How time flies! I can hardly believe that the end of my internship has already caught up to me. While I tie up the last loose ends of my summer projects, I am stuck wondering how it all came and went in a flash. Each event, each project, and each outing run through my mind as I do what I can to grasp each one of those experiences tight. Part of me is excited to keep experiencing new things beyond HFF, to apply all the things that I have learned here to another project, but the other part is uncomfortable letting go of an environment that has been so kind to me. It is a feeling I will have to get used to, I fear, as things have only looked up since the (affectionately noted) dark ages of high school.
Flowing into the early years of adulthood, I have noticed a lot of little caveats in common phrases. The one I find myself most stuck on is “it’s only up from here.” This sentiment is true, but nobody ever stopped to tell me that sometimes you find a stretch of “up” so beautiful that you wish you could settle for a while. I have stopped surviving as a stressed, eccentric teenager and started living as a passionate, enthusiastic adult. Here is an important tidbit that I have learned from that teenage-to-adulthood transition: It takes a while to get used to living if you have gotten used to merely getting by.
A regular occurrence as of late.
This internship has meant more to me than I could ever describe in a brief blog post. Getting to experience eastern Idaho is just the surface. I have made so many connections that I hope are lasting friendships, I have gotten to share this part of my life with people I love (most recently my mom and stepdad!), and I have gotten to see the value of my own artistic work in a collaborative setting.
Unfortunately, I cannot spoil all the illustrations I have made just yet (and describing the process does not provide much intrigue), but I can provide a long list of summer highlights and a taste of what is to come. Starting strong, I completed all my tasks this summer. I had my doubts that I would be able to accomplish all the wonderful communication ideas HFF had ready for me when I first arrived. As someone who has never done illustration in a true professional setting, this was no joke for me. It is also a professional victory to get that necessary timeline experience essential to any future career in scientific illustration.
A sample of my idea-to-illustration process.
The connection highlights could go on forever. From the cat who greets us in the alley behind HFF to the colorful community members I met in Jackson, there seems to be overwhelming personality within two hours in any given direction. My time spent day-tripping with the other interns to farmer’s markets and art exhibits, hanging out with staff on floats and over meals, and the odd field day working on the water are some of my favorites… though I am almost embarrassed to admit how much money I have spent on gas to visit Idaho Falls and Driggs on a weekly basis. But the trip is always worth it for some fresh air, a good lunch, and welcome company! This last weekend was a little different: an intern adventure to see as much of Yellowstone as we could in a single day. Even though I have visited plenty of times, I always seem to forget just how much wonder lies in that national park until it hits me square in the face.
A small collage of my favorite Yellowstone pictures.
I would not have been able to experience all of this without the support of so many kind people, and I want to take a moment to acknowledge that too. Thank you to every single one of you who has helped me expand into what living really is: friends, family, mentors, advisors, donors, peers, and beyond. I feel so lucky knowing that I loved this experience enough to really miss it.
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
Drone photo taken on September 9, 2026 The Henry’s Fork Drought Management Planning Committee met on Wednesday, September 16 2026 to develop an updated reservoir management strategy. Downstream of the Henry’s Fork watershed, lower-valley irrigation demand over the rest of the season is anticipated to be slightly lower than projected last week, so Island Park Reservoir and Grassy Lake (in the Fall River drainage) do not need to deliver any more water out of the
This year has brought the Henry’s Fork watershed an extraordinary water-supply challenge. Natural flow is exceptionally low, and Island Park Reservoir is ending the summer at a near-record low level. But there is another important part of this story: we knew these conditions were coming, we planned for them, and water managers are managing the water we have as carefully as possible. HFF is one of the 6 official signatories to the Henry’s Fork Drought
Why is Island Park Reservoir getting so low? Simply put, this has been an exceptionally low-water year. There isn’t enough natural flow to meet all of the basin’s needs without drawing down reservoirs. Water managers are working together to deliver water that is legally owed downstream while preserving as much as possible for next year. What should anglers expect below Island Park Dam? As Island Park Reservoir drops too low for the hydropower plant to
