A Marvelous Opportunity

In 2001, the National Park Service completed a major Special Resource Study and submitted a report to Congress proposing that an Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail be established. Such a Trail would represent the largest, most systematic, and most cooperative effort yet proposed to bring the dramatic story of the Ice Age Floods to the public's attention, and this has the potential to bring significant economic and cultural benefits to communities throughout the Northwest.

The Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail would essentially be a network of marked touring routes extending across parts of Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon, with several special interpretive centers located across the region:

Proposed Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail

Proposed Ice Age Floods Pathways (touring routes) and possible locations
for interpretive facilities (from the National Park Service report).

The Park Service's report indicates that, by bringing together many interested parties, an effective interpretive program can be developed within a collaborative structure and at remarkably low cost, despite the extraordinary size of the region. The Trail can also be developed on existing public lands, with no changes in jurisdiction and no threats to private property rights. The role of the National Park Service would be to coordinate and manage the planning of the project and the telling of the story, not to manage any more land than it already is responsible for.

To establish the Trail, nearly identical bills have recently been introduced in the House of Representatives and the Senate. You can find out how to support that legislation here.

The Ice Age Floods Institute is working to educate people about the potential benefits of the Trail, and to encourage Congress to move the project forward. We invite you to join us in our efforts.