MAY/JUNE 2006 What’s Inside: Roadside Reflections . . . . . 2 Capital Corner . . . . . . . . . . 3 Roadside Assistance . . . . . 9 A Conversation With... Kevin E. Fry, President, Scenic America . . . . . . . . . 10 Beyond The Gym: Promoting Health In Public Spaces . . . . . . . . 12 For Your Reference . . . . . 14 Dear Kate . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Published in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration by: America’s Byways(R) Resource Center Arrowhead Regional Development Commission 227 West First Street Suite 610 Duluth, MN 55802 1-800-4BYWAYS, Ext. 5 SHARING SUCCESS & HONORING EXCELLENCE; The 2007 Scenic Byway Awards American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), in cooperation with the America’s Byways(R) Resource Center and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), is excited to announce the 2007 Scenic Byway Awards: Sharing Success & Honoring Excellence. In the tradition of the Best Practices awards, the 2007 Scenic Byway Awards will honor outstanding byway projects. The 2007 awards seek to recognize projects that exhibit excellent examples of community involvement and public outreach, partnerships, innovation, and advancement of the goals of a byway’s corridor management plan. In addition, the 2007 awards will recognize an outstanding leader who has demonstrated exceptional byway leadership. “I’m especially excited about the Leadership category we are introducing in the 2007 competition,” said Michelle Johnson, Director of America’s Byways(R) Resource Center. “Byway groups look to their leaders for their strength, creativity, foresight, integrity and perseverance. Inspiring leaders have put their hearts and souls into turning their special roads into national treasures for all of us to share. This award will recognize one truly outstanding individual whose leadership efforts have made lasting and significant contributions to his or her byway or program.” Participation in the 2007 Scenic Byway Awards is not limited to America’s Byways(R). Any national, State, tribal or public lands byway may submit applications for projects of excellence and outstanding leadership. Award recipients will be honored at a ceremony at the National Scenic Byways Conference in May 2007, and will also be featured in an awards publication (look for the conference location announcement in the next Vistas). In addition, AASHTO will present a framed poster recognizing each award recipient to the Chief Executive Officer of that State’s Department of Transportation during a 2007 AASHTO meeting. The Scenic Byway Awards benefit not only those receiving the awards, but the entire byway community by: * Sharing successful models other byways can adapt for their corridors * Encouraging projects of excellence on local, State, and nationally designated scenic Byways *Demonstrating the impact and importance of the National Scenic Byways Program and State scenic byways programs to communities across the country. “Sharing success and honoring excellence is exactly what these awards are about,” said Rob Draper, Team Leader of the FHWA’s National Scenic Byways Program. “All of us strive for excellence. Our responsibility for achieving excellence is exceeded only by our responsibility to share what we’ve learned. People working on byways want to learn from someone who’s walked in their shoes. The National Scenic Byways Conference is the perfect place to present the 2007 Scenic Byway Awards. The Conference sessions and related events are the place for people to learn from one another, face-to-face.” PROJECT CATEGORIES The 2007 Scenic Byway Awards will highlight outstanding achievements in eight project categories: * Resource Protection * Built Projects * Marketing * Planning * Interpretation * Transportation Agency Cooperation * Visitor Experience * Sustainable Organizations Applicants will select the one category that best fits the nominated project. THE LEADERSHIP CATEGORY Does your byway organization have a leader worth his or her weight in gold? Now is your chance to show your appreciation with a nomination in the Leadership category. This category seeks to recognize strong leaders who have used creative approaches to challenges, and made long-lasting and significant contributions to a specific byway, group of byways, or State scenic byways program. CRITERIA A review panel made up of representatives from State DOTs and other byway experts will convene this fall to select up to nine award recipients. This panel will make selections based on how well submitted projects and leadership accomplishments meet both the general criteria for the competition and the specific category criteria. The general criteria are: 1. Community involvement and public outreach 2. Partnerships 3. Advancing the goals of the byway’s corridor management plan 4. Innovation TABLE 1: 2007 Scenic Byway Awards CATEGORIES 1. PROJECT CATEGORY: Resource Protection THIS CATEGORY RECOGNIZES: Outstanding projects to manage, enhance, protect or preserve one or more of a byway’s intrinsic qualities. EXAMPLES: Projects that identify and catalog a byway’s significant resources and sites, development of strategies to manage or protect specific resources and sites, the restoration of an historic structure or site, or scenic and land conservation planning for the byway. 2. PROJECT CATEGORY: Marketing THIS CATEGORY RECOGNIZES: Dynamic marketing projects, initiatives and activities that byway organizations alone or in cooperation with State tourism agencies, chambers of commerce or others have developed and implemented, and the resulting products. EXAMPLES: Marketing plans, websites, brochures, maps, publications, signage, CDs or other projects and programs designed specifically to promote a byway or group of byways. 3. PROJECT CATEGORY: Interpretation THIS CATEGORY RECOGNIZES: The development and provision of high-quality interpretive information that educates visitors and the community about the byway's intrinsic qualities, and conveys the story of the byway. EXAMPLES: Interpretive plans, exhibits, kiosks, collection and dissemination of local oral or written histories, guide programs, or training for individuals to explain to the byway traveler the significance of the byway's special qualities. Products may include signs, brochures, pamphlets, maps, videotapes, audiotapes, CDs, a website or other media related to the byway(s). 4. PROJECT CATEGORY: Visitor Experience THIS CATEGORY RECOGNIZES: Excellent byway plans, processes and products designed to enhance visitors’ experiences while both traveling the byway and visiting communities along the corridor. EXAMPLES: Efforts to manage a byway’s visitor capacity, adaptations to facilities to make them compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, wayfinding signage, improving trail access, increasing visitor amenities, or expanding pedestrian and bicycle access to the byway and in adjacent communities. 5. PROJECT CATEGORY: Built Projects THIS CATEGORY RECOGNIZES: Exemplary brick-and-mortar projects that have already been constructed, with an emphasis on projects that have incorporated innovative approaches to the process to achieve the final product, such as fundraising, partnerships or collaborative efforts. Design elements, while of interest, are not a primary criterion. EXAMPLES: A visitor's center, the rehabilitation of an historic structure, construction of a scenic overlook or the installation of a gateway sign. Projects may be in single or multiple buildings. Only the completed phases of the project will be evaluated. Projects that are in the design phase but have not been built will not be considered. Applicants should provide photos and a site plan of the completed project. 6. PROJECT CATEGORY: Planning THIS CATEGORY RECOGNIZES: Successful plans that have applied excellent methods to include communities, agencies, organizations and others along the byway effectively in the planning process. EXAMPLES: Include the following plans for byways: historic conservation, recreation, transportation, reuse or redevelopment, or revised corridor management plans. 7. PROJECT CATEGORY: Transportation Agency Cooperation THIS CATEGORY RECOGNIZES: A byway’s productive efforts to achieve a goal related to the functionality, safety, and/or mobility along the byway’s transportation routes in collaboration with a road management agency such as a State Department of Transportation, highway department, or FHWA Division office. EXAMPLES: The development of byway-specific road management practices, access management, traffic calming, vegetation management, context-sensitive solutions, or multimodal use of the byway corridor. 8. PROJECT CATEGORY: Sustainable Organizations THIS CATEGORY RECOGNIZES: The outstanding efforts of byway communities to establish and maintain sustainable organizations that can serve the long-term needs of byways. EXAMPLES: Cultivation of effective problem-solving techniques; creative solutions to organizational structure, administration or decision making; development of a business plan; methods for attracting and maintaining an enthusiastic volunteer core; techniques for generating community buy-in; or successful methods for fundraising. TABLE 2: 2007 Scenic Byway Awards SPECIFIC CRITERIA 1. CATEGORY Resource Protection 1. SPECIFIC CRITERIA -- Preserves or protects one or more of the byway’s intrinsic qualities -- Enhances the visitor experience and improves quality of life for the community -- Effectively communicates the value of resource protection to the corridor 2. CATEGORY Marketing 2. SPECIFIC CRITERIA -- Has resulted in a documented increase in the number of visitors to the byway -- Has had measurable economic impact on byway communities -- Is cost effective 3. CATEGORY Interpretation 3. SPECIFIC CRITERIA -- Contributes to the visitor’s understanding of the byway’s intrinsic qualities -- Effectively communicates the byway’s story in an engaging way -- Utilizes non-traditional medium 4. CATEGORY Visitor Experience 4. SPECIFIC CRITERIA -- Increases the comfort of byway visitors -- Enhances the experience of byway visitors 5. CATEGORY Built Projects 5. SPECIFIC CRITERIA -- Serves as a unique or exceptional example of a finished product and/or process -- Meets the needs of the byway in an unconventional way 6. CATEGORY Planning 6. SPECIFIC CRITERIA -- Establishes realistic, attainable goals -- Contains replicable components and methodology -- Includes high-quality thought, analysis, writing and graphics throughout the plan -- Displays evidence of effectiveness: how the plan addressed the need that prompted its initiation 7. CATEGORY Transportation Agency Cooperation 7. SPECIFIC CRITERIA -- Demonstrates effective communication and cooperation between the byway(s) and the managing road agency -- Improves the safety, mobility, and/or functionality of transportation option on the byway corridor 8. CATEGORY Sustainable Organizations 8. SPECIFIC CRITERIA -- Expands the organization’s access to funding source(s) -- Demonstrates the long-term viability of the organization -- Increases the commitment of the community to the byway organization Leadership TABLE: BOX 1: 2007 Scenic Byway Awards with the 2007 Scenic Byway Awards logo “Take a drive on a scenic byway and you will discover America. Every region has something unique and special to open our eyes and restore our spirit. That's why a ‘road trip’ is a uniquely American adventure. We welcome the opportunity to work with the Federal Highway Administration and America’s Byways(R) Resource Center to recognize projects of excellence and the men and women who work tirelessly to make it all happen.” – John Horsley, Executive Director, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials BOX 2: Leadership CATEGORY This category seeks to recognize strong leaders who have used creative approaches to challenges, and made long-lasting and significant contributions to a specific byway, group of byways, or State scenic byways program. The inspiring actions of these individuals, agencies or organizations should be replicable in other byway communities. SPECIFIC CRITERIA * Demonstrates a commitment to creative and innovative solutions to implement a byway’s corridor management * Demonstrates strong leadership and inspiring actions that * Creates initiatives that have significant, lasting impact on a byway or the byway community BOX 3: 2007 Scenic Byway Awards AWARD PACKAGE Recipients of the 2007 Scenic Byway Awards will be honored at a ceremony to be held during the May 2007 National Scenic Byways Conference. The awards ceremony will feature highlights of the selected projects, recognition of leadership achievements and an awards presentation. In addition, award recipients will receive an award package that includes: -- A framed poster commemorating the 2007 awards -- A media press kit to assist with local coverage of the award -- An opportunity to participate in a conference poster session -- One complimentary conference registration and hotel room -- Travel expenses for one person to attend the 2007 National -- For each of the award recipients, AASHTO will present a framed poster to the Chief Executive Officer of that State’s Department of Transportation during a 2007 AASHTO meeting. BOX 4: 2007 Scenic Byway Awards IMPORTANT COMPETITION DATES 2006 MAY 5 Competition opens. Download the requirements and eligibility information and application forms from the AASHTO website (www.transportation.org) or the National Scenic Byways Program website (www.bywaysonline.org). MAY-JULY Prepare applications, photographs and supporting documents. JULY 17 Application deadline for byways to send award applications to State DOTs. Note: Indian tribe scenic byways must send their applications directly to AASHTO (c/o Corridor Solutions). AUGUST 4 Application deadline for State DOTs to send award applications to AASHTO (c/o Corridor Solutions). Applications must be received by 5:00 p.m. Eastern. 2007 JANUARY Award recipients notified. MAY Award recipients honored during an awards ceremony at the 2007 National Scenic Byways Conference. MAY or SEPTEMBER AASHTO will honor award recipients by presenting the Chief Executive Officer from their State Departments of Transportation with a framed poster showcasing the award. BOX 5: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Who should apply? Any national, State, tribal or public lands byway may submit applications for projects of excellence and outstanding leaders. What are the award categories? The Scenic Byway Awards include eight Project categories and a separate category for Leadership. The Leadership category requires a separate application form. The eight Project categories are: -- Resource Protection -- Built Projects -- Marketing -- Planning -- Interpretation -- Transportation Agency Cooperation -- Visitor Experience -- Sustainable Organaizations Applicants may submit an application in the Leadership category as well as one of the Project categories. How do I select a category for my byway's project? While many projects will have several relevant categories, applicants should consider the primary goal of the project to select a category. Where are the application forms? The requirements and eligibility information and application forms are available on the AASHTO website at www.transportation.org or the National Scenic Byways Program website at WWW.bywaysonline.org. Can a byway submit more than one award application? Applicants may submit an application in the Leadership category as well as one of the Project categories. While there is no limit to the number of applications that byways can submit for different projects, applicants should not submit duplicate applications for the same project in different categories. Projects should be submitted only once in the category that best fits the primary goal of the project. How important are supporting photos? Photos are an important opportunity to provide a visual description of your byway's project. Applicants are required to include five to 10 digital images on a CD with each application. The award program description contains the requested technical specifications for resolution and digital image size. It is important that the images meet these specifications to be suitable for publication. Will supporting materials submitted with the applications be returned? No. Because of the anticipated volume of submissions, all materials will become the property of the America’s Byways(R) Resource Center. How do we submit our applicaiton? Applications mut be submitted through the State Department of Transportation (DOT) with the exception of Indian tribes. In most cases, this will be via the State Byway Coordinator. A listing of State coordinators can be found at www.bywaysonline.org. State DOTS and Indian tribes will submit applications: AASHTO c/o Corridor Solutions 13151 SW 3rd Lane Newberry, FL 32669 (352) 333-3733 When is the application deadline? July 17, 2006 -- Deadline for byways to submit award applications to State DOTs. State DOTs must receive applications no later than 5:00 p.m. Eastern on July 17. Indian tribes must submit applications directly to AASHTO (c/o Corridor Solutions) by July 17. August 4, 2006 – Deadline for State DOTs to submit applications to AASHTO. Applications must be recerived no later than 5:00 p.m. Eastern on August 4. Who will select the award recipients? A review panel comprised of representatives from State DOTs and other byway experts will review the applications and make selections by January 15, 2007. How may awards will there be? Up to nine awards will be given. When will the awards be presented? Recipients of the 2007 Scenic Byyway Awards will be honored at an awards ceremony to be held during the May 2007 National Scenic Byways Conference (location to be announced soon). The awards ceremony will feature highlights of the selected projects, recognition of leadership achievements and an awards presentation. In addition, AASHTO will present a framed poster recognizing each award recipient to the Chief Executive Officer of that State’s Department of Transportation during a 2007 AASHTO meeting. Who is AASHTO? The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan association representing highway and transportation departments in the 50 States, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., AASHTO represents all the transportation modes: air, highways, public transportation, rail and water. Its primary goal is to foster the development, operation and maintenance of an integrated national transportation system. What if I have questions? -- This FAQ will be posted online and updated periodically with new questions and answers. Visit the AASHTO website at www.transportation.org or the National Scenic Byways Program website at www.bywaysonline.org. -- Call Wanda Maloney with Corridor Solutions at (352) 333-3733. -- Send an e-mail to awards@byways.org. www.bywaysonline.org. BOX 6: PROJECTS HONORED IN PREVIOUS COMPETITIONS PROJECT: America’s Byways(R) Multimedia Series: San Juan Skyway BYWAY: San Juan Skyway, Colorado To tell the story of the San Juan Skyway, Rocky Mountain PBS partnered with State agencies and byway supporters to produce an award-winning video and multimedia education package. Consisting of a documentary, website and teacher’s guide, the project utilizes recent technologies to enable viewers, visitors, students and consumers to access information in a variety of formats at multiple distribution points. The success of the collaboration has resulted in subsequent projects to tell the tale of Colorado's byways. ------------------------------------------------------------------ PROJECT: Flint Hills Scenic Byway Overlook BYWAY: Flint Hills Scenic Byway, Kansas In Kansas, local input helped guide the design of an overlook along the largest remaining tallgrass prairie ecosystem in the U.S. Intent to design an overlook that would be durable, unobtrusive and incorporate the use of native materials, the Flint Hills Scenic Byway Management Committee worked diligently with local interests, the Kansas Department of Transportation, and the design team to redefine the project. The result: an earthen observation mound, surrounded by a limestone retaining wall, vegetated with native wildflowers. ---------------------------------------------------------------- PROJECT: Marketing Action Plan BYWAY: Creole Nature Trail, Loiusiana To help increase visitation and spending in Trail communities, a Marketing Action Plan was developed and implemented by the Trail’s primary marketing agency, the Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors Bureau. This multi-year initiative effectively repositioned the area as a primary destination and spurred economic development in the region. Between 1998 and 2003, tourism increased 30 percent. The Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors Bureau tracks the success of the Trail’s marketing initiatives by closely monitoring web “hits” and visitor responses. In 2002, a Creole Nature Trail Marketing and Research Study was completed that will help guide future marketing intitiatives. PHOTo 1: As part of the 2003 award-winning Implementation of the Byway Development Plan, infrastructure imporovements made along the Rogue-Umpquea National Scenic Byway included interpretive information at key locations. PHOTO 2: For the Re-greening of Zorro Mountain: Erasing the Scars project – a 2003 winner – youth volunteers camped out all summer long and worked side-by-side to help reclaim the landscape of Zorro Mountain. PHOTO 3: In 2003, the Kancamagus Scenic Byway was awarded for the Implementation of the Kancamagus Interpretive and Facilities Plan. As part of the plan, new facilities and site modifications have improved safety and access for vehicles and visitors. Roadside Reflections: Cultivating a Garden by Michelle Johnson, Director, America’s Byways(R) Resource Center Spring is just around the corner. The signs are all here. The Weather Channel reports higher temperatures, magazines have the latest “must-haves” for spring fashions and my grocery store has its seasonal display of seeds for sale. My practical self always says it’s too early to buy seeds, plus where will I plant them? But the nature girl in me always wins and I come home with seed packets for tomatoes, basil, daisies, rosemary, parsley, lettuce, beans, snap dragons and pansies mixed with the bacon, milk and eggs. As I unpack my groceries (read: seeds), I imagine a beautiful, lush garden in my back yard. Just like my grandmother’s. Her garden was huge. Gladiolas and corn, tomatoes and beans, cucumbers and roses. My grandparents lived in the city, and didn’t have the biggest lot, but they made the most of the space. The garden was about half the yard and the rest was the thickest lawn you could imagine. Weeds never dared entering Grandma’s yard; she defended it with a kitchen knife. Other than the hope and dreams of my own garden, the second exciting prospect of spring is the ability to walk outside unencumbered. No mittens, no boots, no wind-chill factor. I can walk barefoot in the back yard, watch my seeds grow into lunch and pick beautiful flowers for my table. I dream of picnics at the beach, picking wildflowers, looking for wildlife or walking along a trail in the park. And I’m not the only one looking forward to spending the summer outside; I have three little companions to chase through the woods. Five, if you count the dogs. Growing up in the north woods, I spent most of my time outside. One special memory is the time my father and I made a book of pressed wildflowers. My dad taught me the names of the flowers and I wrote them next to the flower in crayon. Every spring, I took it upon myself to rake dead leaves out of the rock terrace next to the garage so the purple wood violets could grow. My brother and I spent hours swimming in our lake, catching frogs and toads, and running through the woods. Last January, I attended Partners Outdoors, an annual conference sponsored by the American Recreation Coalition for Federal and State agency representatives, recreation industry executives and nonprofit recreation leaders from the public and private sectors. The goal of the innovative and interactive conference was to create and define recreation tools to connect 21st-century Americans to public lands. The conference opened with a general session of Federal agency directors and chiefs sharing observations for recreation and their agency activities and roles. Dale Hall, Chief of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, mentioned that he had recently read a book called Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder (by Richard Louv, 2005). The premise of the book is simple: our children do not play outdoors. Mr. Hall talked about what it will mean to recreation planners and land and resource managers when an entire generation of Americans does not associate with nature. If a child grows up without the benefits of nature, he or she certainly will not choose a career that nurtures nature, nor will they contribute to its care or future. I went right home and checked the book out at my local library. Wow. Richard Louv has some pretty powerful messages about the value of nature to individuals and to our society. Nature is not part of how people plan backyards and communities. Subdivisions have outlawed tree houses and some communities have made “natural play” almost criminal. Shopping centers and other community gathering places are not pedestrian friendly. Even schools do not embrace nature as in the past, with reductions or elimination of recess and outdoor time. Nature is a great healer of mind and spirit. Louv cites studies that link nature and outdoor play with reduction in symptoms of attention deficit disorder in children. He addresses the connection between solitude and the quietness of nature and the growing use and dependence on TVs, computers and video games. My favorite quote is that of a fourth grader who said “I like to play indoors better, ‘cause that’s where all the electrical outlets are.” Hmm. Am I alone in being scared? Of course, the book addresses the physical benefits of outdoor play. Nature offers all of us the opportunity to exercise. So, I have lots to do. First, I will sow my newly purchased seeds, and by doing so I will sow the seeds of nature in my children. Then it’s time to go outside! See you in the woods. CAPITAL CORNER By Derrick Crandall, President, American Recreation Coalition (ARC) Opportunities Ahead June — proclaimed by the President as Great Outdoors Month for the past several years—promises some very interesting opportunities. The Toolbox for the Great Outdoors, Second Edition, will be released and available at www.tools4outdoors.org. It will help organizations capitalize on more than 50 programs to aid trails, byways and other programs. The month will also include a variety of Byways 2021 activities, including the “byways blog.” Through the blog, thoughtful American leaders will offer ideas for making byways better by harnessing technology or using byway corridors as keystones of healthy lifestyles, especially when we create opportunities for physically active endeavors. You’ll be invited to be part of this “blog.” Respond and stretch your imagination! This summer, we anticipate the launch of the National Commission on Surface Transportation and Revenue. This group will likely become a key influence on the next surface transportation bill, due circa 2009. There will be many opportunities to share ideas about byways with this body, and to remind the commission members of the remarkable diversity of byways support. To be most effective, we need to speak to this group as a chorus of recreation, conservation, tourism, transportation, cultural heritage and scenic quality advocates. If we do, 2006 can be fun. And I like fun! Watch For The Election Focus Upcoming elections tend to color what happens in Washington, D.C., and too often bipartisanship falls to the sidelines. Scenic byways, which are truly bipartisan, have enjoyed and continue to deserve the support of Democrats and Republicans alike. Still, candidates approaching this November’s elections might look for closer identification with white-hat causes. Byways should welcome candidates’ interest, but avoid being drawn into partisan positions. One election year reality is that the budget process will likely be even more drawn out than normal. The budget news is tough for most domestic discretionary programs, including for the many Federal land agencies that partner with the scenic byways movement. We expect the Congress to miss the October 1 start of the new fiscal year. Legislators will stall the bad news, in effect. That could have implications for many byways projects. The budget situation is also a catalyst for change. We expect more and more dependence on partnerships to build and maintain the infrastructure that supports travel and recreation. And the byway community is a great candidate for partnerships! Transitions Underway By year-end, we will be focusing on transitions in public officeholders who can shape byways. One important transition is already underway at the U.S. Department of the Interior, where Gale Norton, who trekked byways often, will be succeeded by Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne. He played a role in amendments to the National Scenic Byways Program while a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee during TEA-21’s development and was a hero for the Recreational Trails Program. We’ll certainly remind Mr. Kempthorne of his trails and byway roots during his initial days at Interior’s helm! The Governor’s return to a key Washington position also serves as a reminder of two things: that there is a constant need to be prepared to explain byways and the accomplishments of the byway Program, and that we need to understand and strengthen byway champions both in Washington and in our State capitals. Lead The Way Elected officials assuming key byway offices in Washington and around the nation need to be briefed on the opportunities associated with byways—-particularly the popular events and actions that offer positive ways to put fingerprints on the byway Program. When a true friend of byways leaves office, it is easy to live in the past and bemoan the change. Get over it! Transitions call for reinvention and recasting of programs—not core changes, perhaps, but enough change to create a sense of program ownership for the “new guy.” Transitions are opportunities for us to reassemble the diverse support base of byways to offer up new ideas. Remember that political personalities thrive on ideas and opportunities for action. Congressional or State officeholders are elected to do good things. They appreciate people and organizations that suggest good initiatives and opportunities. Show them the way to what politicians call “low hanging fruit” – easy victories. You’ll be building bridges that will be invaluable when the going is tough. Roadside Assistance Brochures, Rack Cards and Ads . . . Oh My! By Chel Ethun, Byways Resource Specialist Many byways are creating their own marketing pieces (also known as marketing collateral) to showcase their byways to the traveling public. There are so many options that it’s hard to decide what will work the best and what to spend money on. Many times, groups get caught up in the excitement of design without first figuring out what type of collateral piece would best serve their goals. You can imagine the letdown if your group spent hours and hours working on the fine details of how the cover looked for a brochure only to find out that there were no places to stock the brochure. It is best to answer a few questions first: What market are you trying to reach? Do you know who is interested in your byway? Do you know how that particular segment of the population is getting its information? Does the market pick up brochures, go to the Web, look at magazines or read bus boards? It is important to know who is interested and how they receive information before determining what to use as a marketing collateral piece. Are there distribution points to get your information out? Do they cost anything? There are many companies that have rack card displays—you know, those wooden or plastic displays in the entryway of businesses that have a large quantity of free brochures. Well, to put your brochure in one of those rack card displays is usually not free for the organization. Do you have the funds to cover that cost? Can visitors call to get more information? We have all seen the small ads in magazines with telephone numbers or addresses to write to get more information. Do you have a mechanism set up to respond to those inquiries? Do you know what quantity you will need? Printing large quantities usually lowers the per-unit expense, but there can be considerable costs for storage and distribution. Whew…that was a lot to think about and it was only a sample of the questions to ask your group when discussing marketing collateral. Now for some pointers for the fun stuff. . . design: One golden rule to follow when creating a collateral marketing piece is that the cover says EVERYTHING. (Not literally!) It gets attention and conveys the main reason to visit, and that’s all-important. The cover—or front or first visual—entices the traveling public to pick up the piece. Keep the cover/front simple and to the point. List your byway’s name, location and state the byway’s “essence.” This can be done without words. Sometimes a picture says a thousand words; a characteristic image of your byway with its name and location clearly spelled out will work hard to catch someone’s eye. Creating a tag line or simple phrase that captures the essence of the visitor experience on your byway will help as well. Be careful not to get caught up trying to please everyone. Think of your byway’s audiences and stick to what will entice them. Watering down a brochure with tons of pictures of everything to see and do just so anyone will find something exciting makes the entire piece confusing and seem less important to the audience that is really looking for that “something special” on your byway. Keep in mind how your collateral piece will be displayed. Will it be in a rack card display? Will it be on a countertop? Will it be on an illuminated advertisement? Will it be in a magazine? What portions of the piece are seen first? A beautiful brochure that has two thirds of its cover hidden by a display unit loses its impact. The decision to pick up your piece is usually based on the cover or first visual. Make it prominent. Finally, for all of the nationally designated Byways out there, don’t forget to use the America’s Byways(R) logo. Using the logo for your marketing materials helps build consistency and recognition for the collection of distinct and diverse roads designated by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation. You worked hard to be designated as one of America’s Byways(R), so use the logo with pride! For America’s Byways(R) logo usage guidelines, go to www.bywaysonline.org. For matters regarding the America’s Byways(R) brand and marketing, contact Patricia McNally at pmcnally@byways.org or Matthew Leffler Schulman at mschulman@byways.org. These are just a few considerations to keep in mind when creating collateral materials for your byway. Many byways have firsthand experience with very creative techniques that may be beneficial to your projects. Post your questions on the byways forum online (www.bywaysonline.org) or call a Byways Resource Specialist and we can help you figure out the answers to these and many more questions. Looking forward to seeing your byway information out there in the future! BOX: ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE is a regular column designed to provide working tools that byway groups can use to solve problems and be more effective. Send topic ideas to center@byways.org. BOX: Our Byways Resource Specialists are here to assist you. Find the Resource Center contact for your state on the Community website at www.bywaysonline.org/ contacts/rc_contacts.html. Call us toll-free at 1-800-4BYWAYS, Ext. 5, or contact your Byways Resource Specialist directly: Chel Ethun Direct: (218) 625-3303 methun@byways.org Susan Koschak Direct: (218) 625-3307 skoschak@byways.org Curt Pianalto Direct: (218) 625-3304 cpianalto@byways.org A Conversation With... Kevin E. Fry President, Scenic America 1. What is your background and how did you become involved with Scenic America? The bulk of my background has been in the area of communications and building public awareness. Just before coming to Scenic America in October 2004, I ran the communications department at Reading Is Fundamental, the world’s largest nonprofit children’s literacy organization. Before RIF, I spent several years consulting and writing for a variety of clients. But, most relevant to my work at Scenic America, for over a decade I worked at the American Institute of Architects and the American Architectural Foundation, directing their communications and public awareness efforts. While I was there, I executive produced two award-winning documentaries for PBS distribution about the role of design and planning in shaping communities and improving the quality of life. In many ways, Scenic America operates where the built and natural environments intersect, and the messages and principles I dealt with at AIA are the same ones we apply in Scenic America. 2. What is Scenic America and what services and programs do you have that byway leaders can tap into? Founded in 1982, Scenic America is the only national nonprofit organization dedicated solely to preserving and enhancing the scenic character of America’s communities and countryside. It was originally created by concerned citizens to combat the growing power of the outdoor advertising industry and the legislative perversion of the original purposes of the Highway Beautification Act. Today, of course, its mission is much broader. Through national advocacy efforts and technical assistance services, local and national projects, and the support of its State affiliates, Scenic America fights to reduce billboard blight and visual pollution; preserve the scenic character of the nation’s highways and byways; promote context-sensitive highway solutions; ensure the mitigation of the visual impact of cell phone towers and other intrusions in the landscape; and promote scenic easements and other strategies to protect open space and preserve irreplaceable scenic resources. Among the achievements of which we are most proud was our work with the coalition that founded the National Scenic Byways Program. We were also influential in establishing the core principles underpinning the concept of context-sensitive transportation solutions, and have been an active advocate for strengthening the role of scenic conservation in Federal transportation legislation. We are very happy to announce that we have just established a contract with the America’s Byways(R) Resource Center to conduct a series of scenic conservation workshops on six byways over the next couple of years and will make our staff available to byways leaders to answer scenic conservation questions via phone and email. On behalf of the Resource Center we wrote the guidebook Conserving Our Treasured Places: Managing Visual Quality on Scenic Byways, which you can get free of charge through the Center. 3. A lot of efforts seem to be about opposing or stopping something— like billboards, cell towers, sprawl. Your website says that “change is inevitable.” What are some positive changes you are working toward? Of course, we see stopping blight and visual clutter as a positive change! Our motto, “Change is inevitable. Ugliness is not,” reflects our belief that growth, development and new technologies will always be with us, but that they don’t have to create more blight or reduce the quality of life. It’s all about choices. We can choose to build with intelligence, care and a conscious recognition of the importance of protecting scenic values and the character of communities, or we can do things in the same old way, with disastrous consequences. The world as we know it didn’t just magically descend out of the sky, it was placed there by people making countless decisions about what is built, where things are placed and what they look like. The questions are basic: How do we want to live? What matters to us? What values are expressed by the places we create and the nature of the intrusions we permit in our landscapes and cityscapes? Our hope is that citizens and decision makers come to understand what is at stake when choices are made and include in the decision-making process a strong bias toward preserving visual qualities, protecting our scenic heritage and building beautifully. 4. What’s on the horizon for Scenic America? What impacts should we watch for over the next 10 to 20 years? Scenic America will continue to expand its efforts to encourage scenic conservation along transportation corridors, including byways. We will work to encourage State transportation departments to adopt context-sensitive design principles and make those core concepts a permanent part of the departments’ culture. But our most challenging work will continue to be in fighting against blight and visual intrusions in the landscape and within our cities. For example, there is an increasing threat from an explosion of outdoor advertising in virtually every corner of the country. New billboard technologies, including electronic signs, giant wall wraps, murals and the like, are transforming both rural landscapes and city centers. This increasingly aggressive posture by the industry, combined with its strategy of attacking local sign ordinances in the courts, will be a major issue for Scenic America—and for many communities along byways. If Scenic America and other like-minded organizations lose this battle, the next 10 years will be bleak ones for those concerned with visual blight and the increasing commercialization of the public realm. We are currently raising money to hire technical staff in order to fight back and stem the tide of ugliness. 5. How do you define the relationship between Scenic America and the National Scenic Byways Program? And what is your vision for the Program? The National Scenic Byways Program has always been one of our most cherished partnerships, and has been since we worked with the American Recreation Coalition and others to create it 15 years ago. We hope we can continue to serve the byways Program in two ways: by offering direct technical assistance to byways seeking ways to enhance and preserve scenic resources and by continuing our efforts to work with our coalition partners to build political support in Congress in advance of the next reauthorization round in 2009. Our vision, of course, is for a robust, well-funded system, with byways in every State, bringing Americans closer to the land and to the wonderful communities and attractions, both natural and manmade, that make our country so diverse and remarkable. Some areas of focus that we think merit attention are: * Ensuring that resources are available to keep the “scenic” in scenic byways. * Generating long-term political support for the collection. * Ensuring that standards of quality continue to be met on all byways, particularly on those that have been in the system the longest. * Finding ways to ensure continued local leadership for each byway in the long term. * Increasing public awareness of the collection, both locally and nationally, by using methods as diverse as better wayfinding systems and more aggressive publicity. * More research on the economic and social benefits of the byways system. 6. The actual experience is never quite as pretty as the marketing pictures. What advice do you have so we can draw travelers to byways and keep our integrity? Travelers are seeking genuine experiences, not perfect ones. The pretty pictures need to be matched by a traveling experience that leaves the visitor thinking they saw something real. The best way to do that is to preserve, protect and defend the intrinsic qualities that led to the byway designation in the first place. Of course, for Scenic America, getting rid of ugly intrusions like billboards, overhead power lines, poorly placed cell towers and the strip-mall sprawl that makes every place look like every other place, is the best thing you can do to make sure visitors don’t leave wondering “what was so scenic about that?” Keep the “scenic” in your scenic byway and all those people who crave beauty and authenticity will beat a path to your byway. Remember, America’s Byways(R) are the best reality show in town! 7. We seem to want to do it all-—preserve, develop, use, conserve-— but can we? The simple answer is no, of course not. You can’t preserve everything, develop everything, use everything and conserve everything, all at once. But you can preserve conscientiously, develop thoughtfully, use responsibly and conserve appropriately. It’s all about the choices we make and the values that underlie them. If decision makers, including developers, public officials, businesses and citizens, make choices within a framework of genuine concern about the scenic, cultural and historic character of our communities, then things will come out alright in the end, even if we never achieve a standard of perfection. 8. What places and resources in the country do you hope will be the same 100 years from now as they are today? None of them. We can always do better. Even our most cherished and pristine natural environments can be better managed and protected, and certainly virtually every place, every landscape, every streetscape, every historic and cultural resource, can be improved. If 100 years from now we understand better that our quality of life is enhanced when we incorporate an ethic of conservation, preservation and beauty in every decision we make, nothing will be the same—-I hope! Beyond The Gym: Promoting Health In Public Spaces by Jane Wargo Working with nontraditional partners to promote places to be active is an important part of the work of many physical activity and health promotion professionals today. For years, health professionals, aerobics instructors and weight-lifting gurus have promoted exercise as a key to good health. Today, public health professionals and nontraditional health promotion partners, such as recreation specialists, elected officials and CEOs, are joining the push for active living. Physical activity is any bodily movement that results in energy expenditure (a.k.a. calorie burn). With two thirds of American adults either overweight or obese, burning calories is a new obsession--and for good reason. Increasing rates of chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease, and skyrocketing medical costs due to the treatment of these diseases, are taxing our healthcare system. This article provides a glimpse of some places and initiatives promoting a more active America and the importance of working together to get the job done. As you'll see here, being active for improved physical and mental health doesn't have to mean spending hours in the gym. America’s Byways(R) Byways afford travelers the opportunity to see pieces of our history. Byways offer routes to destinations, and they may also provide access to close-to-home recreation. For example, the George Washington Memorial Parkway (GW Parkway) in northern Virginia is crowded during the week with commuters driving to and from work. At other times, tourists travel the GW Parkway to visit Mt. Vernon, historic Alexandria or the monuments and museums in our nation’s capital. Still others travel the Mount Vernon trail— the off-road bicycle and pedestrian pathway running parallel to the GW Parkway and the Potomac River. The trail offers users the chance to see the sites of Washington and northern Virginia while being active. The GW Parkway provides one example of the hundreds of similar byway-accessible spaces available to the public, and the activities one can do on or in these spaces aren’t limited to walking, running and biking. Canoeing, fishing, camping and bird watching are examples of other activities that people may not think of in relation to improving personal fitness or health. Identifying and promoting alternatives to traditional weight training or aerobics classes are important steps to help engage people who are turned off by some of the old connotations of exercise and fitness, such as “no pain, no gain.” These audiences may include older adults, people with disabilities and individuals who may already be overweight or obese. Getting Active on Public Lands In a Vistas article two years ago, Dr. Michael Suk first introduced readers to the work of the Public Health and Recreation Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Federal land and water management and public health agencies were brought together to recognize the important connection between our health and our natural resources: specifically, promoting health on public lands through physical activity and good nutrition. Last year, a team of researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published findings which indicate that people who volunteer on environmental projects are 2.5 times as likely to meet the minimum recommendation for physical activity participation (at least 30 minutes of moderate activity on five or more days per week) when compared to adults who do not participate in such activities (Librett, J., Yore, M., Buchner, D., & Schmid, T. (2005). Take pride in America’s health: volunteering as a gateway to physical activity. Am J Health Ed, 36(1), 8-13.) This research puts the spotlight on an issue around which the MOU can coalesce. Picking up trash a couple of times a month or year won’t make a person fit, but it may be one way to help kick-start an active lifestyle. For instance, a volunteer working on a conservation project may begin to take more interest in being outdoors and, therefore, be more interested in enjoying other outdoor areas, (e.g., walking, swimming or skiing in a national park, or playing a pick-up game of basketball at a local recreation center). Research from the Outdoor Industry Foundation (OIF) shows that 90% of people who participate in outdoor recreation were introduced to their sport or activity between the ages of 5 and 18, and the majority of those individuals were introduced to that activity by a family member or guardian (Outdoor Industry Foundation. (2004, January). Exploring the active lifestyle: An Outdoor Industry Foundation consumer outreach report. Executive Summary). What might the implications be to health if a concentrated effort was made to help or encourage parents and guardians to introduce their children to the wonder and pleasure of outdoor activities? This could be accomplished through recreational or educational visits to parks and historical monuments or a camping trip accessed by one of America’s Byways®. Some of the agencies on the MOU, including the USDA Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management have partnered with OIF and other organizations on the development of the Get Fit With US! media campaign (photo of campaign ad). The goal of the campaign is to raise the profile of America’s public lands and waters—to let the public know these lands are accessible and may be closer to home than they think. The campaign encourages spending time with family and children on these lands and waters as a great alternative to a weekend or vacation spent on the couch or in a hotel room. Get Fit With US! is a stellar example of the importance of working with partners to deliver an important message and engage the American public. As mentioned earlier, there may be a connection to volunteerism and physical activity. Do America’s Byways(R) need help with trash pick-up or maintenance? Is there a local school or faith-based group that is interested in promoting physical and environmental health with which byway groups can partner? Remember that good health is just as important at work as it is at home. Encouraging and supporting activity among employees is important. Small changes, such as taking the stairs, going for a walk at lunch instead of eating at the desk, choosing healthy snacks and eating them throughout the day instead of gorging on a calorie-laden meal at lunch, and providing healthier alternatives to the typical croissant and extra-large muffin breakfast meeting, help produce big rewards over time (e.g., decreased body fat, improved mood and greater productivity) and can help to change a culture. Promoting health by improving lifestyle habits, such as physical activity, won’t happen overnight and it will take a village to get the job done! Jane Wargo is a program analyst with the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. Visit the Council’s websites www.fitness.gov or www.presidentschallenge.org for more physical activity and fitness information. PHOTOS: Scenic passes make the Energy Loop a delightful and challenging bike ride. Public domain. Two hikers enjoy a breathtaking view high in the wild Selkirk Mountains. The International Selkirk Loop route includes many access points to trailheads in Washington, Idaho and British Columbia, where visitors can enjoy spectacular scenery with no crowds—unless you count the wildlife! Public domain. A bicyclist enjoys a scenic ride in LBJ Memorial Grove along the George Washington Memorial Parkway. Public domain. For Your Reference HISTORIC PRESERVATION LEARNING PORTAL The Historic Preservation Learning Portal is a website that provides links to historic preservation information and training on more than 1,000 Federal, State, tribal, educational and nonprofit websites. Users can log on and ask questions to find i information and links to help with specific topics. The web portal is a multi-agency e-gov project of the National Park Service and housed by the Federal Preservation Institute. Visit www.historicpreservation.gov. ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF TRAILS AND GREENWAYS This four-page fact sheet by the Trails and Greenways Clearinghouse provides insight into the economic benefits of having trails and greenways in your community, including increasing property values, building local economies and benefiting the environment. A list of helpful resources is also included. View the fact sheet at: http://www.trailsandgreenways.org/ resources/benefits/topics/tgc_economic.pdf TRAIL USER SURVEY WORKBOOK The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and Trail Facts Interactive Marketing, with support from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation, have published a trail survey workbook called, How to conduct a survey and win support for your trail: sample surveys and methods. The workbook includes survey templates and information about how to design your survey and methods to collect, record, analyze and report your data. To view the workbook and templates, go to http://www.trailsandgreenways.org/ resources/highlights/online/default.asp Dear Kate Bolder: E-mail your questions for Kate to center@byways.org with the words “Be Bold” in the subject line. Dear Kate: We just had our Byways Resource Specialist come out to our Byway for some consulting and assistance. But now it seems like there's even more work for us to do! Shouldn't there be less? Sincerely, Suddenly Swamped Dear Swimming Upstream, You’d think so, wouldn’t you? However, think about what consulting is and what you can expect to get out of it—whether you hire a consultant or call the America’s Byways(R) Resource Center. Your Byway organization has goals and a plan to accomplish them. Sometimes you might want help with something like setting strategic goals, prioritizing, conflict management or problem solving. Bringing in a neutral person to organize and facilitate a process can be an effective way to generate action. Of course, the key here is that a consultant helps with the process, makes recommendations and facilitates decision making. Then, well, the consultant leaves. You and your group are still left to do the work. The advantage is that now the work should be set out in a way that makes it manageable and focused on results. So, although it seems like there’s more work to do, it may simply be that the work is broken into several smaller steps that you will tackle one at a time. Remember that your State Scenic Byways Coordinator is there to support your work and guide your efforts. The National Scenic Byways Program considers that person, along with the FHWA Division office in your State, to be your first point of contact for Byway concerns. You can find out who your contacts are on www.bywaysonline.org. Consultants don’t do your work; they help you do your work better. They should also be available if you have questions about their recommendations or reports. Be bold and ask if you need to! Grab a paddle and get in the current, Kate 2006 Calendar (Send calendar entries by the 5th of each month to center@byways.org) MAY May 4-6, 2006 Southwest Regional Land Trust Conference San Antonio, Texas Land Trust Alliance For more information, please visit: www.lta.org May 5-7, 2006 The 2006 Partnership for the National Trails System Historic Trails Workshop Kansas City, Missouri For more information, please visit: www.octa-trails.org/about_octa/events_ calendar.html#PNTSworkshop May 6-10, 2006 International Pow Wow Orlando, Florida Travel Industry Association of America (TIA) For more information, please visit: www.tia.org May 15-18, 2006 Interpreting World Heritage San Juan, Puerto Rico The National Association for Interpretation (NAI) For more information, please visit: www.interpnet.com/iwh May 15-19, 2006 Adapting to New Realities: 2006 NARRP Conference Nashville, Tennessee National Association of Recreation Resource Planners For more information, please visit: www.narrp.org JUNE June 3, 2006 National Trails Day For more information, please visit: www.americanhiking.org/events/ntd/index.html June 7-11, 2006 International Snowmobile Congress Burlington, Vermont For more information, please visit: http://vtvast.org/ISC_06/ISC_Info.htm June 9-11, 2006 Northeast Regional Land Trust Conference Saratoga Springs, New York Land Trust Alliance For more information, please visit: www.lta.org June 20-23, 2006 IMBA Summit/World Mountain Bike Conference Whistler, British Columbia For more information, please visit: www.worldmountainbikeconference.com/ conferencehome.asp AUGUST August 7-10, 2006 State Coordinator and FHWA Division Contact Training Workshop (by invitation only) Minneapolis, Minnesota For more information, please visit: dadams@byways.org August 13-16, 2006 National Rural ITS Conference: Last Best Place Big Sky, Montana For more information, please visit: www.coe.montana.edu/wti August 18-23, 2006 2006 AASHTO National Civil Rights Conference Minneapolis, Minnesota For more information, please visit: www.dot.state.mn.us/aashto SEPTEMBER September 13-15, 2006 Tools of the Trade: 10th National Conference Nashville, Tennessee Center for Transportation Research For more information, please visit: www.trbtoolsofthetrade.org/conference.html September 26-29, 2006 URISA 44th Annual Conference Vancouver, British Columbia Urban & Regional Information Systems Association For more information, please visit: www.urisa.org OCTOBER October 12-15, 2006 Rally 2006: National Land Conservation Conference Nashville, Tennessee Land Trust Alliance For more information, please visit: www.lta.org/training/rally.htm October 18-19, 2006 State Trail Administrators Meeting (by invitation only) Quad Cities Iowa/Illinois National Association of State Trail Administrators and the Federal Highway Administration For more information, please visit: www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/rectrails/ stam2006/index.htm October 19-22, 2006 National Trails Symposium Quad Cities Iowa/Illinois American Trails For more information, please visit: www.americantrails.org/quad/index.html October 31 – November 5, 2006 National Preservation Conference 2006 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania For more information, please visit: www.nthpconference.org NOVEMBER November 7-11, 2006 National Interpreters’ Workshop Albuquerque, New Mexico The National Association for Interpretation For more information, please visit: www.interpnet.com/niw2006 EVENTS IN 2007 May 2007 National Scenic Byways Conference Details coming soon! September 2007 National Historic and Scenic Trails Conference Duluth, MN National Park Service, National Trails System Details coming soon!