Home > The Proposed Trail > The Park Service Study & Report

More About the Proposed
Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail

The National Park Service Report
Where Things Stand in Congress
Making the Case
Legislative Links

The National Park Service Report

The best statement of how the story of the Ice Age Floods can be told regionally is contained in the report of a major Special Resource Study completed by the National Park Service (NPS) in 2001. The full title of the report is Ice Age Floods Study of Alternatives and Environmental Assessment: Following the Pathways of the Glacial Lake Missoula Floods.

Fairly detailed maps and information about proposed Trail routes and interpretive sites appear in "Section J: Interpretation" of the report. The report also provides an illustrated overview of the history of the cataclysmic floods hypothesis and of the idea of developing a systematic interpretive presentation of the Floods. Those sections will be interesting to anyone interested in the Floods.

Although the study process and the content and organization of the report had to meet certain procedural specifications, the report won two national awards as an exemplary planning document, and, in particular, was cited for its plain, non-technical language.

It may also be worth noting that the report is primarily conceptual. Some of the examples of particular routes and sites given in the report were identified in the study conducted in 1999 and 2000. Since then, new ideas have surfaced that could affect specific elements and priorities of the project when it is implemented. But these changes would not change the basic conceptual approach outlined in the report.

Read/obtain the National Park Service report on their website:
To view in your browser: www.nps.gov/iceagefloods/
Printable PDF of original printed version: www.nps.gov/iceagefloods/pdf.htm

In the fall of 2005, representatives from NPS and other federal agencies signed a Memorandum of Understanding to "develop a coordinated and scientifically accepted interpretation of the nationally significant values and features of the Glacial Lake Missoula ice age floods". The agencies have created a Federal Ice Age Floods Interagency Technical Committee to meet at least annually to work toward this goal.

[ back to top ]

Where Things Stand in Congress

In January 2007 Congressman Doc Hastings and Senator Maria Cantwell introduced identical bills in their respective houses calling for designation of an Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail. The bills are HR 450 and S 268 and full information about the bills can be accessed at http://thomas.loc.gov/. The text of the bills is also available for download in PDF from our website: Text of House and Senate Trail Bills, January 31, 2007.

During the previous 109^th Congress, the houses passed different versions of Trail designation legislation, but were unable to reconcile the differences before the term of that Congress ended in December 2006. In the current 110^th Congress, there is even stronger interest and support, and we are closer to the goal than ever before.

Together, the Congressional delegations of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana total 25 Senators and Representatives, and so far all but four are on record as sponsoring the Trail bills. Montanans should urge Senator Baucus to sign on, and Representatives Sali (ID), Smith (WA) and Larsen (WA) should hear from their constituents.

Senator Max Baucus (MT): http://baucus.senate.gov/contact/emailForm.cfm?subj=issue

Representative Bill Sali (ID): http://sali.house.gov/zipauth.aspx

Representative Adam Smith (WA): http://www.house.gov/adamsmith/IMA/email.shtml

Representative Rick Larsen (WA): http://www.house.gov/larsen/IMA/issue_subscribe.htm

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved the bill on 1/31/07, but it has not yet been scheduled for consideration on the floor. For the next step in action on the House bill, please fax the House committee and urge it to hold a subcommittee hearing and approve its bill.

Chairman Rick J. Rahall II
House Committee on Natural Resources
Fax: (202) 226-1931

You can contact the representatives through the House of Representatives website at Write Your Representative. E-mail is now the preferred way to contact your representative, and will reach them sooner than a letter will.

If you live in the Northwest, please send a note to your Senators as well, letting them know that you support the bill, and thanking them for their sponsorship, or asking them to sponsor it. Again, several reasons you can use to make your case to your Senator can be found below.

The Ice Age Floods Institute (IAFI) Board of Directors has adopted a position statement dealing with the major provisions of enabling legislation.

More information on the current status of the bill will be posted here as it becomes available.

[ back to top ]

Making the Case

Perhaps the most effective argument for the Trail is economic. By raising awareness of the Ice Age Floods, the Trail would both encourage domestic tourism and attract international visitors. The increase in tourism could be particularly beneficial for many of the rural communities in the region.

In addition, through a partnership of many public and private participants, the proposed Trail offers the opportunity to draw local economic benefit from much publicly owned land. It should be possible to act on a region-wide, non-partisan basis to implement the Trail proposal.

To make the Trail happen, individuals and local firms, groups, and agencies should make their interest known to their Representative and Senators. At the local level, interested citizens should contact local IAFI Board members and chapter officers to learn about what is being done in the respective states and districts, to move consideration of the Trail forward. (See the IAFI Directory).

[ back to top ]

Legislative Links

For questions about the membership and organization of the House and Senate and about the legislative process, start at the Library of Congress site (called "Thomas," for Thomas Jefferson): http://thomas.loc.gov/

For information about the structure and programs of federal agencies that would have a part in the Trail project, start at the USA.gov site: http://www.usa.gov/

For questions related to any existing federal statutes that might have a bearing on the project, go to http://uscode.house.gov/usc.htm, which offers a searchable version of the U.S. Code. (The study report contains the section of the U.S. Code that relates to conducting this kind of study and presenting the report.)

back to top | The Proposed Trail page | IAFI Home

Last updated 04/19/2008.   Contact the Sitemaster.