Blog
Browse this page for blog postings related to middle- and high-school-teacher Adventure Learning workshops taking place across Idaho. Use the widgets to the right (or at bottom of this page, for smaller devices) to filter blog posts.
So Many Management Systems, So Little Time to Learn!!
Hello everyone! What an incredible, knowledge filled few days! We have learned SO much it's hard to know where to begin, but in this post, I want to talk about a variety of management systems we learned about outside of just water while we were in Idaho City and at Diversion Dam today. Also, please take a look at the pictures I posted along with this blog and let me know if you have any questions!
The first picture I posted here is just to show how beautiful the area is that we stayed in! One activity we did that I wish I could do, but can't because it... more
Arthur De Wint Foote & Mary Hallock Foote
Have you ever heard of these two impactful people who spent time in Idaho and helped shape the Boise River irrigation plan? I got The amazing opportunity to meet Mary Hallock Foote at the Idaho Outdoor School in Idaho City yesterday. Coming in full costume and telling her story of how she and her husband traveled to the west. He was a civil engineer specializing in turbines and she was an artist and writer. His vision was to change the Boise River irrigation plan starting at Arrrowrock Dam. The project was eventually finished by the Bureau of Reclamation. She told a story... more
The Boise Project
Who knew?
Being new to the Boise area, I just learned about the New York canal. Arthur Dewint Foote initiated the idea of building an irrigation system from the Boise River to the farm lands below. The Boise Project extended the canal to carry water from the Boise River from Diversion Dam all the way to Lake Lowell, providing water to residence and agriculture in between. Now, the system protects the residents in the city and valley from flooding and infrastructure damage, while managing the water for usage throughout the Valley, as well as producing electricity. Other dams,... more
How has our water management history effected our watershed?
We had a very good look into the history of our watershed and the end results of our attempts and successes of controlling it. The original person to consider harnessing the Boise River was Arthur Foote and it was in the 1800's that he undertook this goal. He had the vision of supplyiing irrigation to this arid region, turning it into land capable of growing crops. He struiggled to get the canal built due to the economy of the time but he instilled the belief that it could be done. We owe a great deal to his inisight.
The work he started has given us the ability to control the... more
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. ... more
Water, Water Everywhere...only because of management!
Where would our valley be without watershed management? Well, we probably wouldn't exist as a community! After learning the history of Arthur Foote's vision of the valley and then touring the diversion dam, I have a greater appreciation of the importance of irrigation. I am an avid gardener and use irrigation water daily during the summer to irrigate my "crop". The water I use is only available due to the teamwork of many agencies and individuals working collectively to meet the needs of the valley's citizens. The management practices have a scope far greater than I could have... more