Anne Castle, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s former assistant secretary for water and science, closed the second and final session of the 11th annual Spring Runoff Conference on Wednesday by inviting presenters from the conference to form an impromptu panel.
“Usually when you come to conferences you walk away thinking that was really good, I need to remember some of this, but it doesn’t always get tied together for us,” Castle said.
The final session of the conference focused on bettering collaboration with the policy makers who have an effect on environmental science issues.
Kevin Bestgen, Taylor Hawes and Don Ostler joined Castle’s panel to synthesize suggestions made by presenters and highlight the key points of the conference in an open discussion with the audience.
During the panel Hawes, the director of the Colorado River Program, emphasized the importance of multiparty agreements. "When you bring parties together and everyone gets to put their interests on the table, it builds a rapport to find a solution that works for everybody," she said.
Other guidelines discussed included engaging divers stakeholders, articulating why people should care and setting realistic goals.
The two-day conference, held in the Eccles Conference Center at Utah State University, acted as a forum for water-related issues throughout the western region of the United States.
With over 15 guest speakers, the conference was well represented according to Castle.
“We’ve had a wonderful set of presentations from different perspectives,” Castle said. “We’ve heard from river scientists, fish biologists, vegetation experts, state water administrators, environmental advocates - all addressing the water issue we have on our hands.”
An overview of this year's Spring Runoff Conference and past conferences can be found on the USU Water Initiative website.