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University-run water research institute outlines statewide priorities and advisory structure
Summary
Kendra Kaiser, director of the Idaho Water Resources Research Institute at the University of Idaho, told the Senate committee the institute will prioritize stakeholder-driven research, workforce development and outreach and is forming an executive board and research advisory committee.
Kendra Kaiser, director of the Idaho Water Resources Research Institute at the University of Idaho, gave a brief overview of the institute’s mission and near-term organization to the Senate Resources & Environment Committee.
Kaiser told senators the Water Resources Research Institutes were created by an act of Congress in 1964 and that Idaho’s institute is housed at the University of Idaho. She said the institute will focus on three priorities: planning, conducting and coordinating research to benefit the state; supporting professional development and student workforce readiness; and ensuring research results are accessible to communities that need them.
Kaiser described a two-part advisory structure: an executive board made up of state and federal agencies, industry and a nonprofit seat to advise on funding and political considerations; and a research advisory committee of technical experts who will compile a prioritized list of research needs the institute will use to guide staff and faculty support. “The need is great, and we are really excited to support, all members of Idaho,” Kaiser told the committee.
She said the University of Idaho has reinvigorated the institute over the past year, hiring leadership and engaging stakeholders across the state to build a strategic plan. Kaiser cited ongoing interest in further work on the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer model and said the Idaho Department of Water Resources is the primary lead on that model, while the institute can pursue complementary research that IDWR does not have capacity to undertake.
Kaiser briefly described her own background: a bachelor’s degree in soil and water systems and environmental biology from Montana State, a Ph.D. in watershed hydrology and biogeochemistry from Duke University, and a postdoctoral appointment in Boise that focused on large-scale modeling and stakeholder-engaged research. Committee members asked a few technical follow-up questions; Kaiser offered to follow up with staff and local stakeholders after the hearing.
