Idaho

The Idaho Silver Jackets team is a coalition of federal and state agencies that work together to develop comprehensive and sustainable solutions to Idaho's flood hazard issues. In addition to the Army Corps of Engineers, the Idaho Team currently includes staff from the Idaho Department of Water Resources, Idaho Bureau of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, National Weather Service, and U.S. Geological Survey. The Idaho Silver Jackets team brings individuals from different agencies and expertise together to facilitate communication, share information, and provide 'one-stop' for local and state governments to obtain information and identify solutions to reduce flood hazards. The Idaho Silver Jackets Team first met one year ago, signing a charter formally establishing the Team in July 2009.

Learn more about the Idaho Silver Jackets Teams by reviewing meeting minutes, presentations, documents and other useful information linked below.

Vision

Team Vision: Serve as a catalyst in developing comprehensive and sustainable solutions to flood hazard issues, including mitigation planning, flood hazard mapping, risk reduction activities, and response and recovery planning.

Mission

The core member agencies will establish a continuous inter-governmental collaborative team working with other state and Federal Agencies to:

Provide assistance in identifying and prioritizing actions to reduce the threat, vulnerability and consequences of flooding in the State of Idaho;

Facilitate strategic planning and implementation of life-cycle mitigation, response and recovery actions to reduce the threat, vulnerability and consequences of flooding in the State of Idaho;

Create or supplement a process to collaboratively identify issues and implement or recommend solutions;

Identify and implement ways to leverage available resources and information between agencies;

Increase and improve flood risk communication and outreach;

Promote wise stewardship of the taxpayers' investments;

Develop more comprehensive state flood risk management policies and strategies; and

Develop advanced hydrologic predictive services to reduce loss of life and property damage from flooding.

Goals include:

Ensure continuous collaboration for flood mitigation, response and recovery activities before, during and after flooding.

Provide a forum for examining all types of solutions for flood risk management, including both non-structural and structural solutions.

Learn about partner agency programs, identifying limitations and opportunities, and combine programs to create integrated, comprehensive and sustainable solutions.

Create a multi-agency technical resource for state and local agencies.

Provide assistance in implementing high priority actions identified in the State's mitigation plans.

Improve flood risk communication and outreach, present a unified intergovernmental message, and better educate and advise our mutual customers.

Identify and facilitate improvements to existing programs, policies and processes.

Identify other collaboration opportunities to combine resources and identify gaps in order to minimize duplication of effort.

Catalog and share information on past and future flood projects and initiatives.

Prioritize current and future flood risk mitigation initiatives individually and collectively.

Improve flood hazard mapping and risk analysis and linkages to advanced hydrologic prediction models.

Charter

Idaho Charter (pdf, 1.3 MB)

Participation

The team will be inter-governmental in nature. Membership will vary based on available resources and team focus; however, the core member agencies involved at all times include the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR), and the Idaho Bureau of Homeland Security (IBHS) and National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration National Weather Service (NOAAINWS). The Walla Walla District will be the lead contact for the USACE and will coordinate routinely with Seattle and Sacramento Districts. Representatives may be from the regional and state levels of the organizations. As the inter-governmental agency team evolves, other state, Federal and local agencies may choose to participate in this initiative. All participating agencies will contribute experience and information to all team efforts contingent upon agency authorities and available funding.

Meetings

2012 Meetings | 2011 Meetings | 2010 Meetings | 2009 Meetings

2012

September 10, 2012
Silver Jackets Meeting
Meeting Notes September 10, 2012 (pdf, 16.4 MB)

August 17, 2012
Annual Administrators Meeting
Meeting Notes August 17, 2012 (pdf, 1.70 MB)

May 1, 2012
Silver Jackets Meeting
Meeting Notes May 1, 2012 (pdf, 41 KB)

February 14, 2012
Silver Jackets Meeting
Meeting Notes February 14, 2012 (pdf, 684 KB)

January 12, 2012
Silver Jackets Meeting
Meeting Notes January 12, 2012 (pdf, 3.40 MB)

Presentations and Documents

Corps Levee Briefing - Agency Roles and Responsibilities (pdf, 2.30 MB)

Idaho Floods! A Flood Awareness Guide for the Gem State (pdf, 34.62 MB)

Silver Jackets Listening Session Presentation (pdf, 408 KB)

Lower Boise River Flood Risk Community Meeting (pdf, 12.6 MB)

Core Team Agency Flood Information Links

IDAHO DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES

Floodplain management: http://www.idwr.idaho.gov/WaterManagement/FloodPlainMgmt/default.htm

IDAHO BUREAU OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Flood Information: http://www.bhs.idaho.gov/pages/Preparedness/Hazards/NaturalHazards/Flood.aspx

FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY

Flood Outreach Toolkit: http://www.floodsmart.gov/toolkits/flood/index.htm

Protecting Your Home and Property from Flood Damage:
http://www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do;jsessionid=8266A297809D10ABA910C514A027F59C.WorkerLibrary?action=back&id=4654

Information on Disaster Preparedness and Kits: http://www.ready.gov/

NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE

Idaho basin snowpack: http://www.id.nrcs.usda.gov/snow/ and http://www.id.nrcs.usda.gov/snow/data/basin_graphs.html

Water supply: http://www.id.nrcs.usda.gov/snow/watersupply/

NOAA / NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE

Boise River Inundation Maps: http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/inundation/inundation_google.php?gage=bigi1

Current river forecasts and flood warnings: www.weather.gov and water.weather.gov

NWS clearinghouse for flood safety: http://www.floodsafety.noaa.gov/

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

Main flood information website: http://water.usgs.gov/osw/floods/index.html

USGS WaterWatch: http://waterwatch.usgs.gov/

U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS

Resource for weather, stream data and useful flood link:
http://www.nwd-wc.usace.army.mil/nws/hh/index-j.html

Contact Information

USACE Walla Walla District (NWW) contact: 208-345-2065

Email

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Revised 12 February 2013