and hop about here before OSHA."  

From this incredible group of humans we receive the proper volume, temperature and timing of water 365 days each year.  Agriculture, recreation,  power and flood prevention heavily influence water management.  As stated by the Boise Project, water management has "several agencies, many benefits."