**HERITAGE TOURISM**

Livable Rural Communities Conference Call Minutes

August 21, 2003

# Shana Baker, National Scenic Byways, Federal Highway Administration

> [http://www.byways.org](http://www.byways.org/)
>
> <shana.baker@fhwa.dot.gov>

-   National Scenic Byways program created and funded through the
    Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act and the
    Transportation Equity Act for the 21^st^ century to **preserve and
    protect the nation's roads and promote tourism**.

-   The vision of the program is to create a **distinctive collection of
    roads** that are historic and treasured places. The program serves
    as a resource for Byways communities and builds a unique travel
    experience for visitors.

-   The program's message aims a "Take the road less traveled" or "Stop
    and enjoy yourself" idea to travelers.

-   The Secretary of Transportation recognizes and designates roads with
    **"intrinsic qualities":** archaeological, cultural, historic,
    natural, recreational, and/or scenic.

-   Designated roads **receive grants and technical assistance and help
    with marketing**. Since 1991 the Secretary has provided about \$202
    million for about 1400 projects in 48 states. In FY03, 206 projects
    in 42 states received \$24 million.

-   Participation in the national program is voluntary. Each state is
    encouraged to have its own program to designate **State Scenic
    Byways**, and the program has always taken a **grassroots/bottom-up
    approach**.

-   Roads can be **designated as** **National Scenic Byways or
    All-American roads**. All-American roads must possess multiple
    intrinsic qualities and have national significance, while NSB can
    have one quality. There are 95 designated roads in 39 states for a
    total of 24,000 miles.

-   Roads must have a **corridor management plan** to specify actions
    and procedures that maintain the intrinsic qualities.

-   Eight activities on designated roads are eligible for grants, among
    them: marketing programs for projects on the road, constructing
    bicycle or pedestrian facilities, constructing interpretation
    facilities, improvements to recreational access, and safety
    improvements.

-   The program's popularity is seen in recent media
    attention---everything from MSNBC to local grocery store
    publications.

-   Federal Highway Administration provides free maps for the
    collection.

-   Nominations are generally accepted every two years---not quite sure
    when the next designation will occur.

-   Examples of roads: Washington Heritage Trail in West Virginia; Selma
    to Montgomery road in Alabama designated for its historical value to
    the civil rights movement.

**Question**: The Byways program has less regulations than other federal
programs, but is there a requirement that designated roads can't have
**billboards**? (from Scott Standish)

**Answer**: Yes, **Byways cannot have outdoor advertising,** and the
Department realizes it's a contentious issue. No outdoor advertising can
be added to Byways, and if a nominated road has billboards, the
nominating state should look into alternative segmentation---nominating
the part of the road without billboards.

**Question**: What opportunities exist for local/state/national rural
organizations to pull together information needed for a designation?
(from Rick Chapman)

**Answer**: **All nominations have to come through the state**---many
states have a state Scenic Byways Coordinator. Part of the program's
mission is to continue to educate communities that it's more than just a
program to promote "scenic" views. Whatever is treasured or valued by a
community should have an opportunity to be nominated. Grants go through
the state DOT, but nominations come to the national FHWA.

**Question**: ISTEA and TEA-21 have a lack of strength for rural
transportation planning---what can be recommended for getting money and
strength into rural planning? Some states have very strong county
highway engineers-state highway engineers systems that leave rural
people out. (from Rick Chapman)

**Answer**: (from Liz Fischer) A rule was published earlier this year
*requiring* states to consult with local elected and appointed
officials. The state has until February 24, 2004 to document its
process, and FHWA will ensure that there is follow-up.

**Question**: What about tribal access to the designations? Do tribes
still have to coordinate through the state or directly with FHWA? (from
Wayne Lindemans)

**Answer**: Pyramid Lake in Nevada has a designation on its land.
Funding was provided to the tribe, but as a pass-through from FHWA to
the state. Byways on tribal lands hasn't been a topic FHWA has much
experience with yet.

**Question**: **Must a Byway be a road**?

**Answer**: **No---ferryways and waterways are eligible.** There is one
in Alaska.

**Carolyn Brackett, National Trust for Historic Preservation *and*
Advisory Council**

**on Historic Preservation**

> <http://www.nationaltrust.org/heritage_tourism>
>
> [http://www.achp.gov](http://www.achp.gov/)
>
> <carolyn_brackett@nthp.org>

-   The travel industry has experienced a lot of problems in recent
    years, but since people are traveling closer to home and to places
    they feel comfortable, **heritage tourism is the one tourism area
    that's seen an increase**. The increase has been especially marked
    in rural areas.

-   The National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) got involved in
    Heritage Tourism about fifteen years ago. The **Main Streets
    program** began in the 1970s and as downtown revitalization occurred
    throughout the country, communities wanted to work on accommodating
    visitors and revitalizing even more communities.

-   The National Endowment for the Arts provided NTHP with a grant to
    start a Heritage Tourism initiative program. The success led to NTHP
    making Heritage Tourism a permanent program---Amy Webb in Colorado
    is the Director.

-   The success stemmed from the growth of interest in **utilizing
    heritage tourism for both economic development and preservation**.

-   The Heritage Tourism program does contract work across the country
    in both urban and rural areas.

-   **Five Principles** underline the NTHP program:

    -   **Collaborate**: it's impossible to have a successful Heritage
        Tourism program without bringing different interests together

    -   **Fit with Community**: Differentiates Heritage Tourism. The
        program should take into account what the community wants,
        what's important to them, what they want (and don't want) to
        share. St. Augustine, FL with 12,000 residents and 6 million
        annual visitors has struggled with deciding whose opinions
        matter more and concerns about capacity to accommodate such high
        numbers.

    -   **Make sites and programs come alive**: A growing number of
        heritage tourism travelers means a growing number of attractions
        and more competition. A successful program is interactive and
        makes the site/resource come alive. **People won't travel just
        to read signs.**

    -   **Authenticity:** Visitors expect to see and hear the real
        story. Give them more than what they learned in school---visits
        to historic sites can be a primary means for folks to learn
        about our history.

    -   **Preserve and Protect:** The program must plan how to
        preserve/protect the resource or visitors won't have anything to
        visit!

-   NTHP has several **publications** that might interest groups trying
    to start a rural tourism program. "Stories Across America" focuses
    specifically on rural tourism.

-   The **Share Your Heritage** program, now funded through USDA's Rural
    Development Program, provides 2 ½ day workshops for local
    communities to learn how to move a heritage tourism project plan
    forward. This program has generated a lot of interest from rural
    communities.

-   Communities can apply to be designated as **Preserve America
    Communities** through an application process to be announced at the
    end of September. Communities will receive publicity and support
    through the Advisory Council for Historic Preservation.

-   Advisory Council staff are working on what other services will be
    available and what can be done to encourage heritage tourism.

-   A **Presidential Award component** will focus on historic
    preservation through heritage tourism.

-   A series of events have brought together federal agencies with
    interests in heritage tourism or historic preservation to talk about
    how to be a resource for heritage tourism development. Next time
    looking to bring in heritage tourism coordinators from the States.

-   The national council of State Historic Preservation Officers (SHPOs)
    adopted a strategic plan at their July meeting that includes a
    section on heritage tourism and a goal of finding a way to assist
    heritage tourism projects.

# Scott Standish, Lancaster County Heritage

> [http://www.lancastercountyheritage.com](http://www.lancastercountyheritage.com/)
>
> <standish@co.lancaster.pa.us>

-   Established that people think of the Amish, roadside markets, and a
    simpler lifestyle when they think of Lancaster; now **working to
    present the fuller multitude of resources Lancaster
    offers---cultural, historical, and archaeological**

-   Goal of presenting stories of how people have interacted with their
    heritage---presenting a **"sense of place"**

-   **Sprawl and unmanaged growth and how to make tourism a sustainable
    part of the area's economy identified as challenges.**

-   Pennsylvania began its Heritage Tourism initiatives in 1994, and
    Lancaster worked with Amy Webb at NTHP.

-   Focus is on a countywide perspective with the aim of making the
    program beneficial to visitors and residents

-   Emphasis on the **smart growth-planning-tourism connection** because
    a need exists to manage growth to preserve tourism viability

-   Lancaster has utilized the NTHP principles for its success:

    -   **Collaboration with local tourism and historic preservation
        groups** key. The three entities created an advisory council and
        partnership that decided after a three year pilot to continue
        because heritage tourism makes sense in Lancaster County.

    -   The development of **guidelines and criteria for Authenticity
        awards a "seal of approval" to events, sites, or services** that
        qualify as authentic historic resources. The attraction must
        have established hours, interpretative resources, and tell the
        Lancaster story (important for tying to local heritage and
        community pride). **Over 100 attractions have met the criteria**
        and can use the "seal" in marketing materials and banners.

        -   Only 1 out of 4 or 5 Amish interpretative sites would
            actually qualify as authentic. **Local Amish people on the
            committee help decide on authenticity.**

        -   The Authenticity seal is **open to the private sector**,
            e.g. Bed & Breakfasts or restaurants that provide
            interpretative information.

    -   Make It Come Alive---attractions must entice people and be
        interactive and engaging. People need to experience the
        attraction, and **when they leave they become ambassadors to
        their home communities.**

        -   This can be a challenge for smaller non-profits.

    -   Protecting Resources---people come to Lancaster to see the
        farmland and the rural experience. **Planning must protect these
        from sprawling growth.**

    -   Fit with the community---why Lancaster has been successful. The
        community is involved and have made tourism the way they want
        it. Citizens wanted to encourage bicycle and pedestrian tourism,
        and so it's been done. **The Community must be involved.**

-   Lancaster has had a moratorium on new Authentic site designations
    for the last two years as part of planning for a regional effort to
    include nearby York.

-   Now looking to expand **Authenticity designation to products** like
    foodstuff or Amish-crafted furniture. Also looking to develop
    **local scenic byways**.

-   **Heritage tourism should build sustainable tourism that the
    community views with pride.**

**Question:** Does Lancaster do skill-building workshops for sites who
want to meet the Authenticity guidelines? (from Tordis Isselhardt)

**Answer:** Yes. The goal is to have 200 services, sites, and events
qualify. The Authenticity guidelines are meant to be inclusionary, not
exclusionary.

**Comment:** Getting collaboration is not giving artists or groups a
form to fill out---it's putting miles on your car and forming
connections and relationships with people. Promoters of heritage tourism
need to make people understand why the program will be beneficial. (from
Carolyn Brackett)

**Comment:** Heritage tourism is not right for every place. Some places
still have a concern about outsiders---Lancaster is keeping itself
sustainable and following its vision by listening to those concerns,
while trying to pull attention away from a strip that had culturally
insensitive and inauthentic attractions. (from Scott Standish)

**Comment:** A program in Florida has brought together 8-9 rural
counties from Tampa to Tallahassee to create a brochure for a tour by
automobile. The tour looks at the culture, heritage, and environment of
the area. People can explore the whole area with the brochure. The
brochure is ready for a second printing, and finding the money for a
second printing has been difficult. (from Maggie Ericson)

**Comment:** A success like that can encourage people to get on board
with the program. It creates entrepreneurial opportunities. People find
resources to showcase, and more volunteers get interested. (from Scott
Standish)

**Comment:** It's the sustainability of the program that matters. A
community can have a wonderful pamphlet, but when it comes time for the
next printing, the funds can run out and the program ends. (from Carolyn
Brackett)

**Comment:** Shelley Johnson at the Southwest Louisiana Visitors and
Convention Bureau would be a good person to contact for ideas. The
program started out very small there in an isolated part of the state
that doesn't get a lot of out-of-state visitors. But they've had major
coordination efforts and focused on the community vision. (from Liz
Fischer)

**Comment:** Carrie Post with Florida USA could also be helpful (from
Maggie Ericson)

**Question:** What kind of investments beyond social capital are needed
to get these operations going? Does the NTHP workshop address how small
communities can calculate the fiscal impacts of heritage tourism? People
need to look realistically at what they must develop. (from Trish
Contour)

**Answer:** The NTHP Share Your Heritage workshop in West Virginia
addressed measurements of success at length. They have a checklist for
people to identify what it takes to develop a successful program and how
to determine if that program is successful. Success measures can be
obvious in economic development and jobs, while other groups may measure
saving a building or educating young people so they want to stay in the
community. A whole range of successes are possible, and the
collaboration process brings together people who don't always "speak the
same language" and would likewise have different values for success.
Communities must keep in mind local politics and that the process always
takes more time than expected. (from Carolyn Brackett---that checklist
is available from Carolyn)

**Question:** How can communities identify what resources they have that
are suitable for heritage tourism? (from Jenna Musselman)

**Answer:** We don't usually see the resources in our communities.
Bringing in a consultant to look at the community with fresh eyes can be
really helpful. NTHP does a lot of assessment reports. On the flipside,
sometimes communities think they have a tourist attraction, but the
resource really doesn't have the potential. The community must honestly
look for what a visitor would want or expect. (from Carolyn Brackett)
**Answer2:** The Byways program provides a resource center for
communities preparing for a byway inventory. It's an excellent tool for
communities to determine what they have. (from Shana Baker---"Byway
Beginnings" resource available by email)

**Question/Comment:** In Maine, a community worked really hard at
developing an inland trail as a beautiful natural resource, but it's not
being taken advantage of because it's in a very rural area and is
inland. The community is trying to renegotiate with the state to
redefine "downtown redevelopment" to include a stretch of miles around
the downtown so that more rural areas can receive attention. It's
difficult for the rural area to connect with more urban criteria. How
can they better market themselves so people would be interested in
stopping in? (from Trish Contour).

**Answer/Comment**: The Delaware/Lehigh Natural Resource Area has been
successful in connecting rural areas with the Circuit Rider approach, as
has Kentucky. The small towns couldn't maintain their own Main Streets
representative. (from Carolyn Brackett)

**Answer/Comment:** A consultant from North Carolina spoke at a recent
conference in Albuquerque, NM about marketing communities. The advice
dealt with working with what a community is known for---it can be quirky
or weird, but if that's what's drawing people and attention, don't
change it. People come for the unique and authentic experience. (from
Shana Baker)

**Comment:** It can sometimes be difficult for smaller places to
accommodate tourists at the level visitors have come to expect. Just
providing bathroom facilities is a challenge for some of the smaller
non-profits. Finding funding to help can be challenging.. (from Scott
Standish)

**Comment:** And also to meet the needs of international travelers. But
these tourists are very interested in rural communities. They want to
attend the rodeos and local fairs and see the individuality of places.

**Question:** How can a community focus tourism on the uniqueness of a
group, e.g. the Amish, without being seen as exploitative? (from Jenna
Musselman)

**Answer:** It's important to meet with people on their own turf. We
started with the Amish bishops. The worst thing to do is for a group to
change its culture for the benefit of tourism. You need to be inclusive
in general and engage people in telling the stories of their community.
Lancaster has a growing African-American and Hispanic community, and
everyone needs to be invited to the table. The goal is to tell the
American story in an authentic interpretation. (from Scott Standish)
**Answer2:** It's important to remember that a lot of stories in
American history are very difficult to tell. In Mississippi, telling the
story of the blues can't happen without telling the story of the civil
rights struggle. It's difficult to determine how to interpret---whose
interpretation will be told? People want tourism for economic
development, but deciding how to tell the story can challenge. (from
Carolyn Standish) **Comment:** It can also be a portal to healing. (from
Scott Standish) **Comment:** The stories of the American Indian children
in South Dakota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin is difficult. **Comment:**
At Plymouth Plantation (Massachusetts) they're presenting both sides and
leaving it up to individual viewers what to take away. (from Scott
Standish)

**Call Participants:**

Shana Baker U.S. Federal Highway Administration shana.baker@fhwa.dot.gov

Carolyn Brackett National Trust for Historic Preservation
carolyn_brackett@nthp.org

Rick Chapman Illinois Rural Development Council rchapman@adams.net

Patricia Kontur Maine Rural Development Council pkontu71@maine.edu

Maggie Ericson Florida Development mcte_512@yahoo.com

Liz Fischer U.S. Federal Highway Administration
elizabeth.fischer@fhwa.dot.gov

Tordis Isselhardt Vermont Scenery Preservation Council
tordis@imagesfromthepast.com

Lanier Laney Writer (SC) sweeneylan@yahoo.com

Wayne Lindemans Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewas
have_it_all@yahoo.com

Joyce McKay New Hampshire DOT jmckay@dot.state.nh.us

Jenna Musselman U.S. Department of Transportation
jenna.musselman@ost.dot.gov

Jim Roberg The State Bank of Cairo (NE) jroberg@charter.net

Mary Sivage U.S. Department of Transportation mary.sivage@ost.dot.gov

Scott Standish Lancaster County Heritage (PA)
standish@co.lancaster.pa.us