IDPR Managers Meeting
- bweygandt
- Jan 30
- 2 min read
By Amber Hawes
On January 28, Dr. Zajchowski and I had the opportunity to attend the annual Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation (IDPR) Managers’ Meeting in Boise, ID. This was an excellent opportunity for us to not only learn about department-wide updates but also present some of the great work our lab has been up to and encourage managers to think about how we might be able to partner for future projects.
What are some of the topics covered at a statewide managers’ meeting?
Awards for employees who had worked a milestone number of years with IDPR
Respecting first amendment rights and first amendment auditors
Agreement with SaniStar and updates on waste management
Department AI policies and procedures
Which rules legislation allows parks to enforce
Making trails more accessible with Action Track Chairs
Workplace safety and workers compensation
Recreation Bureau initiatives, such as the park passport
And much more! Sadly, we were only able to be present for one day of the two-day event.
What did we present?
Photo Credit: Anna Medlin
Chris started the presentation by sharing updates on the partnership between IDPR and UI including: an analysis of Harriman State Park’s trail system, highlighting IDPR success stories, and his recent publication in the Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism on understanding the short-term effect of a differential park pricing policy at five Idaho state parks.
I presented updates to the Interpretive Theme Inventory project that I took on after Anna Medlin graduated in May 2025. In this presentation I was able to share some of the changes we have made for Phase 2 of the project, our recent work creating a report for Henrys Lake State Park, and what parks can expect for Phase 3.
Chris ended the presentation by sharing some of the work we do connecting students with IDPR through his teaching and advising roles at UI and highlighting some of the upcoming speakers planned for the 2026 Outdoor Innovations Speaker Series.
Overall takeaway
This managers meeting was an excellent opportunity for the University of Idaho and the Parks & Recreation Lab to further strengthen its relationship with IDPR and create meaningful connections that will help future students at our university as well as Idaho State Parks.
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