el.e.men'tal Idaho

5/13/13 The MK Nature Center

bethmarkley — Fri, 17 May 2013 00:45:51 +0000

On Monday, Dave Cannamela, Superintendent of the Morrison Knudsen Nature Center, joins us to talk about Center programs for getting kids “face to fish” with nature, Richard Louve’s hypothesis about Nature Deficit Disorder, and the Center’s plans for the future.

Download: ei051313_mixdown.mp3

5/6/13 – Water Awareness Week

bethmarkley — Mon, 13 May 2013 03:08:16 +0000

On this episode, we talked with City of Boise’s Vince Trimboli and Catherine Chertudi talk about Water Awareness Week activities in Boise and across Idaho.

Download: ei050613_mixdown.mp3

4/29/13 – Birds of Prey and Gateway West, Part II

bethmarkley — Mon, 06 May 2013 17:19:20 +0000

A panel of guests join us to continue a conversation that started on our February 25 episode about the Gateway West transmission project. Officials with the BLM’s National Landscape Conservation System (NLCS) are opposing an alternative route for the Gateway West transmission project through the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area in favor one some feel will adversely affect Greater sage-grouse populations in Owyhee County. In this episode, Walt George, BLM Wyoming State Office, talks about the federal agency’s position. Idaho Power’s Doug Dockter is back to expand on the alternatives available, and Tricia Roller from the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Pre National Conservation expands on the needs of birds of prey in the area.

More about the Gateway West Transmission Project.

Download: ei042913_mixdown.mp3

4/22/13 – The BLM Healthy Hills Initiative

bethmarkley — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 03:41:09 +0000

The Bureau of Land Management is engaged in a region-wide effort to maintain and restore native plant communities across public lands in the Great Basin. On this show, our guests Jessica Gardetto of the BLM Healthy Hills Initiative and Mike Pellant who coordinates the BLM Great Basin Restoration Initiative talked with us about their education and restoration efforts.

Download: ei042213_mixdown.mp3

4/15/13 – Renegotiating the Columbia River Treaty

bethmarkley — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 18:51:34 +0000

The Columbia River treaty created a massive system of dams for flood control and electricity for the Northwest. Critics say the pact has been environmentally destructive, while proponents tout it as a model of international cooperation. On this episode, I talked with Jim Yost of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council and John Tracy, director of the Idaho Water Resources Research Institute talk about about efforts to renegotiate the 1961 international agreement between Canada and the US.

Download: ei041513_mixdown.mp3

4/8/13 – A Deer Flat National Refuge Center Plan Reboot

bethmarkley — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 18:19:09 +0000

After a 2011 draft management plan for the Deer Flat National Refuge Center generated consternation among county officials and recreationists, the US Fish and Wildlife created a new plan, incorporating compromises they hope will effectively balance competing interests between wildlife and recreation. On this program, Canyon County Commissioner Kathy Alders and Refuge Manager Jennifer Brown-Scott will discussed changes to the draft plan.

Download: ei040813_mixdown.mp3

4/1/13 – the Idaho Forest Restoration Partnership

bethmarkley — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 19:36:47 +0000

The Idaho Forest Restoration Partnership was formed to help strengthen collaborative forest restoration efforts across Idaho. On this episode of Elemental Idaho, we talk with John Robison, of the Idaho Conservation League and Rick Tholen of the Society of American Foresters of the partnership’s efforts to connect, inform, and support collaborative groups working to restore the resilience of Idaho forests.

Download: ei040113.mp3

3/25/13 The Potential for a Lands Transfer

bethmarkley — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 19:02:51 +0000

On this episode, rebroadcast from January, I talked with House Resources and Conservation Committee Chairman Lawrence Denney about a possible public lands fight with the Federal Government over control of millions of acres of public lands, the rationale behind such a shift and possible details about how these lands might be managed. Included is an update on HCR 21 and 22, the first of which demands such a transfer from the federal government and the second establishes a committee to study the issue and an overview of the public testimony presented in the House State Affairs committee and on the floor of the House when the bills were discussed.

Download: ei032513_mixdown.mp3

3/18/13 – Learning Through Gardening

bethmarkley — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 17:40:03 +0000

The Boise Urban Garden School helps children make meaningful connections between global environmental issues and real choices they make every day about the food they eat—choices that affect their health, the environment, the local economy, and both personal and social responsibility. BUGS guides students to reflect on the question, “Where does our food come from, and why does it matter?” On Monday, in honor of the approaching Spring, we’ll rebroadcast our October interview with BUGS program coordinator Cass Meissner about why it is important for children to understand these issues.

Download: ei031813_mixdown.mp3

3/13/13 – A New Idaho Water Plan

bethmarkley — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 17:01:03 +0000

The Idaho Department of Water Resources submitted it’s most recent proposed changes to the Idaho Comprehensive State Water Plan to the Idaho legislature earlier this year, and last week the plan was approved by the House Resources and Conservation Committee. The plan, which guides state policy when it comes to water, was updated for the first time since 1996 after extensive public input. In this episode, I talk with Helen Harrington from the Idaho Department of Water Resources and Peter Anderson of Trout Unlimited. Also included is a pre-recorded interview with House Resources and Conservation Committee members Representatives JoAn Wood and Judy Boyle who explain their efforts to submit edits they say would have streamlined the document.

Download: ei031113_mixdown.mp3