Native American Tribal ↔ relates to ↔ Transportation Infrastructure

astern Washington, with which it shares the Pacific Time Zone—the rest of the state uses the Mountain Time Zone. The state's south includes the Snake River Plain (which has most of the population and agricultural land), and the southeast incorporates part of the Great Basin. Idaho is quite mountainous and contains several stretches of the Rocky Mountains. The United States Forest Service holds about 38% of Idaho's land, the highest proportion of any state. Industries significant for the state economy include manufacturing, agriculture, mining, forestry, science and technology, and tourism. Idaho has been a predominantly Republican state since statehood, with the Republican Party dominating in both state and national elections; abortion is severely restricted and the state retains the death penalty, including methods like the firing squad. The state contains the Idaho National Laboratory. Idaho's agricultural sector supplies many products, but the state is best known for its potato crop, which comprises around one-third of the nationwide yield.

ate and national elections; abortion is severely restricted and the state retains the death penalty, including methods like the firing squad. The state contains the Idaho National Laboratory. Idaho's agricultural sector supplies many products, but the state is best known for its potato crop, which comprises around one-third of the nationwide yield. Its official state nickname is the "Gem State". Etymology In the early 1860s, when the U.S. Congress was considering organizing a new territory around Pikes Peak in the Rocky Mountains, the name "Idaho" was popular among the Congressional committee, as they believed it to be derived from a Shoshone term meaning "gem of the mountains." Realizing in January 1861 the name was quite possibly a fabrication and not Native American at all, the U.S. Congress ultimately decided to name the area Colorado Territory when it was created. But, by the time this decision was made in February 1861, the town of Idaho Springs, Colorado had already been named after their early frontrunner for a name, Idaho. In 1863, the Territory of Idaho was formed, though “Montana” was nearly its name. More than a decade after the name Idaho was first discussed for the eventual Colorado Territory, George M. Willing, a politician, claimed that he had been inspired by a little girl named Ida and that he coined the name in Washington at the time of the Congressional committee when he had been posing as an elected delegate to Congress. The same year Congress created Colorado Territory, a county called Idaho County was created in eastern Washington Territory. The county was named after a steamship named Idaho, which was launched on the Columbia River in 1860. It is unclear whether the steamship was named before or after the legitimacy of the Native American origins of “Idaho” came into question. Regardless, part of Washington Territory, including Idaho County, was used to create Idaho Territory in 1863. Idaho Territory would later change its boundaries to the area that became the U.S.

ches of the Rocky Mountains. The United States Forest Service holds about 38% of Idaho's land, the highest proportion of any state. Industries significant for the state economy include manufacturing, agriculture, mining, forestry, science and technology, and tourism. Idaho has been a predominantly Republican state since statehood, with the Republican Party dominating in both state and national elections; abortion is severely restricted and the state retains the death penalty, including methods like the firing squad. The state contains the Idaho National Laboratory. Idaho's agricultural sector supplies many products, but the state is best known for its potato crop, which comprises around one-third of the nationwide yield.

, coined the name "Treasure Valley" in 1959 to reflect the treasure chest of resources and opportunities that the region offered. The valley has a very diverse terrain, from sage flatlands, to mesas, agricultural areas, and urbanized areas. As the Boise Metropolitan Area grows, more and more undeveloped and agricultural land is being urbanized. History Settling the region The tribes that roamed the area, specifically, were the Northern Paiute and Shoshone. In 1834, Thomas McKay built the original Fort Boise, in the area near present-day Parma, which was run for a time by Francois Payette. It later was moved because of flooding troubles and was abandoned in 1854. The Oregon Trail runs through the Treasure Valley. The valley was settled for the most part by ranchers and farmers, initially to supply the gold and silver mining communities in the higher elevations nearby: Idaho City in the Boise Basin and Silver City in the Owyhees. A new Fort Boise was constructed by the U.S. Army in 1863 in present-day Boise, from which the city grew.

ern Oregon to Boise, and is the most populated area in Idaho. Historically, the valley had been known as the Lower Snake River Valley or the Boise River Valley. Pete Olesen, president of the valley's association of local Chambers of Commerce, coined the name "Treasure Valley" in 1959 to reflect the treasure chest of resources and opportunities that the region offered. The valley has a very diverse terrain, from sage flatlands, to mesas, agricultural areas, and urbanized areas.

The Treasure Valley is a valley in the western United States, primarily in southwestern Idaho, where the Payette, Boise, Weiser, Malheur, and Owyhee rivers drain into the Snake River. It includes all the lowland areas from Vale in rural eastern Oregon to Boise, and is the most populated area in Idaho. Historically, the valley had been known as the Lower Snake River Valley or the Boise River Valley. Pete Olesen, president of the valley's association of local Chambers of Commerce, coined the name "Treasure Valley" in 1959 to reflect the treasure chest of resources and opportunities that the region offered. The valley has a very diverse terrain, from sage flatlands, to mesas, agricultural areas, and urbanized areas.

sh. The Snake and its tributary, the Salmon River, host the longest sockeye salmon run in the world, stretching 900 miles (1,400 km) from the Pacific to Redfish Lake in Idaho. Since the 1950s, public agencies, tribal governments and private utilities have invested heavily in fishery restoration and hatchery programs, with limited success.

As gold mining declined in the late 19th century, the wheat industry boomed in the Palouse of southeast Washington. By the 1870s, the Oregon Steam Navigation Company was operating seven steamboats transporting grain from the Snake River to lower Columbia River ports. These were the Harvest Queen, John Gates, Spokane, Annie Faxon, Mountain Queen, R.R. Thompson, and Wide West. In the 1890s, a huge copper deposit was discovered at Eureka Bar in Hells Canyon. Several ships transported ore from there to Lewiston, including Imnaha, Mountain Gem, and Norma. In 1893 the Annie Faxon suffered a boiler explosion and sank on the Snake below Lewiston, killing five people. Starting in the 1880s, the Army Corps began dredging the Snake River below Lewiston to maintain a 5-foot (1.5 m) deep navigation channel. River traffic declined rapidly once railroads arrived. By 1899, the Union Pacific line along the south bank of the Snake River had reached Riparia, Washington. It then joined forces with the Northern Pacific Railroad, which was building a line along the north bank, to build the shared Camas Prairie Railroad the rest of the way to Lewiston, which it reached in 1908. The Open River Transportation Company, which operated steamboats between Lewiston and Celilo Falls on the Columbia, went bankrupt in 1912. The 1915 completion of the Celilo Canal made it much easier for boats from the upper Columbia and Snake to reach Portland, and the Columbia River Transportation Company began operating a water route between Lewiston and Portland. Still, steamboats were unable to compete with railroads on speed and efficiency. The last steamboat on the lower Snake ran in 1920. Once the railroads monopolized grain shipments, they raised shipping rates, to farmers' consternation. In 1934, political activist Herbert G. West organized the Inland Empire Waterways Association (IEWA), to promote an "open river" – a deep-water shipping channel on the Snake and Columbia Rivers that could compete with rail. The IEWA initially pushed for improvements such as bigger locks at Bonneville Dam in 1938 and the construction of McNary Dam on the Columbia, which would improve navigation to the mouth of the Snake. In 1941 a bill was first introduced in Congress authorizing the Army Corps to develop the lower Snake River. The 1941 bill failed, but after several years of debate, Congress finally authorized the Snake River development in 1945. Early plans included anywhere from six to ten low dams for the lower Snake. Eventually this was reduced to four bigger dams, which would lower costs, but would require what at the time were the tallest navigation locks in the world, at over 100 feet (30 m). Tribes, state wildlife agencies and the fishing industry opposed the dams, arguing that they would kill too many salmon. In 1947, the U.S. Department of the Interior proposed a ten-year moratorium on dam construction while the fishery problem was studied. With the onset of the Cold War, rising electricity demand in the Pacific Northwest – particularly at the nearby Hanford nuclear site – turned the project's focus towards hydropower. By 1948, the Army Corps estimated that over 80 percent of the economic benefits would come from power, and only 15 percent from navigation. Dam opponents countered that if the primary objective was now power, other dam sites existed in the Northwest that would have less impact on fish. These objections proved futile, as the lower Snake River dams were already authorized, and the federal government had little interest in studying alternatives. While opponents continued to stall the project for a few more years, Washington Senator Warren G.

Populations of anadromous fish began to decline in the late 1800s due to the impact of commercial fishing, logging, mining and agriculture, but even in the 1930s, returning fall chinook alone numbered 500,000. Populations further collapsed once dams were built on the lower Snake and Columbia Rivers, and Hells Canyon Dam blocked access to the upper Snake. Wild Snake River spring and summer chinook returns declined from 130,000 in the 1950s to less than 5,000 in the 1990s. Wild steelhead returns followed a similar pattern, falling from 110,000 in the 1960s to less than 10,000 in the 1990s. Spring, summer and fall-run chinook were all listed as threatened in 1992. Snake River steelhead were also listed as threatened in 1997. Wild chinook salmon and steelhead continued to decline into the 1990s, but have begun an unsteady recovery since 2000, with both chinook and steelhead returns up to 20,000–30,000 in some years. Coho salmon had disappeared from the Snake River by the 1980s, they were reintroduced to the watershed in 1995. Snake River sockeye once numbered to up 150,000 adults. Between 24,000 and 30,000 sockeye returned to Wallowa Lake in the Grande Ronde River watershed, but the run was eliminated by 1905 due to overharvest and unscreened irrigation diversions. The Payette Lake population once numbering up to 100,000 was blocked by the Black Canyon Dam in 1924. Sockeye in the Yellowbelly, Stanley, and Pettit Lakes of the Sawtooth basin were eradicated by management actions of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game in the 1950s, and irrigation diversions lead to the extirpation of the Pettit Lake population. Snake River sockeye returns declined to 4,500 in the 1950s and only a few dozen by the late 1960s. Snake River sockeye were listed as endangered in 1991. Numerous hatcheries are operated by agencies such as the Army Corps, Idaho Power, the Bonneville Power Administration, the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to supplement wild fish populations. Hatcheries release about 33 million salmon and steelhead smolt into the Snake River watershed each year. However, the survival rate for hatchery fish is poor. Just 0.4 percent of hatchery chinook and 1.5 percent of hatchery steelhead returned as adults, as measured at Lower Granite Dam between 2007 and 2016. Upstream of the four lower dams, the Snake River watershed contains some of the best remaining spawning habitat in the Columbia River system, particularly along the Clearwater and Salmon Rivers; the latter is one of the longest undammed rivers in the continental US. A much depleted sockeye salmon run continues to spawn in Redfish Lake near Stanley, Idaho, more than 900 miles (1,400 km) inland from the Pacific Ocean.

, Arts & Sciences, and Education; MPA program in the School of Public Service; and the MPH program in the College of Health Sciences. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".

The university also has an honors college. Within the College of Arts and Sciences is the School of the Environment, approved by the Idaho State Board of Education in 2022 and established in 2023. Boise State's fall enrollment in 2016 was 23,886 students, and approximately 76 percent of these students were Idaho residents. More than 90 percent of Boise State's first-year students come directly from high school. In the 2015–16 school year, Boise State awarded diplomas to 3,916 distinct graduates, including 18 doctorates, 10 education specialists, 670 master's and 2,998 bachelor's degrees. The university is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research spending and doctorate production".

Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees since 1965. It became a public institution in 1969. Boise State offers more than 100 graduate programs, including a variety of MBA programs and the MAcc program in the College of Business and Economics; master's and PhD programs in the Colleges of Engineering, Arts & Sciences, and Education; MPA program in the School of Public Service; and the MPH program in the College of Health Sciences. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".

Boise (locally also ) is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the county seat of Ada County. The population of the city was 235,685 at the 2020 census. The Boise metropolitan area, located in the Treasure Valley, includes five counties of Idaho with an estimated population of 846,000, the most populous metropolitan area in Idaho and 95th-most populous in the United States. Located on the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is 41 miles (66 km) east of the Oregon border and 110 miles (177 km) north of the Nevada border. Downtown Boise's elevation is 2,704 feet (824 m) above sea level. Boise is home to major employers in the technology, manufacturing, and service sectors, including companies such as Micron Technology and Hewlett-Packard.

an area in Idaho and 95th-most populous in the United States. Located on the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is 41 miles (66 km) east of the Oregon border and 110 miles (177 km) north of the Nevada border. Downtown Boise's elevation is 2,704 feet (824 m) above sea level. Boise is home to major employers in the technology, manufacturing, and service sectors, including companies such as Micron Technology and Hewlett-Packard.

...that the military should continue killing Indians 'until the last Indian in the Territories was either on his reservation or enriched the sagebrush with his decaying carcass.' ...if the Indians refused to move there, 'they will be killed or put on the reservation by force, and certainly shot if they don't stay there.' Furthermore, the editor continues, 'The idea that the Indians have any right to the soil is ridiculous. ...They have no more rights to the soil of the Territories of the United States than wolves or coyotes...' This would be our plan of establishing friendship upon an eternal basis with our Indians: Let all the hostile bands of Idaho Territory be called in (they will not be caught in any other manner) to attend a grand treaty; plenty of blankets and nice little trinkets distributed among them; plenty of grub on hand; have a real jolly time with them; then just before the big feast put strychnine in their meat and poison to death the last mother's son of them. At the same time, native warriors around the valley, under the leadership of Howluck also known as "Bigfoot" among white settlers, among others, waged an escalating and intensified guerrilla campaign of harassment of passerby caravans along the Oregon Trail. The United States Army also escalated and intensified "punitive expeditions" against formations of warriors and against civilian communities as well. This marked the start of the "unofficial" Snake War in 1866. This war lasted until 1868, and is statistically the deadliest of the Indian Wars in the West in terms of casualties. In the end, 1,762 men were counted as the casualties of this war from both sides. In 1868, Fort Hall Indian Reservation was established in Southeastern Idaho, about 220 miles upstream, according to the terms of Fort Bridger Treaty. The Boise Valley Shoshone and Bannock Tribes were not party to this treaty. Nevertheless, in April 1869, the United States Military embarked on a campaign of "Removal, rounding up of natives in the region including in and around Boise, and expelling them with cavalry escort to Fort Hall Indian Reservation. This period is known among the Shoshone and Bannock people as Idaho's Trail of Tears. Some of the natives managed to escape, and they ran to either Duck Valley or Fort McDermitt in Nevada. Incorporation and growth Boise's early growth was significantly driven by its role in supplying the nearby gold towns that sprung up in the 1860s northeast and then southwest of the town. Miners sometimes wintered in Boise and a number of early prominent businessmen were miners who settled in town in the years after the gold rush waned. By 1864 substantial agricultural production was underway on easily irrigated lands near the river and three canal companies had been incorporated. Early transportation improvements were largely a result of toll road franchises awarded by the territorial legislature starting in the 1860s. These first ran from Fort Boise to the mining centers in the Boise Basin and east to Rocky Bar and to Rattlesnake Station where they connected to the Oregon Trail. Territorial census records from a special 1864 enumeration list the population of Boise as 1,658, and an act of December 12, 1864, was the first attempt by the Idaho Territorial Legislature to incorporate the city. This was rejected by voters the following March. Two more unsuccessful attempts were made to organize a city administration by election before the 1866 version of the city charter was approved by voters on January 6, 1868. The growing number of homes and businesses, for which owners wanted proper legal title, may have contributed to the eventual success of incorporation. All of these rejected efforts to incorporate the city came after Boise had been controversially made the state capital in 1864 over strong opposition from northern Idaho interests. This decision reflected the rapid shift of population growth from north to south after the discovery of gold in southern Idaho. By 1868 Boise had over 400 permanent buildings with a wide range of commercial services. 1868 also marked the formal beginning of a long advocacy for railroad connections to other Idaho communities and, just as importantly, to other growing cities in the west such as Portland, Oregon. Competing railroad and western state government interests frustrated these efforts for many years. Designed by Alfred B. Mullett, the U.S. Assay Office at 210 Main Street was built in 1871 and today is a National Historic Landmark. It first began accepting gold and silver for purchase on March 2, 1872, largely eliminating the need to transport ore to the mint in San Francisco. A territorial penitentiary, now known as the Old Idaho State Penitentiary, opened the same month several miles east of town. Mining continued to be important to Boise's economic growth and periodic booms contributed to population growth as well, though production of gold and silver probably peaked in the 1860s. 1882's gold and silver production of $3,500,000 declined to $1,488,315 (including lead) by 1899. Boise began to earn its City of Trees nickname in this period with a popular focus on a range of tree planting projects. Thomas J. Davis planted several thousand fruit trees in 1864 and several other early businessmen either founded nurseries or orchards of their own. In the 1870s tree planting began in earnest in downtown Boise led by prominent hotels as well as businessmen and residents. In 1907 Davis donated 43 acres of his orchard property to the city for use as a park in the name of his wife Julia. Commercial agriculture continued to expand, but was slowed by the lack of reliable rail links to regional and national markets and by a lack of large scale irrigation projects, which themselves were often tied to hoped-for railroad projects for financing. A.D. Foote, a successful mining engineer, drew up plans to irrigate up to 500,000 acres immediately south of Boise in 1882, but progress was halting and smaller farms were the norm until after the turn of the century with most located near to the river bottom where soil was productive and irrigation more easily achieved. Fruit orchards proliferated and sugar beets, still an important agricultural industry in Idaho, began to be widely cultivated in the 1890s. Cattle and sheep farming became increasingly important as the century closed. With the exception of dairy, most livestock products were exported from Idaho, unlike other agricultural products which were still largely scaled to support local markets. The timber industry also increasingly thrived in the Boise market in the 1880s and 1890s. Large quantities of timber were exported from elsewhere in Idaho, but a growing Boise supported the expansion of Alexander Rossi's sawmill, first established in 1865. Prominent early Boisean William Ridenbaugh had inherited control of the canal now bearing his name from his uncle William Morris in 1878 and later partnered with Rossi to expand the sawmill capacity under the name Rossi and Ridenbaugh Lumber Company. Their materials supported bridge building and the rapid expansion of Boise in the 1890s. As with many early infrastructure ventures, electrification succeeded only after at least one false start. July 4, 1887, marked the start of electrical transmission from a plant located on the Bench. William Ridenbaugh provided expertise and manpower for the water supply and several months were spent rigging poles and lines from the Bench to the service area across the river. Additional electrical supplies allowed the building of an electric streetcar line in 1891. This ran without interruption until buses replaced the lines in 1927, tracking—and sometimes driving—the development of Boise and nearby communities. This system expanded over several decades, reaching into the North End, South Boise and across the river on Front St. A loop line, completed in 1912, ran as far as Caldwell and Nampa, providing transport throughout the valley. Three early trolley companies merged in 1912 to form the Idaho Traction Company with a depot at 7th and Bannock Streets downtown. Additional services and urban amenities arrived in the 1890s as Boise grew. Exploratory drilling for hot water was successful in 1890 and by the end of the decade many homes along Warm Springs avenue were being heated by this source. A natatorium was built in 1892 close to the source of the hot water near the Idaho State Penitentiary. Churches serving several denominations, a Jewish synagogue, a major hardware store and department store, a Masonic hall, the Columbia Theater, Saint Alphonsus' Hospital, a number of parochial and secular schools, a City Hall and a new Union Pacific passenger station, constructed when service was finally extended to downtown, were all built during the 1890s. Falk's Department Store sponsored a semi-professional baseball team representing Boise from at least 1892 and the city supported other organized sports as they became popular.

Surface irrigation, also known as gravity irrigation, is the oldest form of irrigation and has been in use for thousands of years. In surface (furrow, flood, or level basin) irrigation systems, water moves across the surface of agricultural lands to wet it and infiltrate into the soil. Water moves by following gravity or the slope of the land. Surface irrigation can be subdivided into furrow, border strip, or basin irrigation. It is often called flood irrigation when irrigation results in flooding or near-flooding of the cultivated land. Historically, surface irrigation has been the most common method for irrigating agricultural land in most parts of the world. The water application efficiency of surface irrigation is typically lower than that of other irrigation methods, due in part to limited control over applied depths. Surface irrigation involves significantly lower capital costs and energy requirements than pressurized irrigation systems. Hence, it is often the irrigation choice for developing nations, for low-value crops, and for large fields. Where water levels from the irrigation source permit, they are controlled by dikes (levees), usually plugged with soil. This is often seen in terraced rice fields (rice paddies), where the method is used to flood or control water levels in each distinct field.

Field Water Efficiency (%) = (Water Transpired by Crop ÷ Water Applied to Field) x 100 Increased irrigation efficiency has several positive outcomes for the farmer, the community, and the wider environment. Low application efficiency indicates that the amount of water applied to the field exceeds the crop or field requirements. Increasing the application efficiency means that the amount of crop produced per unit of water increases. Improved efficiency may be achieved by applying less water to an existing field or by using water more wisely, thereby achieving higher yields in the same area of land. In some parts of the world, farmers are charged for irrigation water; hence, over-application has a direct financial cost to the farmer. Irrigation often requires pumping energy (electricity or fossil fuels) to deliver water to the field or to supply the required operating pressure. Hence, increased efficiency will reduce both water and energy costs per unit of agricultural production. A reduction in water use on one field may allow the farmer to irrigate a larger area of land, increasing total agricultural production. Low efficiency usually means that excess water is lost through seepage or runoff, both of which can result in loss of crop nutrients or pesticides with potential adverse impacts on the surrounding environment. Improving the efficiency of irrigation is usually achieved in one of two ways: either by improving the system design or by optimizing the irrigation management. Improving system design includes converting from one form of irrigation to another (e.g., from furrow to drip irrigation) and making small changes to the current system (e.g., adjusting flow rates and operating pressures).

Archaeological investigations have found evidence of irrigation in areas lacking sufficient natural rainfall to support rainfed agriculture. Some of the earliest known use of the technology dates to the 6th millennium BCE in Khuzistan in the south-west of Iran. The site of Choga Mami, in present-day Iraq on the border with Iran, is believed to be the earliest to show the first canal irrigation in operation at about 6000 BCE. Irrigation was used to manipulate water in the alluvial plains of the Indus Valley Civilization, with its application estimated to have begun around 4500 BCE and to have drastically increased the size and prosperity of their agricultural settlements. The Indus Valley Civilization developed sophisticated irrigation and water-storage systems, including artificial reservoirs at Girnar dated to 3000 BCE, and an early canal irrigation system from c. 2600 BCE. Large-scale agriculture was practiced, with an extensive network of canals used for irrigation. Farmers in the Mesopotamian plain used irrigation from at least the third millennium BCE. They developed perennial irrigation, regularly watering crops throughout the growing season by coaxing water through a matrix of small channels formed in the field. Ancient Egyptians practiced basin irrigation using the flooding of the Nile to inundate land plots which had been surrounded by dikes. The flood water remained until the fertile sediment had settled before the engineers returned the surplus to the watercourse. There is evidence of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Amenemhet III in the twelfth dynasty (about 1800 BCE) using the natural lake of the Faiyum Oasis as a reservoir to store surpluses of water for use during dry seasons.

Southern Idaho and North Idaho College, in Idaho and is governed by a five-member board of trustees elected at large by voters in Ada and Canyon counties. CWI offers over 120 programs in the areas of Academic Transfer, Dual Credit, Career and Technical Education, Workforce Development, and Adult Education. In fall of 2023, CWI served 21,359 credit students and 14,951 noncredit students. CWI reported the gender of their students to be 55% female and 45% male.

History Prior to the creation of CWI, Boise was one of the largest metropolitan statistical areas in the United States without a community college. CWI was created on May 22, 2007, when voters of Canyon and Ada counties passed a measure to allow the formation of the new community college district. In June 2007, the Albertson Foundation announced it was donating $10 million to help found the college. In July 2007, the Idaho State Board of Education selected an initial five-member board of trustees. The following month Boise State University faculty member Dennis Griffin was named to a two-year term as the college's first president and CWI began offering academic classes on January 20, 2009, with an enrollment of over 1,100 students. In the summer of 2009 the professional-technical programs from Boise State University's Selland College of Applied Technology transitioned to CWI. By the fall 2009 semester, CWI enrollment had expanded to over 3,600 students. In January 2010, CWI applied for accreditation from the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). NWCCU granted candidacy status at the associate degree level in 2012 and initial accreditation in 2016. President Griffin retired in August 2009 and was succeeded by Bert Glandon. After serving as president for 12 years, Glandon retired from CWI on May 15, 2021. The college's board of trustees named Denise Aberle-Cannata the interim president. CWI Board of Trustees extended an offer to Gordon Jones on Dec. 9, 2021 to be the next president at College of Western Idaho. Gordon Jones accepted the position of President at CWI and began his tenure as the third president in CWI's history on Jan.

Catchment area The college's catchment area includes all of the following counties: Ada, Adams, Boise, Canyon, Gem, Payette, Valley, and Washington. It also includes portions of Elmore and Owyhee counties. Ada and Canyon counties are the taxation zone for the college. Student life CWI has over 30 student clubs and organizations. Student clubs have been created with academic focus as well as special interests. Student groups range from art to physics, horticulture, psychology, Glee, Birdies and Bogies, a Veterans Association, and more. The Associated Students of the College of Western Idaho (ASCWI) serve as the voice of the student body. ASCWI is governed by five officers and eight senators elected by the student body each spring. CWI students participate in competitive, skills-based organizations like Business Professionals of America, SkillsUSA, and Speech and Debate. CWI students have found success at state, regional, and national levels in all three organizations. CWI Speech and Debate captured seven Pi Kappa Delta Community College National Championships in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. Students have earned individual medals at national skills competitions as well. Students have the opportunity to engage on campus through the CWI Presidential Ambassador Program, which promotes leadership and connects students to campus and community events.

Ada County is located in the southwestern part of Idaho, United States. As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 494,967, which by 2025 was estimated to have risen to 546,141. Ada County is by far the state's most populous county; it is home to 26.8% of the state's population. The county seat and largest city is Boise, which is also the state capital. Ada County is included in the Boise metropolitan area. The Ada County Highway District has jurisdiction over all the local county and city streets, except for private roads and state roads.

populous county; it is home to 26.8% of the state's population. The county seat and largest city is Boise, which is also the state capital. Ada County is included in the Boise metropolitan area. The Ada County Highway District has jurisdiction over all the local county and city streets, except for private roads and state roads.

ea. The Ada County Highway District has jurisdiction over all the local county and city streets, except for private roads and state roads. In the interior Pacific Northwest east of the Cascade Range, Ada County ranks second in population, behind Spokane County, Washington. History Ada County was created by the Idaho Territory legislature on December 22, 1864, partitioned from Boise County. It is named for Ada Riggs, the daughter of H. C. Riggs, a member of the legislature; he established the county and was a co-founder of Boise.

105, which by 2025 was estimated to have risen to 275,123, making it the second-most populous county in Idaho. The county seat is Caldwell, and its largest city is Nampa. Canyon County is part of the Boise metropolitan area. History Hudson's Bay Company established Fort Boise in 1834 near what is now Parma, but abandoned it in 1855. Emigrants traveled through Canyon County on the Oregon Trail. Discovery of gold in the Boise Basin in 1862 brought settlement to the region again. The lower Boise River was fully contained within Boise County from 1863 until the formation of Ada County in 1864. Settlement of the lower Boise River west of Boise City was limited prior to the completion of the Oregon Short Line Railroad. Middleton was the first European settlement of Canyon County, starting in 1863. The 1870 Census for Ada County listed 76 residents of the Boise Valley, excluding Boise City and the 1880 Census listed 44 residents at Middleton. The arrival of the railroad at Caldwell led to the establishment of a town there as of August 1883. Businessmen James A. McGee and Alexander Duffes filed the plat for nearby Nampa in 1886. Parma was settled around the same time, with the Old Fort Boise post office being moved to the town's location; it was incorporated in 1904. Ada County established precincts for each of the settlements with a combined 1890 Census population of 2,311. Significant settlement of Greenleaf and Notus started around 1904 with the two settlements listed as precincts at the 1910 census. Notus was incorporated in 1921 while Greenleaf was incorporated prior to 1980. Melba was incorporated in 1912 while Wilder was incorporated in 1919. The City of Star annexed a portion of territory in northeast Canyon County prior to 2007, becoming the county's ninth incorporated city. The majority of Star is located within Ada County. The Idaho Legislature created Canyon County from Ada County in an act approved March 7, 1891, effective at the November 26, 1892, election. Caldwell was established as the county seat. The county originally contained all of Canyon and Payette counties and part of Gem; Gem County formed in 1915 and Payette County in 1917.

History Hudson's Bay Company established Fort Boise in 1834 near what is now Parma, but abandoned it in 1855. Emigrants traveled through Canyon County on the Oregon Trail. Discovery of gold in the Boise Basin in 1862 brought settlement to the region again. The lower Boise River was fully contained within Boise County from 1863 until the formation of Ada County in 1864. Settlement of the lower Boise River west of Boise City was limited prior to the completion of the Oregon Short Line Railroad. Middleton was the first European settlement of Canyon County, starting in 1863. The 1870 Census for Ada County listed 76 residents of the Boise Valley, excluding Boise City and the 1880 Census listed 44 residents at Middleton. The arrival of the railroad at Caldwell led to the establishment of a town there as of August 1883. Businessmen James A. McGee and Alexander Duffes filed the plat for nearby Nampa in 1886. Parma was settled around the same time, with the Old Fort Boise post office being moved to the town's location; it was incorporated in 1904. Ada County established precincts for each of the settlements with a combined 1890 Census population of 2,311. Significant settlement of Greenleaf and Notus started around 1904 with the two settlements listed as precincts at the 1910 census. Notus was incorporated in 1921 while Greenleaf was incorporated prior to 1980. Melba was incorporated in 1912 while Wilder was incorporated in 1919. The City of Star annexed a portion of territory in northeast Canyon County prior to 2007, becoming the county's ninth incorporated city. The majority of Star is located within Ada County. The Idaho Legislature created Canyon County from Ada County in an act approved March 7, 1891, effective at the November 26, 1892, election. Caldwell was established as the county seat. The county originally contained all of Canyon and Payette counties and part of Gem; Gem County formed in 1915 and Payette County in 1917.

2000 census As of the 2000 census, there were 131,441 people, 45,018 households and 33,943 families living in the county. The population density was 223 people per square mile (86 people/km2). There were 47,965 housing units at an average density of 81 units per square mile (31 units/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 83.10% White, 0.32% Black or African American, 0.85% Native American, 0.80% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 12.17% from other races, and 2.62% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18.61% of the population. 15.9% were of German, 12.7% English, 10.3% American and 7.6% Irish ancestry. There were 45,018 households, of which 39.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.70% were married couples living together, 10.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.60% were non-families. 19.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.85 and the average family size was 3.28. 30.90% of the population were under the age of 18, 10.70% from 18 to 24, 28.30% from 25 to 44, 19.10% from 45 to 64, and 11.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.30 males. The median household income was $35,884 and the median family income was $40,377. Males had a median income of $29,418 compared with $22,044 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,155. About 8.70% of families and 12.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.50% of those under age 18 and 10.70% of those age 65 or over. Communities Cities Unincorporated communities Bowmont Huston Roswell Sunnyslope Walters Ferry, Idaho Politics Like the majority of Idaho, Canyon County is reliably Republican by comfortable margins. The last time a Democratic candidate carried the county was in 1936 by Franklin D. Roosevelt.