Policy Tours

Learn first-hand the key issues in our region by participating on policy tours in the greater Boise area. 
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*Please note: Attendees must be registered to attend the tour. Please register in advance or onsite at the registration desk, pending availability. Waitlists will be made available onsite for any tours that are full in advance. 

Simplot Frozen Potato Processing Plant
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Wednesday, July 19 | 2:00pm - 5:30pm

The Simplot Idaho Plant is one of the industry’s newest and most advance frozen potato processing facilities. The plant, which was built on the site of Simplot’s original WWII potato dehydrating plant, opened in 2014. The 400,000 square foot plant employs more than 500 people and processes an average of 1.3 billion pounds of potatoes a year.

​Simplot invented the frozen french fry and in 1968, Company founder J.R. Simplot negotiated a handshake deal with McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc to supply McDonald’s with frozen fries. Today, the Idaho Plant still produces fries for McDonald’s as well as other well-known fast food chains and for major food service and private label customers. The plant is LEED Gold certified and has received numerous environmental awards for reducing energy and water use. 

Attendees will tour the plant and the tech center, and have an opportunity to sample the product! There is a limit of 20 people for this tour so register today!

Learn more about Simplot at www.simplot.com.

National Interagency Fire Center

Wednesday, July 19 | 2:15 - 5:00pm

The nation’s federal wildland fire community is a large and complex organization. The National Interagency Fire Center, or NIFC, is home to the national fire management programs of each federal fire agency located here - the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service along with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service. Additional partners include the National Association of State Foresters, the U.S. Fire Administration, the National Weather Service, and the Department of Defense.

​Working together, these partners provide leadership, policy oversight, and coordination to manage the nation’s wildland fire programs. 
The 55-acre NIFC campus encompasses many different wildland fire management activities, including firefighting equipment refurbishment, aircraft ramp operations, aircraft retardant tanker operations, as well as administrative functions serving the wildland fire management mission and other all hazard management.  The tour will include a walk around campus and stop at the following: The National Interagency Coordination Center (NICC), the National Interagency Incident Communications Division (NIICD), the Remote Sensing Fire Weather Support Unit (RAWS – Remote Automatic Weather Stations), the Great Basin Cache, the Great Basin Smokejumper Base, and end at the Wildland Firefighters Monument. 

Participants must be registered in advance. We cannot accept onsite participants for this tour. Wear comfortable walking shoes! 

Take the virtual tour here: www.nifc.gov/about-us/nifc-campus/tour ​

City of Boise - West Boise Water Renewal Facility and WaterShed Education Center

Wednesday, July 19 2:30 - 5:30pm

The City of Boise’s West Boise Water Renewal Facility cleans more than 24 million gallons per day of the city’s used water from our homes and businesses.  Used water is a precious renewable resource that, when managed properly, provides for a sustainable environment.  During the treatment process, Public Works recovers as many resources as possible – phosphorus, biosolids and methane -  before putting the cleaned water into the Boise River.  The innovative processes, resource recovery and the utility’s plan for meeting the future challenges of water in the desert will be presented during a 1.5-hour outdoor walking tour.
 
Additionally, tour the award-winning WaterShed Education Center, which contains hands-on exhibits and the largest concentration of public art in Idaho.  Explore the exhibits and art and hear about the transformation into the nation’s first water and climate science center debuting in 2024.  The center is co-located at the West Boise Water Renewal Facility.
 
Logistics:
Total tour approximately 2.5 hours; Closed-toe shoes required.  Hard hats will be provided.  We will walk up to 1 mile outdoors on flat surfaces. Limit to 20 participants

Merck Animal Health Aqua Headquarters Tour
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Wednesday, July 19 2:15 - 3:30pm
Merck Animal Health Aqua Headquarters Tour
 
Merck Animal Health offers a broad portfolio of health and technology solutions focused on conservation, aquaculture, and fisheries. These solutions deliver a unique, holistic approach to resource management. This tour will focus on how the Biomark, Vaki, and Aquatic Gas Optimization (AGO) solutions are supporting the welfare and sustainability of aquatic species in your region. The Boise location serves as the headquarters for North America’s Aqua species.
 
Biomark has been a leader in monitoring for salmon, steelhead, and a wider variety of species and habitats for over 30 years. Our monitoring solutions provide researchers (state/federal, tribal, and private entities) with the tools required to answer some of the most difficult and essential questions related to salmonid recovery and conservation.
 
Vaki solutions are comprised of smart technology systems that make aquaculture operations like fish counting and measurement easier and more efficient. As an aquaculture pioneer, Vaki solutions maintain fish welfare from hatchery to harvest. Vaki also offers in-river monitoring with the Riverwatcher, which is used to monitor fish migration. The Riverwatcher is used in more than 500 sites all over the world including Iceland, Scandinavia, Ireland, UK, USA, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany and Switzerland.
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The AGO suite of solutions has significant implications for fish attraction and passage at hydropower facilities in the Columbia and Snake rivers. These solutions infuse dissolved oxygen directly into water, making it immediately available to fish. Furthermore, infused oxygen is more stable than existing oxygen injection technologies, remaining in solution through turbulent fish ladders. The use of oxygen for attraction allows hydropower operators to reduce or replace attraction flow. This is particularly critical as we increasingly face unsuitable environmental conditions such as high temperatures and low dissolved oxygen.
 
Our solutions help support:

  • Endangered species conservation and recovery
  • Water conservation
  • Hydropower operation
  • Fish passage improvements
  • Water quality monitoring
  • Habitat restoration and recovery
  • Harvest of fish including ocean and freshwater
  • Fish welfare
 
Come and see our manufacturing and sales facility to learn how we ensure the sustainability and welfare of aquatic species.
 
Logistics:
Attendees will walk the 0.5 mile from the Grove Hotel to Merck Animal Health Aqua Headquarters. Wear comfortable walking shoes! Limit to 25 participants.