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ABOUT THE PLANNING WORKSHOP "Om" of till' thit/gs J found very exciritlg abollt this workshop is tllat we illduded 'regular folks.' We got a lor of i"putfrom Imulowllers, farmers, busi"ess owners. people who fjn' j,I small communities throughout the Basin. And that is ~'ery important for I1Idki"g a phm flwt will be IIsefulthroughout the roming years. Not just a shelf document, illlt something rlUlI we can use j" the future," HAC'" (; R nUN (J The 1993 flood renewed interesl in find- ing ways to prevent future similar disasters in the Vermillion Basin. The federal Inter- agency Hazard Mitigation Team explored the causes of the flood damage and made recommendations for mitigative action. The TLC Water Project District propo~ thai flood control measures in the lower Vt'fmillion Basin be considered. At the same time, the Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program of the National Park Service's Rocky Mountain Region and the Mitigation Division of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Region VIII office were looking for a way to work together to reduce the long-term risk to human life and property from floods. After a series of exploratory phone calls and letters, the South Dakota Division ofEmer- geney Management, the TLC Water Project District, the National Park Service, and the John Suttf?T, Sf Council of Governmmt5 Federal Emergency Management Agency agreed to try something new. The idea was to have a brainstorming session with many people and agencies from within and outside of the Basin to come up with many ideas to solve many problems and make other improvements in the quality of life in the Basin-all at the same time. Citizens would be on hand to be sure that real . issues and feasible solutions would be listed. Technical experts would stand by to answer questions about state or federal funding, or regulatory requirements, etc. The result would be a plan by which the Vermillion Basin people could realistically-and without waiting for massive federal projects-go about reducing their vulnerability to floods and simultane- ously improving other aspects of their envi- ronment, economy, or whatever they consid- ered most important. This process was called "multi-objective flood mitigation planning." THE MUI.TI-OHIECTI\'E I'lA:-lNiNG PROCESS The multi-objective planning process is more complicated than leaving the planning to one agency or working toward only one goal at a time. but it offers distinct advantages. Because all the issues that need to he planned for 3re dealt with in one forum, it is much more effi~ cient. This "one-stop shopping" allows a