The future of water in the Wood River Valley is vast and complex. In light of the past summer's drought, the Castle Rock Fire and the state of water in the valley's environment, understanding and protecting this vital resource is an important matter.
The Nature Conservancy's Silver Creek Preserve will present a symposium on the Silver Creek and Big Wood Rivers at the Sun Valley Inn's Continental Room on Saturday, Oct. 27, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. to educate participants about the state and use of water in the valley.
The event is $50 and includes lunch, a reception and music by Bruce Innes following the symposium. This is the second symposium the Silver Creek Preserve has held in an effort to share and solicit feedback with the community.
"It's a day all about water and this is on the entire watershed," said Silver Creek Preserve's Dayna Gross. "We are looking at the Big Wood and Silver Creek rivers and want to talk about true concerns, as well as open a door to work with other non-profits on the future."
The day includes presentations by Laura Hubbard of The Nature Conservancy as well as a slide show "A Day in the Life of the Watershed." In addition community representatives such as water master Kevin Lakey will discuss plumbing and the effects of Sun Valley on Silver Creek.
There will be break out sessions in the later half of the day, which will cover topics such as working water, recreational water and drinking water in the Wood River Valley.
"We will talk about recreational water in the afternoon break out sessions, which will include everything from ice rinks and snowmaking to fishing," Gross said. "Hopefully, it will be about finding out what is happening."
At the end of the day the symposium will conclude with a wrap up session, which will include a panel of experts from Sun Valley and Idaho Fish and Game, among others, to answer and discuss questions from the group break out sessions.
"We thought it was timely, with change in regulations in Silver Creek, that it would be great to get everybody together in the valley to talk about water," Gross said.
To register for the symposium, call The Nature Conservancy at (208) 788-8988, or visit http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/idaho.
A storm moves across Silver Creek Preserve.
-Photo by Dayna Gross
