Idaho

Idaho boasts of its endless natural resource values, with more roadless area than any other state in the continental United States and the highest native aquatic biodiversity in the Rocky Mountains. Idaho is home to 39 native fish species and to some of the most famous recreational fisheries in the world, including Silver Creek and the South Fork and Henry's Fork of the Snake River. Idaho's natural resources, however, are dependent on the same limited water supply that feeds agricultural, industrial, and municipal growth in a quickly developing state. Conservation biologist Reed Noss identified the Henry's Fork and the Teton Basin as the two most threatened and ecologically irreplaceable "megasites" in the entire Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

Though its resources seem abundant, Idaho's per capita water consumption is second in the nation only to California, and irrigators use almost 90 percent of the state's diverted water on more than 3.7 million acres of farmland. If agriculture is the economic backbone of Idaho, then water is its lifeblood. Recognizing the political power of water users and food producers in the state, TU's Idaho Water Project is concentrating its efforts on building coalitions with water users, landowners, and lawmakers on habitat and flow restoration projects that are feasible under existing law, and working with all parties to consider new programs, such as private water leasing.

Building Political Will

Restoring Stream Flows in Key River Basins

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Idaho Trout Newsletter

Idaho Water Project Reports:

Idaho Crossroads, Part I

Idaho Crossroads, Part II

Upper Big Lost River: Finding opportunities to recover a fishery and restore a watershed

Bull Trout Recovery in the Little Lost Basin

Darlington Sinks

For more information contact:

Idaho Water Project
151 North Ridge Avenue, Suite 120
Idaho Falls, ID 83402
208-552-0891
208-552-0899 (fax)

Kim Goodman, Director, Idaho Water Project
Contact Kim Goodman

Peter Anderson, Counsel, Idaho Water Project
Contact Peter Anderson

Sue Christensen, Program Assistant, Idaho Water Office
Contact Sue Christensen

Idaho Trout Unlimited website