CULTURE AND TOURISM

• ANCA shared cooperative strategies to encourage regional and local economic development through sustainable tourism with a focus on outdoor recreation balancing community development with tourism and preservation of the byway community resources.
• ANCA hosted a public meeting The Intersection of Tourism Planning and Community Development on April 27, 2005 that was attended by 65 guests. At the meeting ANCA released CD copy of the Corridor Management Plans for the Olympic and Adirondack Byways. ANCA also did a mail distribution of the CDs to 200 stakeholders involved in the planning process. Stakeholders included planners, city/town/village government officials, tourism representatives, businesses, civic groups and organizations, concerned residents, and economic/community development organizations involved in the planning process.
• ANCA involved NYS Department of Transportation staff including Nancy Alexander, New York State DOT Scenic Byways Program Manager from the Albany office and Anna Forbes, Scenic Byways Coordinator for NYSDOT Region 7 in the April 27th meeting.
• Presentation of completed plans for the Olympic corridor along Routes 3, 86 and 9N in Jefferson, Lewis, St. Lawrence, Franklin, Essex and Clinton counties and for the Adirondack corridor in communities along Routes 30 and 30A in Franklin, Hamilton, Fulton and Montgomery counties. The Olympic Byway project resulted in planning services in 6 counties, 14 towns, 12 villages and 1 city. The Adirondack Trail corridor planning project enabled ANCA to provide planning services to 4 counties; 16 towns, and 6 villages.

• Continued oversight of the Central Adirondack Byway Corridor Management Plan and Ann Ruzow Holland’s work in the communities and the Warren County Planning and Community Development Department, the Herkimer County Area Development Corporation, and CAP-21’s work to provide local planning input to the project.
• Mapped all Byway communities along the Central Adirondack corridor in Oneida, Herkimer, Hamilton and Warren Counties. Mapped information included the following: tourist services, Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Centers, railroads and excursion lines, airports, buses and other State Byway connections. resource lists of local historical, recreational, natural and cultural resources that are open to the public or owned/operated by not-for-profits.
• ANCA continued work with the Tug Hill Commission in their preparation of the final corridor maps for the Central Adirondack Byway and corresponding resource keys for the project.
• Hosted the East and West Local Action Committees consisting of stakeholders from Oneida, Herkimer, Hamilton, and Warren Counties to discuss issues, needs and opportunities regarding tourism, marketing and promotion, community economic development, transportation and community design, and recreation.
• Developed a Central Adirondack Byway Project Steering Committee to provide a regional perspective and oversight to the project work. The committee was comprised of representatives from county tourism, economic development and planning departments, an Adirondack historian, NYSDOT, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, and Empire State Development and met on two occasions in 2005.
• The Central Adirondack Trail planning project resulted in outreach to four counties, seventeen towns, six villages and two cities. The completed plan was submitted to staff at NYSDOT at the close of the year.

• During 2005 ANCA developed a scope of work and budget for the development of the Black River Corridor Management Plan and selected the NYS Tug Hill Commission to coordinate the project planning work.
• Development of a work plan with the Tug Hill Commission that linked the NYS Department of State Blueway project and community planning for the Black River to the community outreach that will be necessary to discuss the Black River Byway.

• Addressed the potential for new project initiatives such as a proposed Arts Festival for North Country Byways.
• Attendance at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Community Exchange Day at Star Lake resulted in discussions with the Clifton Fine Economic Development Corporation about the Olympic Byway and goals to address pedestrian safety issues.
• ANCA hosted a display table for the Scenic Byways Program at the Band Shell in Saranac Lake.
• ANCA hosted a display table for the Scenic Byways Program with the Nature Conservancy at Saranac Lake’s Community Fair for the North Country.
• ANCA provided Byway program information to LA Associates for a public display in Malone to support the Waterfront planning initiative in the Village of Malone along the Salmon River.
• In September ANCA hosted a table at the Energy Fair in Harrietstown that was sponsored by the NY Power Authority and Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation.
• Staff provided the Adirondack Park Agency with Byway logos for interpretive project planning for the eastern end of the Adirondack Park and including the Adirondack Trail, Roosevelt Marcy and Blue Ridge Byways.

• ANCA continued to manage private funding from a variety of sources toward the Town of North Elba’s goal to develop a rails-with-trails project as a connective pathway between the Lake Placid and Saranac Lake communities.
• ANCA assisted with review of the design plans presented by URS and attended a July meeting with NYSDOT, APA, URS and town representatives to review the set-back requirements from the rail initially proposed by NYSDOT and which became subject to additional review.
• ANCA worked with the Town of North Elba to review set-back requirements in preparation for the finalization of the design plan, and to prepare for the development of a wetland mitigation plan and the submission of a complete Adirondack Park Agency permit application.

• ANCA continued its participation with the Adirondack Park Mountain Bicycling Initiative (APMBI) and secured $25,000 in funding through the Adirondack North Country Community Enhancement Program (ANCCEP) toward an On-line Bicycle Atlas.
• Development of an On-Line Atlas at www.bikeadirondacks.org. The website has been sponsored by ANCA and developed and managed by Holmes and Associates for the bicycling community.

• ANCA worked in partnership with the Tupper Lake Chamber of Commerce in the development of a Bicycle/Pedestrian network in the Village that connects with the two Crossroad Byways of the Olympic and Adirondack Byways.
• The "Crossroads of the Adirondacks" map publication was released in 2005 and utilized funding secured by ANCA through the NYS Department of Transportation for the project.

• ANCA developed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks in the development of an Adirondack Trail Byway: Interpretive Boardwalk Project. The project will benefit from $84,000 in funding secured by ANCA through the NYS Department of Transportation Scenic Byways program toward the $109,955 total project cost. During 2005 the museum has made significant progress in the building of the boardwalk.

• ANCA received funding for the design of the Saranac Lake to Plattsburgh section of a Northern Forest Canoe Trail map. With the completion of the map, the three segments of the New York portion of the trail—Old Forge to Long Lake, Long Lake to Saranac Lake and Saranac Lake to Plattsburgh—will be completed. In combination the three New York maps establish New York’s presence on the 740-mile waterway which connects Old Forge, New York to Port Kent, Maine.

• In early 2005 ANCA completed its fiscal and contractual management of the Champlain Strategic Marketing Plan and Marketing Project, the Washington County Planning Project, the Vermont Audio Project and the Champlain Canal Marketing Project that ANCA administered for Lakes to Locks.
• Final reports were prepared by Lakes to Locks staff and submitted by ANCA to the NYSDOT to complete the projects.
• With Lakes to Locks successful transition to a not-for-profit corporation, which began in early 2003, and the completion of the ANCA managed projects for LTL, there is no additional need for ANCA to directly manage any projects for Lakes to Locks Passage.

• ANCA worked in partnership with the Adirondack Regional Tourism Council in the development of a Byways marketing campaign that combines a regional auto touring map, Byway guidebook, television and web-based marketing with an 800 fulfillment call-in number and an email address.
• Development of the regional map which included regional information about bird viewing.
• Outline of the television and marketing campaign for implementation during 2006.

• Development of a contract agreement with the Adirondack Chapter of the Nature Conservancy for the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program. $99,925 in funding was made available to ANCA and the Conservancy through the NYSDOT’s Scenic Byways Program through the Federal Highway Administration and TEA-21 Program.
• Coordination by the Conservancy of a partnership program among the Adirondack Park Agency, NYSDEC, NYSDOT, and the Invasive Plant Council of New York State with the goal of preventing invasive plants from spreading.
• Targeting of project work to the Adirondack Trail and Olympic Byway, both of which are vital routes for the millions of visitors who come to the Adirondacks each year.

• Completion of a partnership project with the NYS Department of Transportation that enabled ANCA to contract with The Saratoga Associates and Wilbur Smith Associates to develop design guidelines for a portfolio to address Byway signage throughout New York State's Byway network.
• Completion of the New York State Scenic Byways Sign Manual which established an integrated process of signage and builds on the New York State Scenic Byways Sign Program goal to enhance the travel experience of visitors and residents and to improve the tourism and economic benefits of the Byway corridors.
• Distribution of 250 copies of the New York State Scenic Byways Sign Manual in print and CD copy to statewide and regional stakeholders involved in Byway planning and promotion.