For the first half of my internship, it was unclear if we would get to install the snow monitoring stations. With only three weeks left in my internship, the parts arrived, the permitting was approved, and I am happy to say that we have three stations in the ground! Dr. Lang, Joe, and I were like three kids on Christmas opening up all the boxes, only a little more careful due to the fragility of their contents, which were basically metal Legos. Sensors, dataloggers, wires, four billion U-bolts, the towers themselves, all kinds of fun stuff. I had no idea what was under the skin of one of these stations, and it was really cool to learn how they log and transmit data. After we did a dry run in the parking lot, we set out to dig these things into the ground. As of now, Island Park Reservoir, Madison Plateau, and Teton Pass have new snow stations ready to roll!
While I don’t fish as much as the rest of the foundation, Ashton was a pretty cool place to be. With only an hour and a half drive to Grand Teton National Park, I was able to spend a lot of time exploring one of my favorite areas. One of my most memorable weekends was climbing the “No Escape Buttress” on Mount Moran. I was intrigued by climbing Moran not only for its great rock, but for its unique approach across Leigh Lake. I’ve never done a climb that required a canoe before, and now I’m seeking out more places that do! The climb itself was stellar too, with 1300 ft of fun climbing and a ridge scramble to top it off.
This summer was a pivotal educational experience for me, and I developed a much deeper understanding of what it means to be involved with research. Some things didn’t go the way we had planned, but that was part of the fun. Every time something turns out different than you expect, it is a new chance to brainstorm and learn. If the snow stations had not been delayed, I might not have gotten the chance to work on the SVF project from my last blog post. I am very grateful that I have been able to participate in much more than I was expecting to at the beginning of the summer, and I am more passionate than ever about the fluffy white stuff that falls from the sky.
For the first half of my internship, it was unclear if we would get to install the snow monitoring stations. With only three weeks left in my internship, the parts arrived, the permitting was approved, and I am happy to say that we have three stations in the ground! Dr. Lang, Joe, and I were like three kids on Christmas opening up all the boxes, only a little more careful due to the fragility of
Our Aquatic Ecology Program Manager, Dr. Jack McLaren, joined Idaho Falls city and FIPS-Mouche leadership at the opening ceremony parade along the Snake River Greenbelt to welcome competitors to the watershed and to make sure conservation was front and center.
Drone photo of Island Park Dam taken on September 9, 2026 Looking Back on September September brought lows and highs to Island Park. Island Park Reservoir started September at 29% full and quickly fell to a low of 12% full on September 19. The rapid drawdown of the reservoir was the result of managers needing to move water downstream to American Falls (to irrigate farms in the Magic Valley with senior water rights). Such low
This story was written by Audrey Hunter (2026 intern) and was originally published in the Fall 2026 Newsletter. It’s no secret that late summers on Island Park Reservoir haven’t been in perfect conditions in recent years. Warm, turbid, algae-filled water plague reservoir recreationists while diminishing water quality downstream. Cyclical algal blooms decrease water clarity and create less-than-ideal circumstances for the reservoir’s flora and fauna. What’s the solution? HFF’s DIRTT Plan. In-Reservoir Oxygenation Nutrients released from
