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.

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