In late 2007 the Environmental Science program was awarded a National Science Foundation REU project titled “Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates in Sustainable Water Resources.” The overall goal of this three year summer project under the leadership of University of Idaho faculty member Dr. Robert Mahler is to involve 10 different undergraduate students each summer in a nine-week research experience that inspires them to continue on to graduate study and to pursue sustainability, water resources, and/or environmental science careers. To accomplish this goal the University of Idaho selects 10 students from a very competitive applicant pool each spring from colleges across the country. This summer research experience is designed to: The Summer 2008 REU participants at the University of Idaho.

Develop students’ skills in scientific methods, equipment, and instrumentation use Lead students to greater independence in scientific thought Help students determine and pursue their interests in sustainable water resources to help them successfully pursue further research in graduate school or in a career Offer students professional development and teamwork training through shared activities Each student is paired with a faculty mentor on the Moscow campus who does research in a water related area. In the summers of 2008 and 2009 15 different University of Idaho faculty have been paired with students. These University of Idaho water/environmental science faculty include: Jan Boll (Hydrology), Aaron Brooks (Hydrology), Susan Childers (Geology), Fritz Fielder (Civil Engineering), Katherine Kavanagh (Forest Ecosystems), Timothy Link (Forest Hydrology), Robert Mahler (Soil Science), John Marshall (Forest Resources), Christine Moffitt (Fisheries), Matt Morra (Soil Biochemistry), Chris Peery (Fish Ecology), Dan Strawn (Soil Chemistry), Barbara Williams (Environmental Engineering), Frank Wilhelm (Limnology), and J. D. Wulfhorst (Rural Sociology). Ten undergraduate students from across the USA participated in this program in the summer of 2008 and again in 2009. Each of the 10 students was assigned to a faculty member based on mutual research area interest. The student is then fully integrated into the faculty member’s research group that includes undergraduate and graduate students and technical support personnel. The student and faculty member develop and sign a research agreement that defines the student’s project, develops a timeline, and communicate expectations of the research project for both the student and the faculty member. Faculty encourage the student to present their findings at scientific meetings and even publish their research results. Seven of the 10 Summer 2009 REU participants at the University of Idaho.

Pacific Northwest Regional Water Quality Coordination Project Partners Land Grant Universities Alaska Cooperative Extension Service Contact Fred Sorensen: 907-786-6311 http://www.uaf.edu/ces/water/ University Publications: http://www.alaska.edu/uaf/ces/publications/ Idaho University of Idaho Cooperative Extension System Contact Bob Mahler: 208-885-7025 http://www.uidaho.edu/wq/wqhome.html University Publications: http://info.ag.uidaho.edu/Catalog/catalog.html Oregon Oregon State University Extension Service Contact Mike Gamroth: 541-737-3316 http://extension.oregonstate.edu/ University Publications: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/ Washington Washington State University WSU Extension Contact Bob Simmons: 360-427-9670 ext. 690 http://wawater.wsu.edu/ University Publications: http://pubs.wsu.edu/ Northwest Indian College Contact Charlotte Clausing: 360-392-4319 cclausing@nwic.edu or http://www.nwic.edu/ Water Resource Research Institutes Water and Environmental Research Center (Alaska) http://www.uaf.edu/water/ Idaho Water Resources Research Institute http://www.boise.uidaho.edu/ Institute for Water and Watersheds (Oregon) http://water.oregonstate.edu/ State of Washington Water Research Center http://www.swwrc.wsu.edu/ Environmental Protection Agency EPA, Region 10 The Pacific Northwest http://www.epa.gov/r10earth/ Office of Research and Development, Corvallis Laboratory http://www.epa.gov/wed/ For more information contact Jan Seago at 206-553-0038 or seago.jan@epa.gov
	The Project Land Grant Universities, Water Research Institutes and EPA Region 10 have formed a partnership to provide research and education to communities about protecting or restoring the quality of water resources. This partnership is being supported in part by the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). Our Goal and Approach The goal of this Project is to provide leadership for water resources research, education and outreach to help people, industry and governments to prevent and solve current and emerging water quality and quantity problems. The approach to achieving this goal is for the Partners to develop a coordinated regional water quality effort based on, and strengthening, individual state programs. Our Strengths The Project promotes regional collaboration by acknowledging existing programs and successful efforts; assessing program gaps; identifying potential issues for cross-agency and private sector collaboration, and developing a clearinghouse of expertise and programs. In addition, the Project establishes or enhances partnerships with federal, state and local environmental and water resource management agencies, such as by placing a University Liaison within the offices of EPA Region 10.
	In addition to the specific research project the students are provided with several training activities including seminars on hypothesis-driven research planning, maintaining research records, critical thinking, responsible conduct of research, and preparation for graduate school. An Ethics-in Science component and a service learning activity also are used to broaden thinking and enhance activities of the enrolled students. The 10 students come together several times a week for group participation in scholarly and recreational activities. These activities integrate the experience of students, build social and networking skills, while at the same time acclimating them to an academic research environment. Weekly research meetings and lunches with professional and academic role models, and weekend field trips led by faculty mentors, also contribute to the academic and social adhesion of the group. Several of the students that participated in the summer 2009 program will be presenting scientific papers at upcoming professional meetings over the next 12 months. For example, Mr. Bradley Sliz (an undergraduate student from Eastern Illinois University) and Mr. Jonathan Megli (an undergraduate student from Southwest Baptist University in Missouri) will be presenting research papers at the National Water Resources Meeting in South Carolina in February 2010. Both Sliz and Megli worked in water research programs at the University of Idaho in the summer of 2009. This program will be looking for 10 additional highly motivated undergraduate students for the summer 2010 program.
	National Water Quality Program Areas The four land grant universities in the Pacific Northwest have aligned our water resource extension and research efforts with eight themes of the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Animal Waste Management Drinking Water and Human Health Environmental Restoration Nutrient and Pesticide Management Pollution Assessment and Prevention Watershed Management Water Conservation and Agricultural Water Management Water Policy and Economics
	This material is based upon work supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U. S. Department of Agriculture, under Agreement No 2008-51130-4734.

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