Recipient Organization
COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
FORT COLLINS,CO 80523
Performing Department
Ag Experiment Station
Non Technical Summary
Water is nothing less than the life blood of the people and economy of the Western Region of the US. The Western Region defined in this proposal is represented by 1862 Land-grant University Colleges of Agriculture across 11 states in the continental US (Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming), Alaska, Hawaii and the Pacific Islands and Territories (American Samoa, Guam, Micronesia and the Northern Marianas). Water supply and quality for agricultural, urban, and environmental systems are examples of issues faced across the Western Region. Directors of the 1862 Land-grant University Agricultural Experiment Station System (AES) and Cooperative Extension Service (CES) propose a mini summit to address challenges of water security in the Western US. Key leaders from the 1994 Land-grant Tribal Colleges and Universities and Federally Recognized Tribal Extension Program specialists also have invaluable experience with water issues in the Western US.
Animal Health Component
70%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
20%
Applied
70%
Developmental
10%
Goals / Objectives
Goal: The long-term goal of the proposed conference grant is to create inclusive transdisciplinary teams of research scientists and Extension specialists who will contribute to the attainment of enough water with proper quality to meet future demands of the Western Region.Objectives:1. Host a "Mini Summit on Water Security in the Western US."2. Engage key 1994 and FRTEP leaders to strategically plan and initiate collaboration with the 1862s on Western US water issues.3. Enhance substantive discussions on Native American (tribal) water policy and technical issues.
Project Methods
The concept of hosting a Mini Summit on Water Security in the Western US evolved out of a facilitated session among Western Land-grant University AES and CES directors during their most recent joint meeting in July 2019. The directors elected to build the mini summit around existing networks they are currently supporting. The Western Association of Agricultural Experiment Station Directors Office was charged with identifying one or more representatives from each Western Region multistate research project and multistate activity working on water to participate in the mini summit.Directors of the University of Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station, Mark McGuire and Washington State University Extension, Mike Gaffney volunteered to co-host the joint spring meeting of Western Region AES and CES directors. Two representatives from the Western Association of Agricultural Experiment Station Directors (WAAESD) Office, Sarah Lupis and Bret Hess, and one representative from the Western Extension Directors Association (WEDA) Office, Lyla Houglum joined the volunteer hosts to form the organizing committee. The organizing committee's approach was to ask administrative advisors for their recommendations on who would be the most ideal representative(s) to present on behalf of each project and activity.The 1994s, FRTEP and 1862s in the Western Region have been conducting a series of meetings on how both parties can learn from each other, develop trusting relationships, and increase collaboration on programs of mutual interest and benefit. The aforementioned 1862/1994 collaboration workshop co-hosted by Colorado State University (CSU) was held in Denver, CO, on October 25, 2019, where 1994, FRTEP and 1862 administrators and extension directors discussed building collaborative programs that are culturally grounded in Native American community values, interests and social norms. That workshop built upon the Joint Meeting of WAAESD/WEDA/Western Region Program Leaders Committee in San Diego, CA, on April 1-5, 2019, and a foundational meeting at the NIFA-sponsored collaboration meeting of 1862s and 1994s in Jackson Hole, WY, on September 22-23, 2016. A key action item from the October 25, 2019, meeting was to engage in detailed strategic planning around critical extension issues such as water. The overall goal of engaging the 1994s and FRTEP is to strategically plan and initiate collaboration among 1994 and FRTEP (and by extension, include Native American stakeholders), and with 1862s, in the development of transdisciplinary teams of research scientists and extension specialists working to meet the water needs of the Western US.