STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

Learn about specific water quantity issues facing the Wood River Valley when Dr. Evan Thomas offers a presentation titled “Valuing Water to Survive Climate Change.”

The presentation is the second in the Wood River Land Trust’s 2024 thinking Globally, Acting Locally Speaker Series. It will be held at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 8, at Ketchum’s Community Library.

Thomas holds the Mortenson Endowed Chair in Global Engineering at the University of Colorado-Bouder He also is the director of the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering and Resilience and the Climate Innovation Collaboratory designed to create new climate innovations.

He also is part of the Colorado-Wyoming Climate Resilience Engine, which just received $160 million from the National Science Foundation. The award positions the organization at the forefront of the nation’s environmental and climate technology initiatives.

The organization uses data analysis, monitoring technologies and predictive analytics to mitigate environmental and economic degradation and advance climate solutions.

Thomas has worked with carbon credit programs and water quality projects in developing countries and will talk about the potential of market-based strategies to aid communities in adapting to a changing climate during Thursday’s talk.

He will be joined by Zach Hill, a partner in the Boise-based Ecosystem Sciences, which specializes in implementation of watershed management plans.

The talk is free but those who wish to see it in person should RSVP at https://thecommunitylibrary.libcal.com/event/11478223. The program also will be livestreamed and recorded to watch later at https://vimeo.com/event/4035762.

COMING UP:

Sierra Robatcek will discuss “Wildlife Migration and Status in the Valley” on March 14.