Archives West Finding Aid

The National Park Service (NPS) determined that public displays of the geologic history in sites surrounding the Coulee Dam were non-existent in 1987. In August, the NPS Regional Director learned that, in the public eye, the events of the Ice Age Floods were of national significance. After gaining some steam through a newspaper article and multiple agencies’ interest, the publication of the floods events became a goal. On February 17, 1993, the first Ice Age Floods Task Force meeting convened. Due to the lack of available funding, the task force was rendered inactive.

In late 1993, task force members determined that a nonprofit and private organization would be more successful at developing an Ice Age Floods comprehensive and interactive program. In early 1994, with help from the task force members, the Ice Age Floods Institute (IAFI) was created. The original Institute members included Mikki Kison (president), John Rankin, Bill Riley, and Karen Wagner.

From 1995 to 1997, the IAFI participated in notable collaborations with NASA, Arizona State University, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for the Mars Pathfinder Mission, and an article on the Ice Age Floods was published in the Smithsonian. In 1998, public reception increased significantly when the IAFI created a popular Channeled Scablands map and received financial assistance from the Grant County Commissioners. Multiple televised specials on the Ice Age Floods also popularized the topic. In 2009, Congress authorized the Ice Age National Geological Trail after five years of promotion. From 1998 to the present, the IAFI has gained authority on the Ice Age Floods, offered field trips, continued to create and maintain public programs and extracurricular activities, and increased their member numbers while providing more information regarding the Ice Age Floods.

There are eleven chapters in total, ranging from one chapter in the Lower Columbia River in northwest Oregon to the Glacial Lake Missoula Chapter in Montana. Out of the eleven, eight of the chapters reside in Washington, and one chapter is in northern Idaho. The IAFI as well as these chapters remain active, continuing to put on events and talks for the public.