MARCH/APRIL 2005 
What’s Inside: 

Roadside Reflections . . . . . 2 
Coming and Going . . . . . . .2 
Capital Corner . . . . . . . . . .3 
The Waiting Game . . . . . . .6 
Roadside Assistance . . . . .7 
Integrating CSS Into 

The State Scenic 
Byways Program . . . . . . . . .8 
A Conversation With... 
Bill Hartwig . . . . . . . . . . .10 

Byway Briefs . . . . . . . . . . .12 
Dear Kate Bolder . . . . . . .13 
Centennial Congress 

Creates A Forestry Vision 
For The Next 100 Years . .14 
Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 


STATE TOURISM OFFICES, 
LOCAL CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE AND 
CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAUS: 

How does your byway fit into the picture? 

Agencies that actively market an area to a traveler are considered to be destination marketing organizations (DMOs). 
Every state has some sort of organization of DMOs, and in many cases, there is a hierarchy that accomplishes the 
goals of tourism marketing. Byways may or may not be considered the DMO for an area; however, it is a good idea 
to know which organization is handling tourism marketing and how to work with that group. 

In many cases, the DMOs maintaining the site, and 
have the ability to partner posting to search engines 
with byway organizations nearly every day is enough 
for larger marketing to stop most organizations 
efforts or offer space right in their tracks. 
in publications and 
brochures that a byway 
can use rather than 
duplicate efforts. It is a 
good idea to get to know 
your local DMO and find 
out what the group can 
offer your byway and 
what your byway can 
offer in exchange. 
In many instances, it 
may be a money and 
time saver for both 
organizations. 


DMO Partnership 
Opportunities 

Partnering with a 
DMO can be very 
simple. For instance, if 
your byway is considering creating 
a Web site, leasing a page or 
finding an arrangement on a 
DMO site may be a smart route. 
The traveler is likely to look for the 
destination name when searching 
the Web and then look for 
opportunities for experiences. 
In addition, the cost of purchasing 
a domain name, designing and 

By partnering or even 
purchasing a page on a 
DMO site, your byway 
not only gets a financial 
break, you also gain the 
marketing benefit of the 
DMO and a great partner. 

Are you creating a brochure, 
but don’t have a distribution 
plan? Your local DMO 
probably stocks or has 
an arrangement to stock 
various locations in 
an area with visitor 
information. They may 
also be willing to send 
your brochure out to 
travelers who inquire 
about your area. 
Many DMOs keep 
records of zip codes or other data 
that can help you determine 
who is inquiring about your byway 
and where the potential visitor 
heard about it. 

Destination marketing organization 
staff members regularly participate 
in a variety of programs and 
activities that can benefit byways. 
They attend tourism conferences 
and have access to larger programs 
offered through the state or 
national tourism organizations 
that can mean reduced cost for 
marketing efforts. 

Is your byway interested in 
soliciting travel writers? Having 
trouble writing good press 
releases? Try working with staff 
members from your local DMO. 
They regularly work with the 
media and often can assist with 
drafting press releases or contacting 
writers. Byways provide such a 
wonderful story for a destination 
that a public relations professional 
would probably welcome the 
opportunity to showcase your 
byway to writers. 

Many byways express an interest 
in advertising in larger publications 
but are astounded by the cost. 
Destination marketing organizations 
often participate in cooperative 
advertising arrangements with 
state tourism offices for a fraction 
of the cost of advertising alone. 

Ask about the next year’s 
advertising plan. You may discover 
some opportunities you could not 
have pursued otherwise. 

Additional resources could and 
should have a vested interest in 
what’s happening on your byway. 
Become involved in state and 
local chapters of organizations 
like hotel and motel associations, 
restaurant associations, 
campground associations and 
amusement park associations. 
These organizations represent 
byway stakeholders who play 
an integral part in delivering the 
byway experience to the traveler. 


Plan Ahead 

All marketing should be 
intentional and reflect your 
byway’s goals. Crafting a strategic 
marketing plan is the first step 
before forging any relationship. 
A relationship with the DMO 
can help your byway organization 
attain its marketing goals and 
expose more travelers to your 
byway’s story. 


BOX: Examples of common marketing 
activities by a DMO include: 
-- Destination Web sites 

-- Production and distribution of 
visitor guides 

-- Traveler information fulfillment and 
mailing services 

-- Toll-free traveler information lines 
(often recorded) 

-- Advertising in newspaper, radio, 
television and Web 

-- Itinerary development for independent 
travelers and group travel 

-- Event planning 

-- Soliciting travel writers and other 
travel-related media 

-- Exhibiting at trade shows 


BOX: Some typical DMO activities include: 

-- Public relations and marketing 

-- Development of press releases and 
media kits 

-- Solicitation of travel writers 

-- Active attendance at travel shows 

-- Membership with other travel 
organizations such as Tourism Industry 
of America, American Bus Association 
and others 

-- Access to travel trends and data 

-- Access to cooperative marketing 
opportunities with other DMOs 

-- Solicitation of private partnerships 
for marketing campaigns 

-- Access to grant funds for marketing 

SIDEBAR: Tourism at a National and International Level 
Most DMOs and State Offices of Tourism belong to a variety of national 
organizations that promote tourism. There are many associations related 
to the travel industry. You need to work with the associations that support 
your byway’s tourism marketing objectives. 

TRAVEL-RELATED ASSOCIATIONS THAT WORK WITH 
INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP TRAVEL INCLUDE: 

• TIA, the Travel Industry 
Association at 
www.tia.org 

• ABA, the American Bus 
Association at 
www.buses.org 

• CrossSphere (formerly 
the National Tour 
Association - NTA) at 
www.crosssphere.com 

• IACVB, the International 
Association of Convention 
and Visitors Bureaus at 
www.iacvb.org 

• USTOA, the United States 
Tour Operator Association at 
www.ustoa.com 

• RSA, Receptive Services 
Association of America at 
www.rsana.org 

BOX: TYPES OF DESTINATION MARKETING ORGANIZATIONS 
It is a good idea to understand 
the difference between 
various destination marketing 
organizations. The following 
list explains some of the most 
common DMOs. 

cHAMBERS OF COMMERCE 
The primary function of a 
chamber of commerce is to 
act on behalf of the business 
community for the purposes 
of business retention and 
marketing. In many situations,
the local chamber of commerce 
may also be the destination
marketing organization and 
handle traveler information or
staff information areas. In rural 
areas, the staff and funds for 
chambers may be very limited,
but their enthusiasm and 
connections in the community
can be very valuable. Chambers 
are funded through memberships
and in some instances tourism--
tax dedicated funding 
levied on hotel/motel stays).
Many chambers have the ability 
to apply for marketing grant
funds through their
state tourism offices.


CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAUS 
Convention and visitor bureaus 
(CVBs) tend to be located in 
cities (small and large) or 
represent large geographical
areas. Their primary focus is to
attract visitors and conventions,
and often the staff is divided 
into convention services and 
visitor services. Some CVBs have 
staff that specialize in group 
travel and can assist with bus 
tours and other organized travel.
CVBs are often funded through 
a tourism tax that is dedicated 
to destination marketing. Much
like chambers of commerce,
they have access to marketing
grant funds through state
tourism offices and are a valuable 
connection for your byway. 


STATE TOURISM OFFICES
Every state handles tourism
in a slightly different manner. 
There can be anything from 
a cabinet-level office to a 
division of a certain department, 
or an independent organization. 
Find out how your state 
works. For the purposes of 
this article, we will call them
state tourism offices.

These organizations focus on 
bringing visitors from outside 
the state in, as well as broadly  
marketing regions of the state 
to in-state travelers. It is not 
the responsibility of the state 
to market specific destinations 
or even specific byways, and 
often staff members try to 
balance their emphasis through-
out the state. Much like a CVB, 
state tourism offices generally 
have staff members that 
specialize in marketing, public
relations, events, group travel
and international travel.

The state tourism office can be
of great assistance to byways
collectively at the state level and
can help produce statewide maps,
brochures and other elements.
They are also very helpful in
regard to cooperative advertising
campaigns. The state (or any 
other larger group) can sometimes
negotiate cheaper advertising
rates for multiple placements and
will pass the savings on to the 
CVBs or chambers of commerce.
In addition, the state tourism
offices usually rpoduce a marketing
plan with templates and/or graphics
that can be used by DMOs.

It is customary to work through 
your local DMO when working 
with a state tourism office. 
Although your byway may have 
a good relationship with a 
staff member from the state 
tourism office, it is a good idea 
to include your local DMO in 
the conversation at all times.
The state tourism office's
responsibility is to the DMO
and your byway would be
considered an attraction in the
DMO area.

Most state tourism offices 
also offer marketing grants to
DMOs. A byway may partner
with a local DMO to utilize 
these grants. It should be noted,
however, that state tourism
offices are not flush with funds
and often look for creative
means to accomplish their
marketing goals that may or
may not include byway grant
funds. Other activities typically
offered by a state tourism
office include regional and 
national conferences, educational
workshops, local marketing
planning assistance and data
research and analysis.

BOX: What Do State Tourism Office Staff 
Recommend? 

We asked several state tourism 
offices how byways can best work 
with them. 
Here are a few of the responses: 

“Scenic byways provide the 
basis for a substantial amount 
of product here in Oregon. 
We are a car-traveling state, 
with a scenic byway (23 in all) 
that will lead you to all of our 
experiences. Our scenic byways 
are an experience in themselves. 
Obviously, we have these 
‘roadways’ without the scenic 
byway designation. The byway 
designation validates the visitor’s 
experience and, many times, 
will instigate an adventure. 

State tourism offices, or any 
agency that is primarily visitor 
oriented, need to be seen as 
a major, if not chief, advisor 
to the byway program. 
Experience, interpretation 
and product through the visitor 
perspective is essential to a 
byway’s success.” 

Marlene R. Eccles 
Travel Oregon 


“Byways provide an attraction 
and reason/route for people to 
travel. As one consumer stated, 
‘they become part of our dreams 
about travel in Minnesota.’ 
Scenic Byways give people 
access to small towns, historic 
sites, parks, arts, scenery and 
off-the-beaten-path routes. 

Work in coordination with 
your state tourism agency on 
programs that market all state 
scenic byways. By leveraging 
limited resources with others 
and the state, you can greatly 
expand your marketing reach. 
Look at all of your possible 
partners. We work with the 
DNR-Parks, Minnesota Historical 
Society, Minnesota State Arts 
Board and MnDOT in our byway 
promotion efforts. We also have 
private sector partners such as 
Target and Kodak. Each byway 
should be working with these 
same groups and types of 
businesses at a local level.” 

Colleen Tollefson 
Explore Minnesota Tourism 


“The best advice I can offer is to 
keep an open and constant line of 
communication with your state 
tourism office. Never hesitate to 
let your state tourism office know 
that you are there, what you are 
doing, and what you want to 
achieve down the road. The state 
tourism office can be a terrific 
partner in helping tell the world 
your story via its marketing 
mechanisms (advertising, PR, 
tourism information services, 
research, etc.). While a state 
cannot do a byway’s marketing 
for them, it can definitely amplify 
the marketing message and help 
to develop or facilitate relevant 
partnership opportunities as the 
state becomes more familiar with 
that byway’s needs and goals. 
In Ohio, we have partnered with 
our Department of Transportation 
to work together to maximize 
communication with the 
byways about opportunities 
and initiatives, and have found 
this to be invaluable.” 

Amir Eylon, Assistant State 
Tourism Director, Ohio Division 
of Travel and Tourism


 
Roadside Reflections:
Committed Citizens Change The World 
With A Little Rock ’N Roll 

by Michelle Johnson, Deputy Director, America’s Byways(TM) Resource Center

Margaret Mead once said, 
“Never doubt that a small 
group of thoughtful, committed 
citizens can change the world. 
Indeed, it is the only thing that 
ever has.” 

We have witnessed this 
firsthand along the Byways. 
But I wonder if Ms. Mead 
ever defined citizens as 
children…say, five- and sixyear-
olds. Here’s a story of a 
small group that made a big 
difference. 

My daughter Addy’s elementary 
school holds one fundraiser 
a year. This year, the 380 kids 
at Great Lakes Elementary 
School raised $13,000. That’s 
right. $13,000. No gimmicks. 
No cookie dough. No Christmas 
wrap or frozen pizzas. Cold, 
hard cash, just for their school. 

The fundraiser, called the 
Knowledge-A-Thon, was the 
brainchild of a parent and 
PTA member seven years ago. 
Since then, the money raised 
has increased every year. Last 
year’s amount was $11,000. 

The Knowledge-A-Thon has a 
real simple approach. Instead 
of selling door-to-door, these 
kids put their brainpower on 
the line. Each child has a list of 
100 questions that represent 
concepts they should learn 
in a specific grade. The 
kindergarteners answered 
questions about their birth 
date, their address, and the 
names of the art and music 
teachers. Other questions 
addressed art fundamentals 
(What color does red and 
yellow make?), math skills 
(How many nickels do you 
need to make ten cents?) 
and nature (What kinds of 
animals migrate?). Children 
practice the questions and 
answers with their parents 
and ask for pledges for each 
correct answer. 

This year, every student practiced 
and tested, and about 75% 
brought in pledges. The class 
with the biggest earnings? 
Mrs. Szymonowicz’s kindergarten 
class raised a whopping $1,200. 
Addy and her fourteen friends 
proved that they are smart 
AND successful. I wonder what 
Ms. Mead would say about that! 

The PTA runs the fundraiser, 
parents and community members 
(62 volunteers) test the kids, 
and everyone is a winner. 
75% of the money raised by a 
classroom stays in the classroom 
to fund field trips and purchase 
classroom books, materials and 
supplies. The remaining amount 
is used to fund PTA activities, 
such as family fun nights, the 
spring carnival, and all-school 
assemblies. The kids reward? 
Pride in their school and in 
themselves. By demonstrating 
their knowledge, the kids learn 
quickly that the brain is a 
powerful tool. 

When I asked Addy what she 
liked about the Knowledge-A-
Thon, she said, “Getting so 
much money and dancing with 
Elvis.” Elvis? I saved the best 
part for last: Principal Dennis 
Mertzig gives a concert dressed 
as Elvis. Ah, a small group of 
thoughtful, committed citizens 
AND a rock and roll legend. 
Indeed.  
 


Coming and Going:
Welcome, Matthew Schulman 

The Federal Highway 
Administration (FHWA) National 
Scenic Byways Program is 
pleased to announce that 
Matthew Schulman has joined 
the team as a Program
Specialist. Matthew comes to us 
with 10 years experience in 
developing, designing, building 
and marketing Web sites for 
companies such as Clear Channel 
Communications, Discovery 
Channel, Warner Bros. Records 
and Olympus Mons Media. 
He has a degree in business and 
mass communication. 

As a Program Specialist at
FHWA, Matthew is responsible 
for technical oversight of the
FHWA’s scenic byways Web 
sites and provides technical 
support and assistance to states 
on grants, nominations and 
other areas.

Matthew has a love for travel,
ranging from tent camping in
the Northeast to staying in B&Bs
in Montréal to going to the 
Derby in Kentucky. In addition, 
Matthew has 
been an amateurphotographer for 15 years and
hopes to capture more of the
Byways in the near future.

Please join us in welcoming
Matthew to the National Scenic
Byways Program. Matthew
may be reached via email at
Matthew.Schulman@fhwa.dot.gov 
or by phone at (202) 366-1929.



CAPITAL CORNER: A Busy Spring Ahead 

By Derrick Crandall, President, American Recreation Coalition 

Partners Outdoors
More than one hundred leaders in 
the recreation community from 
eight federal agencies, state  
government, key nonprofits and 
recreation companies large 
and small met for four days as 
participants in Partners Outdoors
2005, an annual brainstorming and 
action session co-hosted by the 
Recreation Roundtable and federal 
recreation-providing agencies. 
Special guests included National 
Park Service Director Fran 
Mainella, Bureau of Land 
Management Director Kathleen 
Clarke, Bureau of Reclamation 
Commissioner John Keys, Forest 
Service Associate Chief Sally 
Collins, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Refuge System Chief Bill Hartwig, 
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 
Deputy Director for Operations 
(Civil) Dr. Larry Lang and members
of the Recreation Roundtable. The 
theme of the session, the fourteenth 
of these annual meetings, was 
“Creative Integration of Travel and 
Tourism, Recreation and Planning 
to Benefit All Americans.” 

The session was held in Lafayette, 
Louisiana, near the Creole 
Nature Trail, a 180-mile route 
designated by U.S. Secretary of 
Transportation Norman Mineta as 
an All-American Road under the 
National Scenic Byways Program. 
The location was selected to 
highlight the interconnection 
between the Byway and several 
national wildlife refuges along 
the Byway. The Byway offers 
outstanding opportunities 
for viewing birds, alligators, 
butterflies and more. It also 
offers firsthand insight into a 
Gulf lifestyle involving shrimping, 
oil and gas development and other 
seaside interests. 

Participants in the session spent 
much of Tuesday touring the
Byway and refuges, benefiting 
from presentations by officials 
of the Southwest Louisiana 
Convention and Visitors Bureau 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
refuge managers, as well as the 
insights available from Henry 
Hanka, Director of America’s 
Byways Resource Center, and 
Rob Draper, Team Leader for 
Byways, Bike-Ped, Trails and 
Enhancements, Federal Highway
Administration.

Shelley Johnson, Creole Nature 
Trail Marketing Leader, made the 
Partners Outdoors group feel very 
welcome. The group was greeted 
upon arrival in Lake Charles by 
the two gateway mayors: Randy 
Roach from Lake Charles and 
Ron LeLeux from Sulphur. Other 
community leaders, including 
Glenn Harris, Manager, Cameron 
Prairie National Wildlife Refuge, 
and Terry Delaine, Manager, Sabine
National Wildlife Refuge also
greeted the group. The ten-hour
tour demonstrated a remarkable
integration of highway, tourism,
wildlife and recreation interests
and genuine excitement about
where this progress would lead
in the years ahead. And it left
all of the participants enthused
about the role for refuges along
the nation's byways--after all,
there are still 541 national wildlife
refuges to be linked to byways
beyond the four associated 
with the Creole Nature Trail!
Special congratulations to Shelley, 
Monte Hurley and Captain 
Sammie Faulk for an outstanding
demonstration of a Byway's success
story to an important group!


Congressional Movement 
on TEA-LU/SAFETEA
Congressional action on a six-year, 
post-TEA-21 transportation
bill is again in forward motion.
H.R. 3 - “The Transportation 
Equity Act: A Legacy For Users”,
or TEA-LU, was introduced by 
a potent bipartisan group of 
legislators and appears to reflect an 
agreement among Congressional 
leaders and the White House on 
overall spending. Byways do well 
in the legislation, with funding 
of $255,000,000 over the six years 
of the bill, and ramping up to 
$60 million in FY09-—more than 
double current spending. And the 
America’s Byways Resource Center 
is continued separately, also at a 
higher level. 

Serious efforts are underway to 
move the legislation through 
the House by Easter and present 
the bill to the President prior 
to the end of the latest TEA-21 
extension (through late May). 
While efforts continue to insert a 
“poison pill” to deter earmarking 
(making any earmarking count 
against state guarantees), the 
victory this year in preventing 
any byway-funds earmarking gives 
us hope that we will be able to 
sustain the merit-based grant 
program for many years to come—- 
even without this protection. 


Great Outdoors Month Alert 

In June 2004, President George W. 
Bush signed a proclamation declaring 
June Great Outdoors Month and 
urging all Americans to participate 
in active recreation activities, 
especially on public lands. The 
proclamation prompted the 
formation of a Great Outdoors 
Month Coalition—now more 
than 60 organizations strong—and 
development of a very ambitious 
strategy for Great Outdoors Month 
2005 this June. For information, 
go to www.greatoutdoorsmonth.org. 
You’ll see a calendar with 
planned activities, the month’s 
logo, a listing of supporters and 
background information on 
Great Outdoors Month. The 
coalition’s communications task 
force is working with national 
media to build interest and 
generate stories about recreation’s 
contributions beyond fun, including 
better health through more physical 
activity, economic gains for 
communities undergoing changes, 
new ways to boost education and 
life-long learning, and more. 

Great Outdoors Month will 
incorporate a number of existing 
celebrations and events, including 
National Trails Day, National 
Fishing and Boating Week, Great 
Outdoors Week, National Clean 
Beaches Week and more. All of 
the organizers of these events 
are playing an active role in the 
coalition’s efforts. 

Byways can be a part of Great 
Outdoors Month 2005. Plan a 
clean-up day or a celebration of a 
new feature along the byway. 
Take a VIP out for a drive along 
the byway and hike along a 
trail accessed by the route. 
In addition to the information on 
the Web site, contact ARC at 
(202) 682-9530 for the latest news 
and, eventually, copies of the 
2005 Presidential proclamation!



AMERICA’S BYWAYS(TM) DESIGNATION:
THE WAITING GAME 

Notes from the National Scenic Byways
Program, Federal Highway Administration 

Editor’s Note: 
This is part of a continuing series of 
articles about the nomination of 
roads to join the distinct and diverse 
collection of America’s Byways(TM). 
Future issues will supplement 
information currently available 
on the community Web site, 
www.bywaysonline.org/ 
nominations/articles.html. 

You’ve worked really hard, 
used the Web-based 
nomination resources, and 
followed the guidelines on the 
www.bywaysonline.org Web site. 
All your t’s are crossed, i’s dotted, 
and the information requested in 
the online nomination was filled 
in thoroughly and accurately. 

You feel confident that the 
document you submitted was 
strong, so you pressed the 
“send” button. WHO? WHAT? 
WHERE DOES IT GO? 

Your vision is of the completed 
document heading at warp 
speed toward some government 
black hole… 

But wait! Before you start crying, 
“Post-nomination-stress disorder,” 
let’s look at the process your 
nomination document follows. 

The State coordinator (or State 
DOT-appointed byway contact) 
is the first stop in the nomination 
process. The coordinator is 
responsible for verifying routes 
and other information the 
nominee provides. The States 
establish their own timelines 
for the submissions and review 
process; but, on April 8, 2005, 
the individual State coordinators 
submit the completed nominations 
to the Division. The Division 
contact has until April 29 to 
forward the nominations—with 
recommendations and comments— 
to FHWA National Scenic 
Byways Program (NSBP) staff at 
Washington, D.C. Headquarters. 

The D.C. staff will review each 
nomination, the supporting 
materials, and the corridor 
management plan. To assist in 
the review, seven experts from 
outside the U.S. Department of 
Transportation will provide an 
independent assessment based 
on the materials submitted to 
the FHWA. U.S. Secretary of 
Transportation Norman Mineta 
will use the results of this review 
to decide which roads should be 
designated as one of America’s 
Byways(TM). 

You should know that there is 
minimal lead-time for travel 
arrangements for you and your 
entourage. In 2002, we learned 
about the Secretary’s decisions 
less than one week before the 
designation event. We expect 
this year’s designation event 
will be held during the week of 
September 19-23. 

But designation is only the 
beginning. As part of the 
America’s Byways collection, 
there is a responsibility to preserve 
and promote your Byway. The 
article in the February 2005 Vistas 
further describes the privilege of 
being one of America’s Byways, 
and the expectations of the 
byway customers and the byway 
community [http://www. byways 
online.org/resources/topics/ 5/ 
?display_mode=single&pub_ 
id=52627&order_no=6].

BOX: 
ACTIVITY: Individual State coordinators 
submit the nominations to the Division. 

DATE: April 8, 2005 


ACTIVITY: The Division contact forwards the nominations—with recommendations 
and comments—to FHWA National Scenic Byways Program (NSBP) staff 
in D.C. Headquarters. 

DATE: April 29, 2005


ACTIVITY: Nominations are reviewed.

DATE: May-August 2005 


Expert Review Panel meets to evaluate nominations and offer 
independent recommendations based on members’ expertise. 

DATE: Mid-July 2005 


Prepare decision package to send to Secretary of Transportation. 

DATE: Early August 2005 


ACTIVITY: Staff makes final arrangements for one-on-one review sessions 
between byway representatives and reviewers and with the 
www.byways.org team as well as other event activities. 

DATE: August-September 2005 


ACTIVITY: Designated byways are contacted regarding making travel 
arrangements to Washington, D.C. 

DATE: Mid-September 2005 


ACTIVITY: Designation event in Washington, D.C. Two days during week of 

DATE: September 19-23, 2005 


ACTIVITY: New Byways welcomed to the Byways network at the National Scenic 
Byways Conference in Cleveland, Ohio.

DATE: October 16-19, 2005 



Roadside Assistance 
Marketing Your Intrinsic Qualities: 
What Does It Really Mean? 
By Chel Ethun, Byways Resource Specialist 

When byways are designated 
at a state or national level, 
they are asked to identify their 
primary intrinsic qualities. 
Resource inventories and entire 
comprehensive plans are drawn 
up to show how the natural, 
recreational, historical, cultural, 
archaeological and/or scenic 
qualities of the corridor will 
be managed over time. 

National Scenic Byways are 
designated for at least one 
intrinsic quality and 
All-American Roads are 
designated for at least two. 
Regardless, when a Byway receives 
an official designation, the Byway 
group’s duties not only include 
managing that intrinsic quality, 
but also providing the traveler with 
an experience in concert with 
that quality. 

The concept sounds simple enough. 
However, many Byway groups 
find themselves answering to many 
outside groups and trying to satisfy 
too many partners. Often times, 
the intrinsic quality is no longer 
the primary focus. In addition, the 
group’s founding members may 
change, and expectations about 
what the byway can and should do 
may be lost in the shuffle. 

Many of us have been involved 
with a group that was trying to 
please everyone and, in turn, lost 
its identity and sense of purpose. 
The same can be true with your 
Byway’s marketing efforts. 

Are your materials, communications 
and efforts centered around your 
Byway’s intrinsic quality story, 
or are they a listing of every 
attraction, stop and business 
along the Byway? Yes, I know. 
Many of you are probably 
thinking, “Hey, we need to include 
our business community…we 
can’t ignore our attractions…etc.” 
Those elements are not necessarily 
lost when a Byway focuses on the 
intrinsic qualities; it is simply a 
reversal of emphasis. 

As stated above, Byway designation 
reflects unique and significant 
intrinsic qualities. That interests 
travelers. Those qualities—that 
uniqueness—make the experience 
in the corridor unlike “anyplace-
U.S.A.” 

One basic marketing principle 
is to keep it simple. So…keep it 
simple! Start with that unique 
intrinsic quality. What is your 
Byway’s story? For instance, if 
your Byway’s primary intrinsic 
quality is cultural and your Byway 
story is about the heartland of 
America, use these elements as 
the centerpiece for your marketing 
efforts. Brochures and other 
rack-card type pieces might 
graphically and verbally reflect 
this quality. Travelers will then 
immediately know what to expect 
and be rewarded upon finding 
their expectations fulfilled. 

That same Byway can develop 
itineraries with stops that focus 
on the culture and heritage of the 
areas that make up the Byway 
story. Attractions, businesses 
and other stops are not left out 
of the picture; they simply are 
not the focus. 

Local chambers of commerce, 
convention and visitors bureaus, 
and other destination marketing 
organizations handle these types 
of traveler information pieces, too. 
There is no need to duplicate what 
they already have. In fact, simply 
adding their telephone numbers or 
Web addresses may suffice. 

Speaking of expectations, one of 
marketing’s most powerful tools is 
word-of-mouth advertising. When 
travelers decide to visit your Byway 
and their experience differs from 
what is advertised or expected, 
then word can travel in a hurry. 

Are the elements that make up 
your Byway’s story accessible to 
travelers? Do your materials reflect 
what travelers will see? Is the 
story and intrinsic quality readily 
apparent or does it need to be 
interpreted? Once travelers have 
decided to experience your Byway, 
they have opened themselves up 
to learning about your story. 
Those that find an authentic and 
rewarding experience will not only 
return again, but they will tell 
others. That type of marketing, as 
many will attest, is better than any 
advertising money can buy. 



Integrating CSS Into The State 
Scenic Byways Program: 

An Interview About 
Maryland State Highway 
Administration’s Context-
Sensitive Solutions For 
Work On Scenic Byways 

The State of Maryland values 
its scenic byway program. 
The state’s 31 byways are 
recognized as having character 
and resources that the State 
Highway Administration (SHA) 
would like to see preserved for 
generations to come. 

The process that Maryland SHA 
used in recognizing the significance 
of the historic resources and 
the decisions affecting the 
treatment of those resources led 
to the suggestion of creating a 
comprehensive treatment 
framework for all byway resources. 
Context-Sensitive Solutions 
(CSS) results from a collaborative, 
interdisciplinary approach to 
developing and implementing 
transportation projects, involving 
all stakeholders to ensure that 
projects are in harmony with 
communities and preserve and 
enhance the environmental, 
scenic, aesthetic, and historic 
resources while enhancing safety 
and mobility. 

While MSHA makes an effort 
to apply CSS to all projects, the 
Maryland Scenic Byways merited 
additional care in decision making 
to preserve and enhance the 
byways’ special qualities. 

The SHA developed a new 
Scenic Byways program in 2000. 
There is considerable enthusiasm 
around the state for this program, 
and it has received important 
national recognition for two of 
the Byways with an All-American 
Road designation for the Historic 
National Road (HNR) and a 
National Scenic Byway designation 
for the Chesapeake Country 
Byway on the Eastern Shore. 

A set of draft guidelines has been 
developed to heighten awareness 
regarding the importance of 
Maryland’s scenic byways. 
The purpose of this guidance 
is to help project staff and other 
stakeholders understand the 
special qualities of a byway and 
make project and operations 
decisions that will reinforce 
and enhance these qualities. 
The guidelines are separated 
into three sections: 

1) Maryland Scenic Byways 
CSS Guidelines; 

2) National Road CSS Guidelines; and 

3) a training program for 
implementation of the Scenic 
Byways and National Road 
Guidelines. 

The following is an interview 
with the state scenic byways 
coordinator, Terry Maxwell, 
about the process for 
integrating CSS into the 
byways program: 

1. Why did the State of 
Maryland decide to take on 
the CSS initiative for byways? 

The idea of developing CSS 
Guidelines for all of Maryland’s 
31 byways was an outgrowth of the 
Maryland National Road (MNR) 
Corridor Partnership Planning 
(CPP) effort conducted from 
January of 2000 to May of 2001 
and from Maryland State Highway 
Administration’s ongoing efforts to 
encourage CSS as a way of doing 
business for all projects following 
the 1998 “Thinking Beyond the 
Pavement” Workshop. A key 
concern of MNR stakeholders and 
the SHA Office of Environmental 
Design (OED) is how to address 
the cumulative effect of a series of 
individual actions, if undertaken 
without reference to protecting 
and enhancing the special qualities 
of the byway. 

With the excellent support of 
Lardner/Klein, Landscape 
Architects, P.C. and Oldham 
Historic Properties, Inc., we are 
presently meeting with key 
managers to discuss how to 
implement these guidelines 
within the SHA culture. There is 
the important task of educating 
staff in key areas of the significance 
of these corridors. This is a new 
way of thinking in which planners 
and designers will need to consider 
the significance of corridors as 
opposed to just sites or districts, 
which will encourage them 
think creatively to find ways 
to achieve a balanced outcome 
that is both safety conscious and 
sensitive to the local and regional 
context. The main avenue of 
education will occur by opening up 
new channels of communication 
between OED and other SHA 
offices, concerning the byways. 
We have also created a PowerPoint 
presentation to take to Office-wide 
meetings to reach larger groups 
out in the Districts. 


2. Were the byway groups a 
part of this decision? 

The whole process started as a 
recommendation from the corridor 
planning process. Members of the 
HNR Corridor Group (now called 
the MNRA) met SHA staff for 
an all-day workshop to discuss 
CSS strategies for the byway. The 
consensus was that there was a 
need for a road design guidance 
document. Over the past two years, 
OED of SHA has been developing 
the first two sections, working with 
two advisory groups: one smaller 
group to develop a set of draft 
guidelines for the state’s system of 
scenic byways, and the second 
to explore the most appropriate 
ways to implement and apply this 
guidance, using the HNR as a 
case study. The latter group was 
composed of two to three employees 
from each SHA District along the 
HNR together with representatives 
from the MNRA. We also brought 
in public works representatives 
from the county and municipal 
transportation, tourism and planning 
offices and historic preservation 
groups from along the HNR who 
were not yet involved with the 
corridor planning process. 


3. Is this initiative a reflection 
of the state’s values regarding 
community and byways? 

The CSS guidelines are right in 
line with our “Thinking Beyond 
the Pavement (TBTP)” philosophy 
to give heightened sensitivity 
to the context and to improve 
relationships between SHA 
and communities. SHA defines 
CSS design as a “collaborative, 
interdisciplinary approach that 
involves all stakeholders to develop 
a transportation facility that fits 
its physical setting and preserves 
scenic, aesthetic, historic, and 
environmental resources, while 
maintaining safety and mobility. 
CSS design is an approach that 
considers the total context 
within which a transportation 
improvement project will exist.” 
A good example includes a recent 
popular SHA publication, When 
Main Street is a State Highway – 
Blending Function, Beauty and 
Identity – A Handbook for 
Communities and Designers. 

This handbook guides community 
representatives and SHA 
staff through a step-by-step, 
comprehensive process that 
will allow them to identify and 
achieve community transportation 
goals. Check it out at: www.marylandroads.
com/businesswith SHA/projects/ohd/
mainstreet/Main 
Street.pdf. 

While the TBTP approach applies 
to all of SHA’s projects, OED is 
lobbying that Maryland’s scenic 
byways, designated for their 
acknowledged scenic, cultural and 
historic qualities, merit additional 
care in decision making to preserve 
and enhance their special qualities. 
The CSS Guidelines for Byways 
is a perfect complement to the 
TBTP approach by providing a 
framework for: 

1. Understanding the significance 
of an entire byway through 
State designation data, byway 
organization data, and/or 
CMP data 

2. Choosing whether to preserve, 
maintain and/or enhance the 
features that contribute to a 
traveler’s special experience along 
the byway 

3. Reviewing fifteen project 
elements and considering 
suggestions for treatments aimed 
to meet the goal of preserving, 
maintaining and enhancing 
the byway 

4. How much CSS was in place 
prior to this initiative? 
Most of SHA’s current CSS 
“Thinking Beyond the Pavement 
(TBTP)” activities involve 
items that have been identified 
in implementation work plans 
developed by four TBTP task 
teams and their sub-teams. 
The following task team list 
is an example of the framework 
set up. Also, detailed work plans 
are available through our TBTP 
program coordinator. 

• Organization and Policy 
Task Team—Action Items 

• Project Development Process 
Team—Action Items 

• Community Involvement 
Team—Action Items 

• Project Management and 
Leadership Development 
Training Team—Action Items 


5. How long did the process 
take and what were the biggest 
obstacles? 

It took about two years. 
The biggest obstacle is the 
monumental task of educating 
old-school thinkers who believe 
that the present process is fine. 


6. Are the individual byway 
CMPs taken into account 
or do they need to be updated 
after the state initiates a CSS 
plan for an individual byway? 

CMPs will become a major 
resource for project managers 
as they use these guidelines. 
All Maryland CMPs are required 
to address CSS issues. 


7. What is the state’s hope and 
vision for the CSS byway initiative? 

We hope that all SHA project 
managers at headquarters and 
in the districts become aware of 
and appreciate the value of 
Maryland Scenic Byways. We also 
hope that their decisions are well 
thought out and well coordinated 
with byway stakeholders as well 
as internal offices, taking into 
consideration the character-
defining features that contribute 
to the byway’s designation. 
Eventually we hope to reach out 
to all county and municipal 
planning and/or public works 
project managers to help them 
appreciate the aforementioned. 

For a copy of the manual or 
for more information, please 
visit http://www.marylandroads. 
com/exploremd/oed/scenic 
Byways/ccs-3.pdf or contact 
Mr. Terry Maxwell, Maryland 
Scenic Byways Coordinator at 
(410) 545-8637.



Announcing The New Online 
Context-Sensitive Solutions Resource Center 

The Federal Highway Administration announced 
a new Web site, Context SensitiveSolutions.org, 
exclusively focused on context-sensitive solutions 
(CSS). The Web site allows transportation 
professionals, as well as elected officials and 
concerned citizens, to initiate and participate in 
a better community-oriented transportation 
planning process. 

A collaborative effort of Scenic America, Project for 
Public Spaces and the FHWA, the online Resource 
Center was developed, designed and built to 
engage anyone who might have an interest in CSS. 

The site was opened to the public at the 
January 2005 Transportation Research Board 
annual conference. Please visit the Web site at 
www.ContextSensitiveSolutions.org.



Bill Hartwig 
Refuge System Chief 

1. Tell us about the U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service, 
the National Wildlife 
Refuge System and the 
Refuge Roads Program. 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
acts as the trustee of our nationally 
protected wildlife resources, 
including migratory birds, 
endangered species, anadromous 
fish and certain marine mammals. 
The Service has a wide range of 
responsibilities for these species 
under a number of international 
treaties, including regulating the 
import and export of 
wildlife and establishing 
hunting National Wildlife 
season for migratory 
game birds. 

The National Wildlife 
Refuge System works to 
protect endangered species 
and migratory birds, preserve 
natural diversity and provide the 
public with wildlife-dependent 
recreation. It also helps the public 
understand and appreciate wildlife 
resources. 

The Refuge Roads Program, 
one of the Refuge System’s newest 
programs, started with the passage 
of the Transportation Equity Act 
for the 21st Century in June 1998. 
For the first time, Congress provided 
the Service with dedicated funding 
to improve public access to refuges. 
As you can well imagine, having 
biologists enter the world of 
transportation was a real change of 
pace and brought a very different 
perspective to the Refuge System 
and those with whom we worked 
on transportation issues. Initially, 
we were overwhelmed with the 
whole program. But with the help 
of our sister agencies, the Federal 
Lands Highway Program, the 
Federal Transit Administration, 
the Transportation Research Board, 
the National Scenic Byways 
Program and many others, we better 
understand the transportation world. 
Even now, we continue to learn 
about all of these programs, and 
we would like to think that others 
have benefited from the 
experience of working with us. 
Between 1999 and 2004, the 
roads program has enabled the 
Service to complete more than 
650 improvement projects worth 
over $94 million. 

Virtually every major access road 
has been improved, parking lots 
have been resurfaced and safety 
improvements have been made. 
When we started making these 
improvements, we received notes 
thanking us for improving public 
access. Now people just enjoy the 
improvements we are making 
throughout the Refuge System. 

Our roads program has given the 
Refuge System the opportunity to 
explore new partnerships with a 
wide range of federal, state and 
local organizations. One of those 
new partnerships has been with 
the scenic byways community. 

2. How does the Refuge 
System utilize its 
regions and regional 
coordinators for byway and 
other transportation related 
issues? Where can byways 
get more information? 

The Refuge System works under 
a de-centralized management 
program. The Washington office 
provides general guidance and 
the regional offices implement 
the programs in the field. We have 
a national refuge roads program 
coordinator and a national 
coordinator for trails, byways and 
transportation enhancements. 

Each of the regional offices has at 
least one person who is responsible 
for the refuge roads program 
coordination. In some cases, this 
person also works with the field 
stations on scenic byways issues 
and, in other cases, the region 
may have another staff 
person in the Visitor 
Services Program who helps out. 

We have a refuge roads Web site 
(http://refuges.fws.gov/ 
roads/) that provides general information 
and a contact list. 

3. How would a byway group best 
approach staff from a refuge along its 
byway to engage the refuge 
in projects? 

The best way to get involved 
with staff at the field stations 
is to contact the staff directly. 
Our Refuge System home page 
(http://refuges.fws.gov) has a 
directory link that lets you find 
any unit of the Refuge System 
by name or by geographic location. 
One good way to become involved 
with local refuges is to participate 
in their planning processes and 
to invite them to participate 
in the byway’s planning process. 

Interacting with the local, 
nonprofit refuge Friends 
organization is another way to 
get involved with refuges. Refuges 
are not just places for wildlife; 
they are also places for people. 

4. The Fish and Wildlife 
Service is known for its 
excellent training center 
in West Virginia with classes 
on everything from friends 
groups to facilitation. Is this 
something that byway groups 
can apply to attend or get 
more information about? 

The National Conservation 
Training Center in Shepardstown, 
West Virginia, offers a wide range 
of courses, including topics such 
as developing and working 
with Friends groups, volunteer 
recruitment management and 
effective facilitation. These courses 
can be taken at NCTC and can 
be offered at other locations. 
The training center will work with 
FHWA to make training more 
widely available for those courses 
of interest to the National Scenic 
Byways Program. If there are 
byways volunteers who are also 
participating in local refuge 
Friends groups, they would be 
eligible to participate in the 
Service’s training programs and 
the annual Friends Conference. 

5. What is your background 
and experience that led 
you to work for the U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service? 

I received a bachelor’s degree 
in outdoor recreation at West 
Virginia University in 1968 and a 
master’s degree in administration 
from the George Washington 
University in 1976. 

I was a district supervisor for the 
Montgomery County, Maryland, 
Department of Recreation from 
1972 to 1977. In 1977, I began 
working with the Department 
of the Interior as Chief of the 
Division of Federal Lands Planning 
in the Bureau of Outdoor 
Recreation. I later served as 
Staff Director of the Assistant 
Secretary for Fish and Wildlife 
and Parks’ Land Policy Group 
with the responsibility of 
administering the Federal portion 
(U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
National Park Service, Bureau of 
Land Management and Forest 
Service) of the Land and Water
Conservation Fund. 

I started working with the Fish 
and Wildlife Service in 1986. I was
the Fish and Wildlife Service’s 
Chief of Realty, served as Secretary
to the Migratory Bird Conservation 
Commission, became Deputy 
Assistant Director for Refuges 
and Wildlife, then served as the 
Regional Director for the Midwest 
region based in Twin Cities,
Minnesota. The region includes 
the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, 
Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, 
Ohio and Wisconsin.

Since April 2003 I have been 
Chief of the National Wildlife 
Refuge System at the U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service within the
Department of the Interior. 
In this position, I provide 
support to the Service’s Director with 
respect to operation and 
management of the National 
Wildlife Refuge System, and the 
Service’s land acquisition program. 


6. When and how did the 
Refuge System become
involved in the National
Scenic Byways Program? 

Refuges have actually been a part
of byways for a long time. Prior to
passage of the 1998 Transportation 
Bill, although we didn’t have a real 
national focus on transportation 
related issues, refuges had been 
getting involved with byways as
part of their normal outreach
activities. Once we started to 
learn about the various programs
managed by the Federal Highway
Administration, it became 
apparent that there was a real 
opportunity for us to improve 
our outreach activities and 
community partnerships by 
becoming more involved in scenic byways. 

Byways and refuges have many
things in common.
Byways have corridor management
plans and we have comprehensive
management plans. Most byways
have volunteer organizations that
help manage them and refuges 
have Friends groups that help 
with many programs. Byways and 
refuges both have training for 
Friends groups and volunteers. 
Both of our groups are locally 
based and part of the community.


7. Please talk about the joint projects  
the Refuge System 
has helped to fund: the 
documentary on refuge roads 
and the virtual tour project.
 
It has been a real pleasure 
to work with America’s 
Byways Resource Center, 
the Federal Lands Highway 
Program, the National 
Scenic Byways Program, the
American Recreation 
Coalition (ARC), Public 
Television Station WUFT-TV, 
other federal land management 
agencies and the local 
byways communities on 
these two projects. 

When our staff saw Derrick 
Crandall and ARC demonstrate 
the virtual tour project for the
Logan Canyon Scenic Byway 
at the 2003 National Scenic 
Byways Conference in Albuquerque, 
it seemed just the tool that we 
could use to teach Americans more 
about refuges and the communities 
they are part of. We hope to see 
the release of the beta phase 
of the project later this year. 
We believe the technology will 
help people learn more about 
byways and refuges. 

The development of the television 
documentary resulted from of 
one of the Refuge System’s 
centennial proposals. It is also 
part of our outreach effort to
local communities. Refuges are integral parts of their local
communities. Our connections 
with scenic byways really help
to communicate that our refuges
are part of the cultural, historic,
natural and scenic heritage of
local communities. We exist
together, and together we can
celebrate the aspects that make
us each special.


8. for the third time in a 
row, the Fish and
Wildlife Service is a
sponsor of the National 
Scenic Byways Conference.
In your opinion, what is the
value of the conference, and
why is it important for byway
representatives to attend?

Perhaps the best thing about the
conferences is the energy and
excitement that people bring.
The speakers, the sessions, the
workshops, the visits to local
bywaw sites, the meetings in the
rooms and in the halls and the 
exhibits--they're all part of what 
helps to make these conferences successful.

We get so accustomed to working
in our own environments that
sometimes we don't see our own
innovations and successes; sometimes
we just can't find the solutions to our
problems. The opportunity to talk
about what we are doing and to
discuss our challenges with others 
who are involved in the same 
issues really helps. The conference
gives us an opportunity to learn
from one another and go back to
our jobs with more energy and
inspiration.

9. If you could send one
message to byways,
what would it be?

There are so many possible shared 
values that identifying one message 
is a little bit of a challenge. I believe 
that we should recognize that we
share our country’s cultural, historic
and natural heritage. We need 
to work together to nurture and
conserve that heritage, so we can
enjoy it today and in the future.


PHOTO: Chief of the National Wildlife
System at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
Bill Hartwig provides support to
the Service's director with respect 
to operation and management of the
National Wildlife Refuge system, and the 
Service's land acquisition program.



BYWAY BRIEFS 

This spring, 67 years after construction of 
the Natchez Trace Parkway (All-American 
Road) began, the final 20-plus miles of 
the Parkway will be open to visitors. 
On Saturday, May 21, 2005, the 
National Park Service, Federal Highway 
Administration, and federal, state, 
and local officials will celebrate the 
completion of construction for the last 
two segments of the 444-mile Parkway 
that travels from Natchez, Mississippi, 
through the northwest corner of 
Alabama, to Nashville, Tennessee. 
The last two segments to be finished, 
Sections 3P and 3X, are located in 
the Jackson and Natchez, Mississippi 
areas, respectively. The ribbon-cutting 
ceremony, hosted by Natchez Trace 
Parkway Superintendent Wendell 
Simpson in Natchez will feature Senators 
Thad Cochran and Trent Lott as keynote 
speakers. For more information, contact 
Jerry Pendleton at (662) 680-4054 
or Jerry_Pendleton@nps.gov. 


The Ohio Department of Transportation 
launched the www.OhioRiverScenic 
Byway.com Web site last fall to help 
travelers research and plan trips on the 
967-mile route along the Ohio River in 
Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. 

The Web site contains information on 
more than 500 events and attractions for 
areas located along the entire Byway 
in a single Internet location. Previously, 
Ohio River Scenic Byway (National 
Scenic Byway) information was contained 
in numerous sites individually developed 
and managed by a number of smaller 
regional organizations. 

The program was funded by the Federal 
Highway Administration, Indiana 
Department of Transportation, Indiana 
Office of Tourism Development, 
Illinois Department of Transportation, 
Illinois Department of Commerce and 
Economic Opportunity, Main Street 
Golconda, Ohio Arts Council, Ohio 
Department of Transportation, 
Ohio Division of Travel and Tourism, 
Ohio Office of Appalachia and Ohio 
River Trails. 


Travelers are attracted to Minnesota’s 
scenic byways not only for the views, 
but for a wide variety of other 
features as well, according to a recent 
survey conducted by the Minnesota 
Department of Employment and 
Economic Development’s Analysis 
and Evaluation Office. 

The online survey evaluated a direct mail 
marketing campaign carried out by 
Explore Minnesota Tourism in Spring 
2004 to promote the state’s scenic 
byways. According to the survey, visitors 
are attracted to scenic travel routes 
by a variety of features: natural scenery 
(92%), historic sites (68%), being off 
the beaten path (61%), parks (56%), 
small towns (47%), festivals (39%), 
new routes (23%), arts (22%) and 
pre-planned routes (22%). Although not 
listed in the survey, bike trails were 
frequently added by respondents as 
byway attractors. 

Overall, the results provided very 
positive feedback for Minnesota’s 
scenic byways program. For more 
information on this survey, contact 
Colleen Tollefson at (651) 297-2635 
or Colleen.Tollefson@state.mn.us. 


Beartooth Scenic Byway (All-American 
Road) will celebrate its annual season 
opening on Saturday, May 28 in 
Red Lodge, Montana. The road is closed 
every winter because snow makes it 
impassable. Festivities will include a 
reception and band performance, and 
the annual meeting of the Friends of 
the Beartooth group will be held in 
conjunction with the celebration. The 
friends group works effectively to build 
cooperation and networking among all 
the communities along the Byway. 
This year’s theme is “Partnerships That 
Work.” For more information, contact 
Kim Capron at (307) 587-3669 or 
kim@associationresourceswy.com 


What began in 1992 as one of 17 
interpretive sites along the Kancamagus 
Highway has since evolved into an 
interpretive center for both the 
Kancamagus Scenic Byway (National 
Scenic Byway) and the White Mountains 
Trail (National Scenic Byway). A ribbon-
cutting ceremony in September 2004 was 
the culmination of a 12-year effort. 
With dedication and cooperation from 
a variety of federal, state and local 
agencies, White Mountains Attractions, 
Timber Framers Guild, and a host of 
volunteers, the new visitor center is 
providing the public with much-needed 
interpretation of the Byways. 

To celebrate this collaborative effort, 
USDA Forest Service Region 9 Forester 
Randy Moore presented a special 
award to the Kancamagus Scenic 
Byway for “supporting increased 
economic opportunities and improving 
quality of life in rural areas.” 



Dear 
Kate Bolder: 
E-mail your questions for Kate to center@byways.org with the words “Be Bold” in the subject line. 

Dear Kate,

Our byway recently had a big community event to 
celebrate a new interpretive center. The community 
has been wonderfully supportive and the event 
was really well attended by everyone but the media. 
We have been working so hard on this center 
and had so many meetings that we were really 
disappointed when no one from the media came 
to the event. We sent invitations to our council 
members, general members and business owners 
(including the owners of both the radio station 
and newspaper!) and took out an advertisement in 
the local newspaper but no one from the media 
showed up. What did we do wrong? 

Signed, Missing the Media on the Byway! 

Dear Missing,

Public Relations, or PR, is one of the most valuable and cost-effective 
tools your byway or any organization can use to communicate to 
the broader world. In many cases, effective PR can reduce or even 
eliminate the need for costly advertising. It is, however, an art form 
that doesn’t just come together overnight. Here are a couple of tips 
to keep in mind for your next event: 

Always draft a press release or media announcement and 
send it directly to the editors, journalists or reporters that you 
want to attend. 

Keep a list of media in your area. Sort the list by type (television, 
radio, newspaper, Web) and location (local, regional, national). 

Take the time now to obtain accurate information and contacts. 
Ask how they want to receive information from you. If an editor 
likes e-mail, don’t send faxes. Do your homework. Become familiar 
with the publication and its readers’ needs. Draft your media 
pitch accordingly. 

Figure out who your best allies are and form a relationship. 
It is much easier to call “Sally” at the paper and give her the scoop 
if you know her than it is to rely on an assistant or intern to deliver 
your press release to her desk. 

Stay in front of your contacts. Don’t send a release or 
announcement every week. However, sending announcements 
about major projects, new officer elections or special meetings helps 
to keep your byway name familiar and will aid you in getting a 
media personnel’s attention later. 

Keep press releases/announcements short and to the point. 
The title and first paragraph should say who, what, why, where and 
when. The remaining text is detail. In fact, many editors don’t even 
read past the first line! 

Be sure to include a time, date and location, if this is an event. 
Media professionals are busy and do not have the time to research 
information that you should have provided. 

Press releases or announcements should be sent no more than 
five days in advance and no less than 24 hours in advance. 
Media professionals have schedules just like we do; anything more 
than five days away is easily forgotten and less than 24 hours is just 
plain rude. 

Always follow up. If it is a really important event or news release, 
call to make sure they received the news release and ask if they 
have questions. Newsrooms are busy places, and often a press 
release can sit in an inbox for a few days. 

Try to put yourself in the shoes of the newspaper, television, 
radio or Web media professional. Would you be interested in 
the press release? Would you make time in your busy calendar to 
arrange to show up? Is this really news? 

Always remember to say THANK YOU. Gratitude goes a long way 
toward building relationships. 

Looking forward to seeing you in the news soon! Kate



CENTENNIAL CONGRESS 
CREATES A FORESTRY VISION 
FOR THE NEXT 100 YEARS 

It was one hundred years ago 
when President Theodore 
Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot 
(appointed as the first Chief of the 
new Forest Service) assembled a 
group of visionary leaders in 
Washington, D.C. to discuss and 
collaborate on a mission for the 
Forest Service. That first meeting 
had profound effects that set the 
stage for the care and management 
of our nation’s 193 million acres of 
public land. 

One hundred years later to the 
month, a group of national 
public and private leaders 
gathered in Washington to 
renew that original effort and 
formulate a revised vision for 
the next one hundred years. 
The second Centennial 
Congress convened on January 3, 
2005. The Federal Highway 
Administration and the America’s 
Byways Resource Center were 
invited to participate and offer 
advice on the transportation 
and visitor aspects of the vision 
discussed. 

The three-day event was promoted 
as an opportunity to listen and 
react to a host of diverse and 
outstanding speakers. Care was 
given to balance each presentation 
so as not to focus on one particular 
view or agenda. As an example, 
a panel on public policy of 
forestlands included experts 
from the forest managers, 
logging industry, preservation 
organizations and the education 
community. Ample time for 
audience participation and 
feedback followed. This allowed 
for dialogue and further insight 
into forest management and 
how these decisions affect 
industry, recreation, preservation 
and business. 

Breakout sessions were held the 
second day with all attendees 
assigned to small groups where 
intense dialogue could take place 
on the future of public forestland. 

Best use and practices were 
debated as well as current forest 
policy and management. Are our 
forests being used in the wisest 
ways? Do we, as taxpayers, get 
the best return out of our forests, 
both in harvesting value as well 
as recreational value? Is the public 
consulted often enough with 
management plans? These are 
the questions we were all asked. 
Debate was lively and open. 

We, as a byway community, have 
a significant stake in the outcome 
of this Congress and the action 
taken by the Forest Service. With 
the initiation of the National 
Forest Service Byway Program in 
1988, we now find ourselves with 
over 50 of our National Scenic 
Byways having a direct-shared 
designation with National Forest 
Service Byways. This significant 
dual designation results in a need for 
increased cooperation, information 
exchange and management/ 
planning systems. We need 
increased awareness of improvements 
made to these Byways as well as 
marketing plans, interpretation 
methods and signage. The local 
Byway committees need to invite 
and encourage participation from 
the Forest Service if their Byway 
is dual-designated. The traveling 
public is only interested in a 
positive experience, regardless of 
underlying management. 

The second Centennial Congress 
sets the stage for how the 
nation’s forests will be managed 
for many years to come. The 
results from this gathering will be 
used in future planning decisions. 
Our partnership with the Forest 
Service has grown steadily and 
will continue as we develop our 
byways programs. As a byway 
community, we must stay aware 
of policy and plan changes when 
they affect the National Scenic 
Byways Program. By providing 
input and suggestions, we can 
produce a dual-designation system 
that benefits all byway travelers 
for decades to come.  



2005 Calendar 
Send calendar entries by the 5th of each month to center@byways.org 

APRIL 
April 10-12, 2005 
NADO Washington Policy Conference 
Washington, D.C. 
NADO Research Foundation 
For more information, please visit: 
www.nado.org/meetings 

April 25-26, 2005 
Making Tracks Along the Border: 
6th Annual Rural Tourism Conference 
Deming, New Mexico 
REDIT and Small Farms Task Force 
For more information, please visit: 
www.nmsu.edu/~redtt/Resources/ 
html/AM%20link%20list.html 

April 28-30, 2005 
2005 Gathering of Nations Pow Wow 
Albuquerque, New Mexico 
For more information, please visit: 
www.gatheringofnations.com 

MAY 
May 3-7, 2005 
TIA International Pow Wow 
New York, New York 
REDIT and Small Farms Task Force 
For more information, please visit: 
www.tia.org/PowWow 

May 7-15, 2005 
TIA National Tourism Week 
Nationwide 
For more information, please visit: 
www.tia.org 

May 18-19, 2005 
Byways to the Past 
Indiana University of Pennsylvania 
Indiana, Pennsylvania 
For more information, please visit: 
www.pennbyways.net 

May 27-28, 2005 
The Art of Interpretive Writing Workshop 
Bloomington, Minnesota 
Minnesota Wildlife Refuge 
For more information, please visit: 
www.leftridge.com 

JUNE 
June 2005 
Great Outdoors Month 
Nationwide 
For more information, please visit: 
www.greatoutdoorsmonth.org 

June 4-8, 2005 
2005 International Heritage Development 
Conference: Creating Economic Futures 
One Story at a Time 
Nashville, Tennessee 
For more information, please visit: 
www.ihdc2005.org 

June 10-12, 2005 
Second Annual Greenway Days Festival 
Seattle, Washington 
Mountains to Sound Greenway 
For more information, please visit: 
www.mtsgreenway.org 

JULY 
July 20-23, 2005 
2005 Midwest Environmental 
Education Conference 
Mason City, Iowa 
For more information, 
contact Carol Schutte 
schutcar@miacc.edu or (641) 422-4319 

July 27-30, 2005 
TrailLink 2005 
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy 
Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota 
For more information, please visit: 
www.railtrails.org 

AUGUST 
August 27-30, 2005 
NADO Annual Training Conference 
Seattle, Washington 
NADO Research Foundation 
For more information, please visit: 
www.nado.org/meetings 

SEPTEMBER 
September 27-October 2, 2005 
National Preservation Converence 2005 
Portland, Oregon 
For more information, please visit: 
https://www.nthpconference.org/ 
GeneralInfo/ 


OCTOBER 
October 6-8, 2005 
U.S. Cultural & Heritage Tourism Summit 
Washington, D.C. 
For more information, please visit: 
www.uscht.com 

October 9-12, 2005 
43rd URISA Annual Conference 
Kansas City, Missouri 
Urban and Regional Information 
Systems Association 
For more information, please visit: 
www.urisa.org 

October 14-17, 2005 
Land Trust Alliance Rally 
Madison, Wisconsin 
For more information, please visit: 
www.lta.org/training/rally.htm 

October 16-19, 2005 
2005 National Scenic Byways Conference 
Cleveland, Ohio 
For more information, please E-mail 
center@byways.org 

October 26-28, 2005 
TIA Marketing Outlook Forum 
Seattle, Washington 
For more information, please visit: 
www.tia.org 

NOVEMBER 
November 4-8, 2005 
CrossSphere Annual Convention 
Detroit, Michigan 
For more information, please visit: 
www.crosssphere.com 

November 8-12, 2005 
National Interpreters’ Workshop 
Mobile, Alabama 
For more information, please visit: 
www.interpnet.com/niw2005/ 

November 29-December 1, 2005 
RVIA 43rd National RV Trade Show 
Louisville, Kentucky 
For more information, please visit: 
www.rvia.org