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This article explores historians' role in shaping public policy amid crises through the programs of the Idaho State Historical Society (ISHS). ISHS navigated the post-2008 recession, aligning with the History Relevance Campaign to redefine history's societal value and develop a legislative outreach program. This article encapsulates the ISHS's journey and history's power--through the agency's new briefing paper program--to inform, unite, guide policy, and promote informed governance. The article describes the author's workflow, which features traditional research methodology and adaptable projectmanagement philosophies and stresses the value of searchable research libraries as a framework for historians to manage multiple projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on Boise, Idaho-based Boise Paper has approved a 72 million dollar capital project to expand its production of pressure sensitive paper. The company will add additional capability to the existing 250" #3 paper machine at the company's mill in Wallula, Washington.

We describe the biology and life stages of the birch bark beetle, Drycoetes betulae Hopkins, and report its second known occurrence in Idaho. One annual generation was observed with broods overwintering as larvae mid sexually immature adults. The species is polygamous with a ratio of 1.8 females per male. Two females (rarely three) joined a male after he entered the bark, and each female created a 3- to 4-cm-long egg gallery with short lateral spurs. Eggs were laid in niches along each side of the main gallery. Larvae have three instars. No hymenopterous parasitoid was found; however, two apparent predators, Rhizophagus dimidiatus Mannerheim, and a clerid, Thanasimus undatulus (Say), were present in galleries. Two mites, Histiostoma sp. and Proctolaelaps n. sp., also occurred in galleries, and a nematode of the Order Rhabditida occurred in the midgut of larvae and adult D. betulae. An ambrosia beetle, Trypodendron betulae Swaine, also infested the basal stems apart from D. betulae. Stems of infested trees were infected with a root rot fungus, Armillaria ostoyae (Romagnesi) Herink. Several generations of beetles infested the basal portion of stems of either decadent or recently dead paper birch. This behavior preserves a scarce host resource and is enhanced by a relatively low fecundity and ability to establish new galleries without flight dispersal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eleven paper birch (Betula papyriferaMarsh.) provenances from a single geographic region in northern Idaho and four geographic regions in British Columbia (BC) were studied to determine whether morphometric variability was due to species' genetics, growing environment, or their interaction. Seedlings were grown at three nurseries in BC and Idaho and planted in a randomised single-tree interlocking block design at Skimikin (50°47′) and Red Rock (53°45′) common gardens in BC. Geographic variation in birch height growth was regulated by genetics and a complex interaction with environmental factors. Growth does not follow latitudinal, longitudinal or elevational clines although provenances at the southern garden showed better height growth compared to the northern garden. Greater percentages of seedling mortality were observed at the northern garden compared to provenances planted at the southern garden. Birch height growth was significantly influenced by nursery displacement effects up to four years after establishment. The safe range of southward seed-transfer distance may be as much as 5°, and beyond this limit a detrimental effect likely occurs. Collectively, these results suggest that a provenance best suited to one environment might not be the best for another environment. However, these findings will be useful in understanding the genecology of paper birch when establishing operational seed-transfer guidelines in BC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some teaching centers flounder while others flourish. This paper provides concrete suggestions for launching or revitalizing a teaching center, drawn from the experiences of these authors and from principles in the literature. Two center directors worked to apply the principles in the literature to their newly launched or revitalized centers. One of the authors (Tara) was placed in charge of a floundering center. Dramatic changes transformed it from a "forgotten unit" to a flourishing center. The other author (Susan) launched a new center, which is well on its way to playing a central role in university life. (Contains 1 table.)

It did not take long for Oatly to falter beneath the unblinking eye of investors. Within two months of going public, the global oat milk company faced multiple allegations of securities fraud. Oatly had merely intended to reassure investors: "sustainability is at the core of our business." Instead, those eight words became kindling for litigation. Without pause, investors filed a class-action lawsuit in a New York federal district court alleging the company misled investors about its environmental practices and artificially inflated its stock price. For Oatly, it was an unexpected welcome to a new era of climate litigation. The story of Oatly's slip-up is an increasingly common narrative in climate-related litigation. As investor interest in sustainability grows, so does the risk of liability for public companies and directors. Attempts to mitigate the litigation risks are costly, but ignoring the risk carries even greater, perhaps even crippling, costs. True, companies have long been willing to volunteer climate information to investors in their sustainability reports, recognizing the reduction in risk premiums associated with such disclosures. But investors have challenged those disclosures as avalanches of information lacking meaningful, actionable data. Indeed, investors and directors alike are often left "drowning in information, while starving for wisdom. This paper addresses a new era of climate litigation, exploring the well-traveled private causes of action for securities fraud against the backdrop of the SEC's proposed climate disclosure rules. As written, the rules greatly expand the disclosure requirements for public companies. In doing so, the proposed rules also extend the footholds for private plaintiffs seeking to mount a securities class-action lawsuit. This paper analyzes these increased disclosure demands in the context of a historic reallocation of investment capital and the nascent ESG movement. Recognizing these climate-change efforts punch forward with considerable momentum, this paper provides solutions for public and private companies alike to prepare for and succeed in an expanding and uncertain climate litigation arena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Career and Technical Education programs are pipelines for preparing students with skills for higher education and career readiness. With the inception of the Morrill Act of 1862, CTE as we know it today, has existed for more than 160 years. The purpose of this research was to review the existing literature related to CTE and CTE PD found in academic databases, books, dissertations, papers, and government reports. A synthesis of empirical manuscripts was completed. This literary review examined 80 articles and found overarching themes related to CTE and CTE PD. The themes are CTE characteristics, CTE PD, digital world/Generation Z students, college/career readiness, traditional/alternative certification, teacher community, laboratory safety, and administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disusses the technique of using microthemes in teaching a Western World Literature course at Boise State University in Idaho. Reading and grading the microthemes; Advantages and disadvantages of the technique; Students' assessment of the technique.

The western United States region, an economic and agricultural powerhouse, is highly dependent on winter snowpack from the mountain west. Coupled with increasing water and renewable electricity demands, the predictability and viability of snowpack resources in a changing climate are becoming increasingly important. In Idaho, specifically, up to 75% of the state's electricity production comes from hydropower, which is dependent on the timing and volume of spring snowmelt. While we know that 1 April snowpack is declining from SNOTEL observations and is expected to continue to decline as indicated by GCM predictions, our ability to understand the variability of snowfall accumulation and distribution at the regional level is less robust. In this paper, we analyze snowfall events using 0.9-km-resolution WRF simulations to understand the variability of snowfall accumulation and distribution in the mountains of Idaho between 1 October 2016 and 31 April 2017. Various characteristics of snowfall events throughout the season are evaluated, including the spatial coverage, event durations, and snowfall rates, along with the relationship between cloud microphysical variables—particularly liquid and ice water content—on snowfall amounts. Our findings suggest that efficient snowfall conditions—for example, higher levels of elevated supercooled liquid water—can exist throughout the winter season but are more impactful when surface temperatures are near or below freezing. Inefficient snowfall events are common, exceeding 50% of the total snowfall events for the year, with some of those occurring in peak winter. For such events, glaciogenic cloud seeding could make a significant impact on snowpack development and viability in the region. Significance Statement: The purpose and significance of this study is to better understand the variability of snowfall event accumulation and distribution in the Payette Mountains region of Idaho as it relates to the local topography, the drivers of snowfall events, the cloud microphysical properties, and what constitutes an efficient or inefficient snowfall event (i.e., its ability to convert atmospheric liquid water into snowfall). As part of this process, we identify how many snowfall events in a season are inefficient to determine the number of snowfall events in a season that are candidates for enhancement by glaciogenic cloud seeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-early-strength (HES) concrete with polypropylene fibers has been used in several parts of bridges with precast concrete girders by the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD). This material is only slightly more expensive than conventional concrete, but speeds up the construction. ITD is interested in the suitability of HES concrete in the longitudinal closure pour connections between bridge deck bulb-T girders. In the laboratory phase of this project, an optimum HES concrete mix was identified through a series of laboratory experiments. The field performance of the HES concrete mix was examined by placing the material in the closure pour joints between deck bulb-T girders in a bridge in Idaho. The main focus of this paper is to report on the 20-month field performance of the bridge closure pour concrete. Tasks included six visits to the bridge site every 4 months to (1) measure strain data under ITD's Under the Bridge Inspection Truck (UBIT), (2) measure strain data under commercial truck traffic, and (3) inspect the closure pour concrete. Based on the results, it was concluded that there were no changes in the closure pour concrete in the last 20 months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports that Boise, Idaho-based Boise Paper Solutions announced its plans to increase pressure-sensitive paper production by the end of 2006.

As growth in the western U.S. continues to lead to the development of land, pressure is being exerted on agricultural production, and could lead to the loss of prime agricultural land. A wide array of perspectives concerning agricultural protection requires a variety of possible solutions. Diverse and plausible scenarios, driven by stakeholders, can be modeled by researchers to guide potential solutions to address key challenges within a region. This paper addresses one stakeholder-defined social-ecological system (SES) solution in the context of southern Idaho, one of the fastest-growing states in the U.S.: agricultural protection zoning. This project demonstrates a method for incorporating an Agriculture Protection Zone (APZ) within a suite of scenarios showing land protection opportunities across a range of future conditions and challenges. The results, by way of a Geodesign framework, entail suitability analyses through a series of weighted raster overlays to analyze scenario-based solutions. The suite of scenario solutions was compared to demonstrate effective proportions of the APZ. The analysis of the results, as a solution gradient, aim to inform policy makers, planners, and developers about the efficiencies of various APZ delineations as well as a methodology to demonstrate the impact of solutions based on assumptions of stakeholder-informed future scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conifers are of great economic value in terms of lumber production, important for construction and other uses such as pulp and paper. They are also important sources of essential oils. Conifer species have been vital to the ethnobotany and traditional herbal medicine of many different Native American groups. The objective of this work was to obtain and analyze the essential oils of several conifer species (Abies lasiocarpa, Picea engelmannii, Pinus contorta, Pseudotsuga menziesii, and Thuja plicata) growing in Idaho. The foliar essential oils were obtained by hydrodistillation and then analyzed by gas chromatographic methods, including GC-MS, GC-FID, and chiral GC-MS. The essential oils were obtained in varying yields from 0.66% up to 4.70%. The essential oil compositions were largely dominated by monoterpene hydrocarbons and oxygenated monoterpenoids. The chiral monoterpenoids were generally rich in the (−)-enantiomers for members of the Pinaceae, but the (+)-enantiomers predominated in the Cupressaceae. The essential oil compositions obtained in this work are qualitatively similar, but quantitatively different, to previously reported compositions and confirm and complement the previous reports. However, this is the first comprehensive analysis of the chiral terpenoid components in these conifer species. Additional research on essential oils of the Pinaceae and Cupressaceae is needed to describe the chemical profiles, chemical compositions, and enantiomeric distributions more reliably in the various species and infraspecific taxa of these two families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farm labor in the U.S. is undergoing significant transitions. First, fewer farmworkers are migrating in the traditional sense, and more are settling in to rural American communities. Second, more women are working in agriculture--a process referred to as the feminization of agriculture. Third, there has been an increase in so-called "recreational" crops" like marijuana and hops grown for craft microbrew beers. This paper discusses these three transitions in Southwestern Idaho. These transitions were observed during pilot research conducted in Idaho during 2017-2018. We present this paper as a case study of current transitions in American agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the development of heritage-focused outreach materials with the objectives of positively impacting traffic safety culture for Indigenous youth to reduce the number and severity of traffic crashes impacting these communities. The approach presented in this paper includes involving local community leaders in traffic safety education and incorporating culturally based material in outreach education. This could empower Tribal communities to preserve their cultural identities while acquiring the expertise needed to promote traffic safety.

Reports that Boise, Idaho-based Boise Cascade Corp.'s pulp and paper mill in Jackson, Alabama have becme certified under ISO 14001. Company's commitment to environmental stewardship.

This paper presents a method to quantitatively assess the impact of ice-affected hydraulics on hydropower operations using the widely used Hydrologic Engineering Center River Analysis System (HEC-RAS) hydraulic model. The model was used to identify historical periods where downstream river ice growth reduced the net head on a US Army Corps of Engineers dam on the Pend Oreille River in Idaho, USA. The model was used to create curves of projected stage impacts based on border-ice and continuous bank-to-bank ice formation scenarios. The temperature modelling capabilities in HEC-RAS were used to hindcast ice formation periods on the river that were validated with shore-based webcam data. These results provide a framework that can be applied to other rivers with hydropower generation, particularly sites where an open-water HEC-RAS model exists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropologists developed the lifeways construct to understand how communities make a way of life on certain landscapes. In this paper, we pair the lifeways construct with that of "lived experiences" to include processes of change in lifeways. Using a case study of farmers in Idaho's Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer region, we explore farmers' efforts to adapt to changes in agricultural water policy. Based on interviews with farmers, we identify several components of farmers' lifeways, including place‐based identity, stewardship, trust in decision‐makers, and financial well‐being. Our findings suggest that the relationships between farmers and their landscapes are shifting as a result of water governance changes. When combined with dynamic global economic factors, ever‐shifting regulatory and governance priorities and social‐ecological changes are likely to continue producing new and interacting challenges to which farmers—and their lifeways—will need to adapt to survive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Part II, two classes of vertical motions, fixed (associated with vertically propagating gravity waves tied to flow over topography) and transient (associated primarily with vertical wind shear and conditional instability within passing weather systems), were diagnosed over the Payette River basin of Idaho during the Seeded and Natural Orographic Wintertime Clouds: The Idaho Experiment (SNOWIE). This paper compares vertical motions retrieved from airborne Doppler radial velocity measurements with those from a 900-m-resolution model simulation to determine the impact of transient vertical motions on trajectories of ice particles initiated by airborne cloud seeding. An orographic forcing index, developed to compare vertical motion fields retrieved from the radar with the model, showed that fixed vertical motions were well resolved by the model while transient vertical motions were not. Particle trajectories were calculated for 75 cross-sectional pairs, each differing only by the observed and modeled vertical motion field. Wind fields and particle terminal velocities were otherwise identical in both trajectories so that the impact of transient vertical circulations on particle trajectories could be isolated. In 66.7% of flight-leg pairs, the distance traveled by particles in the model and observations differed by less than 5 km with transient features having minimal impact. In 9.3% of the pairs, model and observation trajectories landed within the ideal target seeding elevation range (>2000 m), whereas, in 77.3% of the pairs, both trajectories landed below the ideal target elevation. Particles in the observations and model descended into valleys on the mountains' lee sides in 94.2% of cases in which particles traveled less than 37 km. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on the multi-billion sale of the assets of Boise Cascade Corp. in Boise, Idaho to its affiliate company, Boise Cascade L. L. C., and the change of its company and trade name to OfficeMax Inc. Assumption of George J. Harad as the chief executive officer of OfficeMax Inc. upon the completion of the transaction; Headquarter of the acquiring company and the new chief executive officer.

High metal waste materials from historic mining at the Bunker Hill, Idaho (ID) Superfund site was amended with a range of materials including municipal biosolids, woody debris, wood ash, pulp and paper sludge, and compost. The existing soil or waste material has elevated metal concentrations with total Zn, Pb and Cd ranging from 6000 to 14 700, 2100 to 27 000 and 9 to 28 mg kg-1, respectively. Surface application of certain amendments including biosolids mixed with wood ash resulted in significant decreases in subsoil acidity as well as subsoil extractable metals. This mixture was sufficient to restore a plant cover to the contaminated areas. At the Bunker Hill site, a surface application of high N biosolids (44 or 66 tons ha-1) in combination with wood ash (220 tons ha-1) with or without log yard debris (20% by volume) or pulp and paper sludge (44 tons ha-1) was able to restore a vegetative cover to the metal contaminated materials for 2 years following amendment application. Plant biomass in 1999 was 0.01 mg ha-1 in the control versus a mean of 3.4 tons ha-1 in the residual amended plots. Metal concentrations of the vegetation indicated that plants were within normal concentrations for the 2 years that data were collected. Surface application of amendments was also able to reduce Ca(NO3)2 extractable Zn in the subsoil from about 50 mg kg-1in the control to less than 4 mg kg-1in two of the treatments. Use of conventional amendments including lime alone and microbial stimulants were not sufficient to support plant growth. These results indicate that surface application of biosolids in combination with other residuals is sufficient to restore a vegetative cover to high metal mine wastes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current efforts to reduce the maximum allowable cadmium (Cd) concentrations in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) for at‐risk populations such as infants require sourcing wheat with low concentrations of Cd. Since Idaho (USA) is a major wheat supplier, there is a need to understand which varieties and locations in Idaho produce wheat containing low Cd. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to report on a survey of total Cd concentrations in 469 wheat grain samples and 216 soil samples from several varieties and locations throughout Idaho. Total Cd concentrations in wheat grain ranged from <0.01 to 0.28 mg kg−1, varying by both wheat variety and location grown. Total soil Cd ranged from 0.450 to 1.85 mg kg−1. Bioaccumulation factor (BAF) was calculated by dividing the grain total Cd concentration by the soil total Cd concentration and ranged from 0.05 to 0.5. The variety 'UI Sparrow' had the lowest mean BAF (0.06), and several other varieties were also relatively low. Overall, almost all wheat varieties meet European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) requirements for Cd concentration for adult consumption. However, meeting the EFSA maximum allowable limit of Cd in infant food requires planting varieties noted for low Cd uptake, like UI Sparrow, and careful selection of growing regions with the lowest total soil Cd, such as northern, central, or western Idaho. Core Ideas: Cadmium concentrations in soil and wheat grain in Idaho (USA) were surveyed.Cadmium uptake in wheat is influenced by wheat variety and soil properties.Total cadmium in Idaho wheat grain ranges from <0.01 to 0.28 mg kg−1.Total cadmium in Idaho soils ranges from 0.45 to 1.85 mg kg−1.Bioaccumulation factor indicates the best varieties for producing wheat containing low cadmium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]