By Fred Wagner

The Rocky Mountain/Great Basin (RMGB) regional assessment is directed by two Co-Chairs, a 6-person Assessment Team, and a 9-person Steering Committee. Members of these two bodies have been selected according to three criteria: professional expertise, knowledge of stakeholder concerns surrounding the five sectors being emphasized by the assessment, and geographic distribution within this extensive, 8-state region. The five sectors on which the assessment is focusing are water, cultivated agriculture, ranching, skiing and tourism, and natural ecosystems, with special emphasis on water in this arid-semiarid region.Susan Selby, Manager of the Resources Planning Division of the Las Vegas Valley Water District, is an important member of the Assessment Team, meeting all of the above three criteria. The Water District, a quasi-municipal agency under Nevada state statute, provides water to the majority of the Las Vegas Valley. It also provides the day-to-day management of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, the regional water and wastewater agency tasked with managing the existing and future resources of the region and constructing regional water facilities.

Susan's division writes 50-year water resource plans for the Water Authority. It also, among other things, oversees the District's well-known artificial aquifer recharge program and provides the region's technical expertise on the Colorado River, which is the primary water source for the Las Vegas area and originates in the mountainous areas of the RMGB region. With her expertise and knowledge of water issues, Susan brings essential guidance to the regional assessment's emphasis on this sector.

Originally a Kansan, Susan has a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Wichita State University, and a graduate degree in Regional and Community Planning from Kansas State University. After graduate school in 1986, her first position was that of Planner in the Clark County [location of Las Vegas] Planning Department. After 3* years with Clark County, she moved to the Water District.

At both the County and the District, Susan has managed group planning efforts, and in the process has developed valuable skills in chairing group meetings. This has been an added bonus over her professional expertise for the regional assessment which relies heavily on workshops and focus-group meetings. Her skills were initially put to use at the regional workshop in Salt Lake City in February 1998 when she participated in breakout-group discussions on the Role of Federal and State Land-Management Agencies. Her efforts contributed to her selection for the regional Assessment Team.

In February 1999, Susan co-chaired a highly successful focus-group meeting on water in Santa Barbara, CA. The 17 participants were hydrologists; water managers; water law, economics, and policy specialists from the RMGB region; and representatives from the California and Southwest regional assessments. In February 2000, Susan participated in another focus-group meeting on RMGB aquatic ecosystems, contributing to a highly successful meeting.

The breadth of subjects which the regional assessments must address requires input from people with a wide range of expertise. Also, geographically large regions require representation by people well distributed around the region. The RMGB regional assessment is progressing well with the help of distinguished people on the Assessment Team and Steering Committee who have the needed professional credentials, who come from 5 of the 8 states in the region, and who give willingly of their time to achieve an effective assessment. Susan Selby exemplifies the quality of the members of these groups.