This oral history interview with Bob Saxvik was conducted by Michael O’Rourke at the Idaho State Historical Society in Boise, Idaho, on August 16, 2000. The interview was conducted as part of the Northwest Power Planning Council Oral History Project, which documented the history and purpose of the Northwest Power Planning Council, now known as the Northwest Power and Conservation Council. A transcript is available.

In this interview, Saxvik discusses his family background and early life in Minnesota and Iowa, including his experiences during the Depression and his education. He talks about his service in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War, and about his marriage to Marilyn Anne DeMers. He speaks about his career in radio broadcasting at KBAR Radio in Burley, Idaho; discusses his service in the Idaho State Senate from 1971 to 1976; and talks about his role in the administration of Idaho Governor John V. Evans.

Saxvik discusses the passage of the 1980 Northwest Power Act, then speaks at length about representing Idaho on the Northwest Power Planning Council from 1981 to 1996. He talks about serving as vice chair of the council from 1981 to 1983, about the first meetings of the council, and about his work on the first energy and conservation plan. He discusses opposition to the council’s Model Building Codes, talks about the first fish and wildlife plan, and speaks about energy forecasting. He talks about the effect Dan Evans’ departure from the council in 1983 had on the organizational structure of the NWPPC. He discusses the development of the fish and wildlife plan over the 1980s and 1990s, and closes the interview by talking about how changing state politics in the 1990s affected the council’s work, particularly the conflicts surrounding the council’s 1994 fish and wildlife plan.