Episode 20: Inside Idaho’s Water Market: Trust, Transfers & Transactions

ABOUT THIS EPISODE

What does a mature water market look like, and what can other western states learn from Idaho?

In this episode of the Western Water Market Podcast, Kristina Ribellia sits down with Roger Warner and Kristin Moore of Rocky Mountain Environmental Associates, one of Idaho's most respected water rights consulting firms and a Founding Member of Western Water Market.

For decades, Rocky Mountain Environmental has been helping private and public sector clients navigate water rights throughout Idaho. As pioneers in water right transfers and transactions, Roger and Kristin share how trust, relationships, and proactive communication have helped streamline transactions and reduce conflicts.

We discuss the evolution of Idaho's water market, current trends in buying, selling, and leasing water rights, water banking opportunities, conservation efforts, recent legislative changes impacting development, and what other western states can learn from Idaho's experience.

Roger and Kristin also discuss Rocky Mountain Environmental Associates' newest water right listing on Western Water Market, offering listeners real-world context for how water rights are bought, sold, and marketed in Idaho today.

Whether you're a water right owner, developer, irrigation district, municipality, consultant, attorney, or water user, this episode provides valuable insight into Idaho’s water market.

Tune in to Episode 20

ABOUT ROGER

W. Roger Warner
President, Principal Hydrologist
Rocky Mountain Environmental Associates

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Mr. Warner has years of professional experience over a wide range of geologic and environmental projects. His work experience has been split between consultation services, governmental agency representative, and academia. He has managed and conducted many varied site investigations over the course of his career and brings to the table a diverse working knowledge of environmental and geological issues. Mr. Warner is a Masters Degreed Hydrologist from the University of Idaho. His project thesis focused on evaluation of conceptual models for spring flows in the American Falls area of Idaho; a topic that continues to be of great concern given today’s water right climate in southern Idaho.

Mr. Warner’s work experience has been unique in the development of a broad range of relationships with agency professionals throughout Eastern Idaho. Mr. Warner worked closely with regional Department of Fish and Game, Department of Environmental Quality, and U. S. Army Corps of Engineers personnel while performing stream protection oversight duties, which also enabled opportunities for interaction with federal agencies such as the U.S Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and others.

Mr. Warner’s water right experience has included numerous opportunities to interact with the region’s top expert water- and water-law professionals where he participated in the formation of reasonable and fundamentally sound solutions to water right problems.

ABOUT KRISTIN

Kristina Moore
Vice-President, Principal Water Right Analyst
Rocky Mountain Environmental Associates

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Ms. Moore has years of experience working in water rights and GIS analysis. She has a BS in Geology from Brigham Young University — Idaho that she earned in 2004. Prior to joining for RMEA in 2007, she worked as a GIS analyst for Idaho Water Resources Research Institute in carbon sequestration research. This introduction led Ms. Moore to a position with Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR) to aid in the Snake River Basin Adjudication process. As an employee of IDWR, she worked with Idaho Code regarding water rights and water law and she built relationships with agency employees that have proven to be invaluable in the consulting business today.

Since coming to work for RMEA, Ms. Moore has been a key player in numerous water right transfers, appropriations of new water rights, and developing sound mitigation plans for a variety of water right issues. She has been involved in pioneering new and exciting water right solutions for municipalities, commercial companies, and local farmers.