April 15, 1999

 

Dear Study Zone Working Team Colleagues:

Thank you for helping with the Ice Age Floods Alternatives Study. Together, we can develop a study that could result in national recognition of the Ice Age Floods resources, a concept for interpretive and educational programs and suggest various management frameworks that might be utilized. The key to this study is the open involvement of the public as partners in the Alternatives Study and it is in this arena that we need your help. Would you please read the following suggestions closely and use them as a guideline to implement as many elements as you can.

ARCHITECTS AND

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS

105 SOUTH MAIN STREET

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

USA 98104

TEL 206.624.5702

FAX 206.624.5923
A. How to organize a Study Zone Working Team:
  1. The role of the Convenor will be to make arrangements for the first Study Zone Working Team meeting in the areas we have suggested. The dates for the meetings are important because we will be there to assist you and we need to schedule our visits. After a place, date and time have been selected, we will work together on the agenda, visual aids and names of potential contacts. The Convenor’s first public duty will be to have the Study Zone Working Team select a Chair and Recorder and be an advisor to the Team. After all, you have demonstrated your commitment to the Study by attending meetings of the Task Force for the past few years and the April 15 meeting in Spokane.
  2. In the briefing on April 15 and the enclosed material, we described the makeup of the Study Zone Working Team. Because the Study will involve federal and state land management agencies, highways, tourism, private landowners, local and regional government, interested organizations and the public at large, their representation is needed. What we are trying to indicate to you is that a broad spectrum of the community should be involved in the Study to prevent the perception that the Study is the work of a few geologically oriented scientists and Floods fans.

B. Meetings:
  1. There will be three scheduled meetings in your Study Zone Working Team area. The first will initiate the Study and the Inventory; the second a follow-up to coordinate the completed Inventory and plan events for the next 13 months and the third to review the draft of the Alternatives Study. We strongly recommend that all Study Zone meetings be held on weekday nights since this will provide the greatest opportunity for public participation. A 2 1/2 hour meeting should be sufficient to cover the material the Team may need to begin their work. The Study Zone Working Team may want to form committees to handle other phases of the Study and can set up their own meeting schedule.
  2. The Study Zone Working Team meetings should be open meetings and do not be surprised if the local media takes an interest in what you are doing. We need the names and addresses of all the participants to build a mailing list for our newsletters, so be sure to have a sign in sheet for each meeting.

C. Interpretive Programs:
  1. We encourage each Study Zone Working Team to develop an interpretive capability to inform the public of the Ice Age Floods and the Alternatives Study. We will furnish each Study Zone with a slide program and both a half-hour and 6-minute TV tape that can be the basis of an interpretive presentation. The National Park Service’s Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area has prepared a slide program and script that can be used to form a terrific interpretive program. The TV program is the PBS show, which was produced by Oregon Public Broadcasting in Portland. The focus of the interpretive team should be local schools and civic groups like the Rotary, Lions, etc. We would like to know how many programs are given and how many people attended, so please develop some sort of tracking system.

D. Outreach Programs:
  1. The Outreach Program is directed towards local politicians, decision makers and the local media to raise their interest in the Study and its potential. It is really a one-on-one program in which you can explain what the Study Zone Working Team is doing and how it fits into the Ice Age Floods Alternatives Study. We will furnish you with copies of the Smithsonian article on the Floods, the Alternatives Study brochures, a list of contacts for further information and a recommended reading list. We encourage you to use local contacts within the communities to work on the Outreach Program, because they already know the people with whom they are speaking.

E. Media Relations:
  1. It is important for the public to understand the history and significance of the Floods and the potential that some sort of coordinated approach as suggested by the Study would have on their local community. The local media is also a good source for information on whom the Outreach Program people should contact. Invite the media to join your team on the inventory trips in the local area. Invite them to the local meetings and give them as much background information as you can. The contacts you make during the Study will be very helpful when the next step is taken to develop an actual plan [if the Congress approves the Alternatives Study].

F. Inventories:
  1. The Inventory Sheets (click to download in Adobe PDF format for printing) have instructions on how to fill them out and the process is straightforward. The Inventory Process itself offers opportunities to involve the public, landowners, students and professionals as well as develop an appreciation and understanding of the Ice Age Floods resources. It would be very easy for two or three geologists to inventory all the Flood resources within a Study Zone and they could do much of the Inventory at their desks, but what would happen if they involved a local community college or high school geology class? Boy and Girl Scouts are also wonderful resources that many people overlook when they think of community projects. Is there a photographic club in the area that would like to take the Inventory photographs as a public service project? The Inventory process is a wonderful opportunity that can bring the public and the field specialists together in a collegial climate.
  2. We have scheduled 60 days for you to complete the Study Zone Inventory. There are three reasons why we made the time period so short. 1. We need the information as soon as possible in order to move forward on the Study. 2. We hope that enough synergy will be developed amongst the Study Zone Working Team that they can focus their energy and finish the Inventory in less that the scheduled timeframe. 3. The compressed schedule will give time for other activities during the life of the Study.

G. Beyond the Inventory:
  1. We will begin the Draft Study the last week in August 1999 and complete it by January 2000. Your additional suggestions and ideas are welcome early in the drafting process. Be on the lookout for local interpretive projects, which can be included in the Study. If you hear of local efforts on the part of interested groups, investigate to see if their efforts can also be included in the Study. An important responsibility of the Study Zone Working Team is to keep the Steering Committee informed of trends within the community, which could affect the outcome of the Study. Do not overlook the value of visiting with the Chambers of Commerce and local tourism groups so we can coordinate efforts. On your trips throughout the Study Zone, collect local interpretive brochures on geology, natural history and cultural history, so the Consultants can see what is being done in your Study Zone area.

 

If you encounter questions about the Study that you are uncomfortable answering, you can contact members of the Steering Committee. If the question is about the U.S. Government or why the National Park Service is involved, contact Keith Dunbar of the NPS in Seattle at (206)220 4104. If the question has to do with the Study process, deadlines, etc., call Jim Sipes at Jones & Jones in Seattle (206)624-5702 or Reed Jarvis at (206)236-2596 until April 30 and (425)392-9633 thereafter. If the question has to do with a geological or technical nature, call Dale Middleton at (206)784-3146. We would be very glad to field the difficult questions you feel uncomfortable trying to answer. Our mailing addresses are on the Contact sheet and both the telephone number and address can be given out as necessary.

We really appreciate the effort that you and your Study Zone Working Team will expend. As you heard again and again at the Spokane meeting, we have a “window of opportunity” now that has not been available before. If we let this one pass, we may not have such an opportunity for years. This "from the ground up" planning approach should convince the decision makers that there is truly a groundswell of public support for a comprehensive and coordinated approach to tell the Ice Age Floods story in Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon.

Best Wishes,
 Jim Sipes Reed Jarvis