"This  message comes to you from Snowbird, Utah, where about 130 water resources professionals and students assembled in the gorgeous Wasatch Mountains just outside Salt Lake City for three days to discuss and debate just what IWRM is, how useful it is, and how best to implement it. From my perspective as someone who has a healthy skepticism towards IWRM, the meeting was a revelation. It was certainly well worth the effort it took to convene the meeting.

A special Symposium on The Use of Collaborative Modeling for Implementing IWRM occupied one of the three tracks on the second day of the conference and was a first for AWRA. To my knowledge we've never had a symposium embedded within an AWRA conference. It went very well; perhaps the symposium format will become a precedent.

During the conference the issue of a water vision for the US arose. Do we need one? If so, what would it look like? What purpose would it serve? To address these and other questions, on the final day Ada L. Benavides of the USACE HQ moderated a facilitated session on a US water vision. Much input was obtained as to the pros and cons of such a vision. What's next? Stay tuned.

Please join me in welcoming Mary Ashton, AWRA's new Membership/Marketing Coordinator. We are glad to have her aboard!

Best wishes for an extraordinary holiday weekend, and please be careful on the road."