Volunteers Help Shape the IAFI!
We’re reaching out to ask for your help. As we work toward our mission of promoting public awareness and education about the Ice Age Floods, our chapters have been facing a significant challenge: a shortage of active member volunteers willing to step into leadership roles or assist with essential chapter functions. Many of our current leaders are in their 70s and 80s, and the demands of their roles are becoming challenging. While our dedicated leaders works to maintain our organization’s momentum, we need support to ensure our continued growth and success. Your involvement will be crucial in helping to: Organize events: Assist with planning field trips, chapter functions, and speaker series. Provide administrative support: Help with recordkeeping, website updates, and newsletter contributions. Engage with the community: Connect with local schools and media outlets to spread awareness about our mission. Contribute fresh perspectives: Share your ideas and expertise to help us adapt to a changing world. Here are some ways you can get involved: Volunteer for events: Help plan and execute field trips, workshops, and conferences. Join a committee: Contribute to our leadership team and help make important decisions. Share your expertise: Offer your skills in areas like marketing, communications, or technology. By becoming more involved, you can: Strengthen your chapter: Contribute your time and skills to make your local chapter more vibrant and effective. Share your knowledge: Bring new ideas and contemporary skills to our organization. Support the organization: Help IAFI achieve its goals and become the foremost provider of Ice Age Floods information. No matter your level of experience or commitment, we welcome your participation. Whether you can volunteer a few hours a month or are interested in taking on a leadership role, your involvement will make a significant difference. The involvement of many will lighten the load on the few, and also bring a much-needed infusion of energy and fresh perspectives. We believe that by working together, we can strengthen our organization and better serve our mission of promoting public awareness and education about the Ice Age Floods. Your participation is essential. To get involved, please contact your local chapter through the IAFI.org website
Unearthing the Secrets of Spokane Valley: A Recap of the IAFI June Jamboree
This year’s IAFI June Jamboree delved into the fascinating geological history of Spokane Valley, contrasting it with the iconic Grand Coulee and Dry Falls, explored during last year’s Jubilee. Challenging the Landscape: Unlike the open spaces of Dry Falls, Spokane Valley presented a unique challenge – showcasing evidence of Ice Age Floods within an urban environment. Our chapter tackled this brilliantly, organizing hikes and car caravans departing from convenient public parks and commercial areas. Evening Explorations: The program’s highlights included captivating lectures. Professor Emeritus Dean Kiefer shed light on J Harlen Bretz’s Spokane associates, while renowned naturalist Jack Nesbit brought the story of the first Columbian Mammoth discovered near Latah Creek in the 1800s to life. Celebrating Success: The Jamboree culminated in a relaxed gathering at Mirabeau Meadows. Registrants, leaders, and participants exchanged insights and experiences, with a resounding appreciation for the chapter’s efforts. Comparisons were drawn, highlighting how our Spokane Valley exploration continued the excellence of the Puget Lobe’s outing at Dry Falls last year. A Delicious Finale: The grand finale was a catered Longhorn Barbecue overflowing with delicious food. Everyone left satisfied, with many even taking home doggie bags to savor the flavors afterward. Check out more images from the event in this Google Photo Album. Meet the Masterminds: Linda & Mike McCollum: This dynamic professor emerita and a research geologist duo co-led tours and car caravans, sharing their latest research on the Spokane area’s Ice Age Floods, and shaping the Jamboree’s theme. Michael Hamilton: A gifted geologist, Michael led hikes and the bus trip, encouraging questions and offering honest answers. Don Chadbourne & Chris Sheeran: Don, the chapter treasurer, managed logistics with expertise, while Chris, our media and registration guru, ensured a smooth experience. Melanie Bell Gibbs: A past president and national board member, Melanie oversaw participant check-in and badge distribution. Dick Jensen: Dick handled bus transportation and provided crucial support throughout the Jamboree. Jim Fox: The chapter vice president secured speakers and offered his assistance wherever needed. We also owe a great deal to the participant volunteers who proved invaluable in assisting us in all our efforts. Through the combined efforts of many the IAFI June Jamboree was a resounding success, fostering exploration, education, and a deeper appreciation for the Spokane Valley’s unique geological heritage. Being present with so much information and conversation among such extensive expertise was to witness the scientific process in action. Meeting people from other chapters was particularly nice, putting faces with names we know. We all learned a lot.
Scabland – The Movie, A Google Earth Odyssey
“Scabland” – the Movie, A Google Earth Odyssey “Scabland” is a media complement to CWU Professor Nick Zentner’s 2023-2024 A-Z YouTube geology series that re-treads the ice age floods and the work of Professor J Harlen Bretz and others. In this short animation, viewers virtually fly to a selection of locations visited by geologist Dr J Harlen Bretz, with quotes from his original field notes, geolocated in Google Earth and animated with Google Earth Studio. To see more of these locations, visit https://www.geology.cwu.edu/facstaff/nick/gBRETZ/ This video was done as an experiment/prototype by the authors, Glenn Cruickshank and Eric Larson, to showcase Google Earth, virtual special effects techniques, some of the spectacular landforms caused by the floods, the impacts of ice and water during the Last Glacial Maximum and the field locations of J Harlen Bretz. Eric Larson in Billings MT runs Shashin Studio, a VFX video production company (contact@shashin.studio). Google Earth Glenn is a retired photojournalist and consultant in Liberty Lake WA. Credits: Glenn Cruickshank Eric Larson Two Steps From Hell Made with Google Earth and Google Earth Studio. Thanks to The Families of J Harlen Bretz and Thomas Large, Nick Zentner, Glenn Cruickshank, Bruce Bjornstad, The Ice Age Floods Institute, and many others.
Othello Sandhill Crane Festival -March 24-26, 2023
The Othello Sandhill Crane Festival announced the 2023 theme as “Silver Anniversary, Celebrating Our Annual Visitors.” The 25 th annual festival will be held March 24-26, 2023 in Othello Washington. We are excited to be celebrating our 25th year! The festival celebration of the spring migration of the Sandhill cranes offers a variety of events for the whole family to enjoy and learn. The festival will be in the same locations as last year. The lectures will be held at the Othello Nazarene Church, 835 S 10 th Ave, Othello, WA. The Church is next door to McFarland Middle School where we will have the children’s art projects, the vendors, the photo booth, the Rotary breakfast, and the art contest. We will be utilizing both facilities. Food trucks will be available for lunches. Online registration opens on February 6, 2023. Visit the Othello Sandhill Crane Festival website for more information on the events at Website: othellosandhillcranefestival.org. Follow us for updates on Facebook: www.facebook.com/Othello-Sandhill-Crane-Festival Cathy Nowak will be one of the featured speakers on Saturday, March 25, at 7:30pm. Cathy will be speaking about Sandhill Crane nests and how experience matters, with both words and photos. Dr. Kaeli Swift will be the other featured speaker on Friday, March 24, at 7:30 pm. This lecture will require masks. Swift will explore commonly asked questions about crows, how crows have co-evolved with people, and what crows and other corvids can teach us about the nature of intelligence. Saturday, March 25, the lectures will cover cranes, birds, Ice Age Floods, the Drumheller Channel, and much more. We are planning tours by bus, bike, boat, car and self-directed, crane viewing tours will be back. Some tours will be set up over two weekends. The Children Activities Committee will have fun activities for kids such as binoculars made of toilet paper rolls to use for “birding” in the gym by finding pictures of various birds, origami folded crane mobiles, mask making and many other activities. We will again have the free photo booth to take your picture with a digitized Sandhill crane in the background to take home as a memento.
Front Porch: Water etches interesting stories on landscape
I have always loved the ocean. I spent my growing-up years in, on or at least somewhere near the Atlantic Ocean and its various bays. The feel of ocean water, its movement, how it smells and all the amazing life that it supports – wonderful. And whenever I looked over the ocean’s horizon, it wasn’t scary, but rather full of potential for what was just beyond what I could see. When I moved to Spokane – clearly, no ocean, but lots and lots of freshwater lakes and rivers. I have spent I can’t tell you how many of my adulthood hours, swimming in Lake Coeur d’Alene, Lake Pend Oreille, Priest Lake, etc. And sailing. And walking along riverbanks. And tossing sticks into whatever body of water, fast moving or still, that was before me, for our dog to fetch. Water is wonderful. As a young bride, newly relocated to Eastern Washington, lo those many years ago, I took my first drive to Seattle with my husband. Heading up the Sunset Hill, passing Four Lakes, then Fishtrap, then … yikes. Where did the water go? There was a long stretch – broken up briefly by Sprague Lake and Moses Lake – of what was the thirstiest landscape I’d encountered. It wasn’t until we crossed the Columbia River and drove up and past the Vantage Grade did I begin to see deciduous trees and bigger leafy plants that suggested the rainfall amounts required to support them. It got lush and humid and wet as we drove west. We were heading to … water! I just endured that unappealing stretch of land between Fishtrap and the Columbia over a number of years driving back and forth to Seattle. Not only was it dry, it was essentially treeless. One friend of like mind said it was best just to drive through there at night because the view would be just as interesting. So much for being young and stupid. It was still kind of dry for my taste, but I began to appreciate how the sunlight hit the terrain at different times of year and in different weather conditions. It still wasn’t water, of course, but it kind of grew on me. It’s hard to live in this neck of the woods and not learn about the wonderful Columbia Basin Project that brought irrigation to east-central Washington (ah, water!), which produces amazing amounts of agricultural products for export and to feed us all. But what really sold me on that, to me, foreign scenery was back when I worked at Eastern Washington University and I met the terrific Bob Quinn, professor of geography, who loved the environs of the state’s east side with a zeal and passion I couldn’t possibly imagine. He gave me some information, and I began to read about this landscape I’d so easily dismissed – land that was scoured by massive floods some 18,000 to 13,000 years ago (the last Ice Age), floods from glacial Lake Missoula that carved out the canyons and created braided waterways now known as the Channeled Scablands of Eastern Washington. The floods were cataclysmic, with estimates indicating that 500 cubic miles of water that was 2,000 feet deep, burst forth at 386 million cubic feet per second – all headed this way, and beyond, in one darn big rushing, gushing explosion. And then it built up and did it over and over again. That’s a lot of water. I began looking at the landscape differently as I drove through, marveling at the magnificence of that creation, and saw that it has its own beauty – not to mention a heck of a back story. How ignorant of me to just have ignored all that geologic magnificence because it didn’t fit into my preferred norm. I thought about that again on our most recent drive to Seattle to visit our son. Clearly, I am no longer a young adult full of not-burdened-by-knowledge opinion and attitude, but an older person with a fair number of miles on her and, I hope, a greater realization that everything deserves a second look – and also, that a little research is also a good thing. Because I read a book and some supporting literature, I discovered things that gave me a different set of eyes with which to see a particular section of the world around me. I’m trying still, even in my old age, to keep doing that. Never too old to read a book and learn something. Or to change a mind. The Spokesman Voices correspondent Stefanie Pettit can be reached by email at upwindsailor@comcast.net
Dean Ladd, 1921-2022, RIP
Dean Ladd, Lt. Col., USMCR Ret., and founding member of the Ice Age Floods Institute passed away on August 17, 2022 at the age of 101 at his home in Spokane, Washington. He was born in Spokane and enlisted at 18 in the Marine Corps. He saw intense WWII fighting during combat on Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan, and Tinian. He served with the Second Marine Division as a platoon and company commander. His experiences led him to write his book, Faithful Warriors, to remember his fallen comrades. It was published in 2009 by the US Naval Institute Press. At the time of his death, he was the oldest retired marine. Ladd received a field commission and saw extensive WWII combat in the Pacific with the Second Marine Division at Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan, and Tinian. He was wounded three times, the most seriously during the landing at Tarawa. He received a Purple Heart at Tarawa and a second one at Saipan as well as numerous other honors during his lifetime. Dean returned home after the war and earned a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from Washington State College (now University) in 1947. His civilian occupation was in engineering and management with Kaiser Aluminum, North American Rockwell and Lockheed Missiles and Space. He was President of the Lockheed National Management Association. Dean and Vera built their dream home in the hills of Spokane Valley. They had three daughters, Kathleen and Michele (twins), and Janet. Dean stayed very active with the Marine Corps Reserve Association and the Ice Age Floods Institute during its creation in 1994. He also was a founding member of the Cheney-Spokane Chapter in 2003. He volunteered extensively with both organizations and was always present at events where he was a friendly greeter and story teller until his health caused him to stay at home and write. Over his lifetime, he wrote three books and 29 manuscripts while pursuing his hobbies of genealogy, Marine Corps reunions, history, and geology. He is greatly missed. Much more information about his life and works can be found at this link: web: http://theworksofdeanladd.yolasite.com Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.HazenJaegerValley.com Written by Melanie Bell, President, IAFI Cheney-Spokane Chapter
Scholars Trek on the Ice Age Floods Trail
Ice Age Floods Fourth Grade Curriculum Development One of the missions of the Ice Age Floods Institute is to educate young people about the Floods and the influence of the Floods on their lives today. The IAFI Educational Outreach Committee has contracted with the curriculum design firm The Inspired Classroom to produce engaging lesson materials to excite fourth-grade students from across the Northwest about the Ice Age Floods. The curriculum will contain video footage narrated by experts and lesson plans for use by fourth grade teachers in Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon. The story, entitled “Scholars Trek on the Ice Age Floods Trail,” will begin with a flyover video of the trail, including Glacial Lake Missoula, the Clark Fork Ice Dam, the Rathdrum Prairie, Spokane Falls, the Channeled Scabland, Lake Lewis, the Columbia River Gorge, Lake Allison, and the deposition of the eroded sediment on the continental shelf at the mouth of the Columbia River. Along the route, students will be introduced to the ways in which the Floods influence society today, including the influence of the Floods on the Spokane Aquifer and on railroad and highway routes across the Pacific Northwest. Funding for the project will come from grants, the IAFI, and from private benefactors. The continued support of IAFI members through membership dues and donations helps fund projects like this. The Education Committee is made up from a sampling of IAFI Board Members and Chapter Presidents from each state: Jim Shelden (Glacial Lake Missoula); Tony Lewis (Coeur du Deluge); Melanie Bell and Consuelo Larrabee (Cheney-Spokane); Gary Kleinknect (Lake Lewis) and Dale Lehman (Puget Lobe.) In the future, the Education Committee plans to work on curriculum materials for middle and high school students. By Dale Lehman, 04/14/2022
Riverfront Park IAF Playground – Information Panels Installed
Permanent information panels have been installed in the Ice Age Floods Playground in Spokane’s Riverfront Park. The panels briefly describe: Fire: Basalt & Columnar Basalt Ice: Cordilleran Ice Sheet Water: Missoula Floods Rhythmites & Varves Erratics & Granite Giant Current Dunes Animals: Columbian Mammoths Animal Fossils The panels have a heavy duty permanent covering, impervious to weather & wanton destruction. They will add greatly to the experience of this special and very popular space. The Ice Age Floods Playground is a spectacular addition to Spokane’s Riverfront Park that is well worth a visit for kids and adults alike.
Spokane’s Snowy Ice Age Floods Playground
Families continue to visit Spokane’s Riverfront Park Ice Age Floods-themed Playground on the north bank of the Spokane River even when there is snow and ice on a cold 22 degrees Saturday! It has been very popular since its opening in May, 2021. The playground, covering 40,000 square feet on the Riverfront’s North Bank, is designed to help people learn about the events that shaped our region while they play and enjoy a 3-story Columbian slide tower, Glacial Dam splash pad, a log jam climber, an alluvial deposit fossil dig, and more. In this video the architects describe their realization of the vision for the park, and it shows how people are using and enjoying the new playground.
Riverfront Park’s New Ice Age Floods Playground
There’s A New Ice Age Floods Themed Playground And Splash Pad At Riverfront Park In Spokane. Riverfront Park is an iconic part of Spokane. Since 1974, this has been a gathering place for families, a venue for all kinds of events, and an all-around fun place to be. And as of May 2021, it’s home to a new Ice Age Floods themed playground. Riverfront Park encompasses 100 acres of land that has quite a history. Native Americans gathered and fished at the nearby falls, and pioneers settled here and started the city of Spokane in the late 1800s. But it was in 1974, when Spokane hosted Exposition ’74, “The World’s Fair,” that this park was really put on the map. Construction for the Ice Age Floods playground officially started in August of 2020, although the crew broke ground a year earlier. With the ground made of rubber and artificial turf, this is a safe place for kids to play. The playground features basketball courts, a wheels park, a splash pad, and multiple play and climbing areas. Read and see more in the article this was excerpted from at https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/washington/riverfront-park-ice-age-playground-wa