Annual Report Fiscal Year 2003 Idaho Geological Survey Annual Report of the Idaho Geological Survey Fiscal Year 2003 CONTENTS Letter ........................................................... v Program Highlights ................................................ 1 Staff Publications and Activities ..................................... 6 Organizational Charts June 15, 2003 ...............................................16 July, 2003 ................................................. 17 Budget History .................................................. 19 Overview of Grants and Contracts ................................... 20 Geologic Mapping Priorities ........................................ 21 Advisory Board Members .......................................... 23 Directory of Offices and Personnel .................................. 24 -iii- Program Highlights—Fiscal Year 2003 During Fiscal Year 2003, an internal reorga- the position of Mine Safety Specialist in charge nization by the University of Idaho modified the of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety administration of the Idaho Geological Survey. and Health Training Program in the state was The College of Mines and Earth Resources was transferred to the Survey. eliminated, and its departments placed in the new College of Science. This reorganization, ew Administrators for the Survey. Before however, necessitated an administrative realign- NJuly 1, 2003, the Associate Directors man- ment for the Survey within the University be- aged the daily operation of the Survey. With the cause of the loss of the previous Dean/Director reorganization, the old Dean/Director position is position. As a consequence, the Survey was no more. Now, the position of Director has been placed with the University Research Office. internalized, and the position of Associate Director eliminated. Two Directors now manage ew Enabling Legislation. A new enabling the Survey (compare the June and July 2003 Nact for the Survey was passed by the Idaho organizational charts). In addition, Roy Breck- Legislature and signed into law by Governor enridge has been designated State Geologist, Dirk Kempthorne. Effective July 1, 2003, the act whose duties include membership in the Associ- internalizes the director within the Survey. Pre- ation of American State Geologists. viously, the director was also the dean of the College of Mines and Earth Resources, a Uni- nnual Budget. Idaho again experienced versity position external to the Survey. Now, the Arevenue shortfalls this past year, forcing the Survey is administratively aligned with the Governor to impose budget hold-backs through- University Research Office under the Vice Pres- out state government. The cuts reduced the ident for Research. Advisory Board members Survey’s operating funds to a nineteen-year low, will include the chairs of geological science severely impacting state-supported research and departments at all three state universities. Fur- public service and eliminating most of the earth ther changes in the act involve the addition of science education program. hydrogeology and geologic hazards to the agency’s statewide research responsibility and a eological Mapping and Related Re- new time for the annual Advisory Board meet- Gsearch. Central to the Survey’s applied ing. This administrative transition within the research are geologic mapping and topical University has been smooth. studies produced in databases, reports, and publications. The Digital Mapping/GIS Lab uses ersonnel. Director Earl H. Bennett, the state-of-the-art techniques to provide the public Pinterim dean of the College of Science, with readily accessible and readable maps and retired effective June 2003. He was honored for digital data. The Survey participates in the U.S. his long service with the Idaho Geological Geological Survey’s STATEMAP and EDMAP Survey, University of Idaho, and the Association programs, which augment geologic mapping of American State Geologists. Also in June, Dr. throughout the state. The Survey’s long-range Bill Bonnichsen retired after twenty-seven years planning for geologic mapping identifies soci- of service with the Survey. A national search to etal and scientific requirements for the state. The fill the research geologist position is ending this Idaho Geologic Mapping Advisory Committee month. Under the University’s reorganization, (IGMAC) assists the Survey in choosing project Annual Report—Fiscal Year 2003 areas and designates these for the annual TATEMAP. The National Cooperative STATEMAP proposal. SGeologic Mapping Program (NCGMP) The Survey’s long-term geologic mapping coordinates geologic mapping between the U.S. database is organized into 30' x 60' quadrangles. Geological Survey and the state geological Interaction with IGMAC identifies 30' x 60' tiles surveys to set geologic mapping requirements for multiyear project areas. Specific project for the nation and to increase the production of quadrangles within a 30' x 60' tile are chosen geologic maps. STATEMAP is the state geo- according to need for updated geology and logic mapping component of the NCGMP. The essential information about, for example, earth- agency competes annually for a STATEMAP quakes, landslides, floods, subsidence, construc- contract award from the U.S. Geological Survey tion aggregate, phosphate mining, and surface- to finance specific geologic mapping in the state. and ground-water quantity and contamination. Since 1992, the Survey has received funds and Since 1990, three-quarters of Idaho’s counties completed multiple geologic maps each year. have experienced population growth ranging These awards total nearly $1.5 million for about from 10% to more than 40%. The growth is ninety maps. Figure 1 shows the locations of occurring primarily within the major urban STATEMAP-supported geologic mapping. centers and along transportation zones that form three north-south corridors (Figure 1). Scientifi- DMAP. The primary objective of the cally, Idaho’s geologic framework is vast and EEDMAP component of the NCGMP is to complex, and much of the older geologic map- train the next generation of geologic mappers. ping needs revision. The Survey’s new mapping Participating academic faculty annually compete is intended to update geologic understanding for federal funds to support graduate and under- with modern concepts and techniques. Equally graduate students on geologic mapping projects. important, the new mapping is produced with Important goals of this program for Idaho are to digital technology and thereby becomes much inform the geologic mappers at universities and more accessible and usable by the public. colleges of the societal needs that drive research projects at the Survey and to provide an outlet daho Geologic Mapping Advisory Commit- through the agency to make this mapping avail- Itee. The Idaho Geologic Mapping Advisory able to the public. The Survey’s role in EDMAP Committee (IGMAC) represents the following is to review each proposal, provide letters of sectors: cities and counties, land-use manage- support for the best mapping proposals, and ment, emergency management and geologic- establish regular contact with participating hazards mitigation, water resources, transporta- faculty members to insure statewide coordina- tion, geographic information systems, and tion and greater public access to the completed economic geology and mineral resources. The geologic maps. IGMAC reviews the performance of past and current projects, appraises long-range planning eologic Map Production. The Survey’s needs and priorities, evaluates both the state and Gdigital mapping and GIS laboratory per- STATEMAP funding for projects, assesses the forms services ranging from digital cartography Survey’s capabilities and resources, determines to spatial data management. The lab uses project areas, and establishes the quadrangles for computer-aided design and GIS software to the annual STATEMAP proposal. produce maps for publication and to fashion - 2 - Annual Report—Fiscal Year 2003 existing geologic maps into digital map compila- applied in planning decisions by the local juris- tions. Most new geologic maps published by the dictions. A similar pilot program is progressing Survey are available in full color as print-on- in Kootenai County. demand maps. Thirty maps were released during The annual field workshop for earth science FY-2003. educators focused on the geology and geologic Through the lab, the Survey participates in hazards of the Salmon region in central Idaho. the North American Data Model Steering Com- Participants studied the tectonic setting of the mittee to help develop and implement guidelines region, historical floods and ice jams, and re- for digital legend design for geologic maps. The gional mineralization and mining. The class Digital Web Map series is a new publication project was a geotechnical assessment of ex- category in which eighteen maps were released panded facilities at the University of Idaho farm on the Survey’s Web site during FY-2003. near Salmon. The Survey again partnered with IBDS and the Idaho Earth Science Teachers eologic Hazards. This year the Survey and Association in sponsoring Earth Science Educa- Gthe Idaho Bureau of Disaster Services tion Week in Idaho. (IBDS) met with seismic network operators and end-users in the eastern and northern parts of the ydrogeology. The Survey works steadily to state to review a plan to implement the Ad- Hbetter understand the geologic controls on vanced National Seismic System (ANSS). One ground-water flow