NTA, ARC Scenic Byways Pilot in National Park Centennial Challenge

• 
  SAVE
• 
  SHARE
• 
  TEXT SIZE
• 
  PRINT
• 
  COMMENT
• 
  PDF

. October 14, 2008

LEXINGTON, KY, August 28, 2007. Last week, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne and National Park Service Director Mary Bomar announced the projects included in the National Park Centennial Challenge, a public-private partnership that will fund $2 billion of President Bush's National Park Centennial Initiative. The Scenic Byways project, created as a partnership effort between the National Tour Association and the American Recreation Coalition, has been recognized as one of the 201 centennial proposals.

In January, NTA and ARC announced a pilot project to make multi-lingual digital commentary about features along the George Washington Memorial Parkway and the C & O Canal National Historical Park available for free on the Internet in Mp3 format. This project is now eligible for funding as part of the National Park Centennial Initiative, designed to increase NPS visitor services and satisfaction by 2016, the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service. The Centennial Initiative will match up to $100 million a year over 10 years of public money with $100 million a year for 10 years in private donations.

"The National Tour Association is delighted that our partnership effort with the George Washington Memorial Parkway and C&O Canal units is one of the 201 certified Centennial Challenge projects," said NTA Chairman and CEO Randy Julian. "NTA is pleased to be a supporting partner of the National Park Service in this first-ever effort by the tour and recreation industry to provide an educational tool for visitors to these two special places along the Potomac River and key features of the Nation's Capital Region. The Centennial Initiative will enhance the experiences of all visitors to our nation's national treasures."

If funded, the proposal would expand the pilot project to create 12-15 new podcasts for the George Washington Memorial Parkway and the C & O Canal National Historical Park. The podcasts would be translated into other languages and include site-related information. Additionally, this proposal would allow the purchase of hardware and software and for funding for staff training. Podcasts would be available on the iTunes Web site and on park Web sites for free download as both audio and video files.

"The Centennial Initiative has allowed the American public to demonstrate that they want to keep future generations of Americans connected to these special places," said ARC President Derrick Crandall. "But even more importantly, the screening process that led to the announcement of eligible projects makes clear that American corporations, non-profits and individuals are ready to add their checkbooks to the efforts to protect and expand our national parks and share them with all Americans."

Among the criteria to be certified, proposals had to be imaginative and innovative, address critical service needs, and have a philanthropic partner. They also had to meet rigorous standardized criteria and pass multiple reviews. The projects are now eligible to compete for fiscal year 2008 Centennial Challenge funding should Congress make monies available.

NTA was an early proponent of the National Scenic Byways program and successfully lobbied for its creation. The program is a grassroots collaborative effort established to help recognize, preserve and enhance selected roads throughout the United States. Since 1992, the program has provided funding for over 2,100 state and nationally designated projects in 50 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.

The full list of centennial challenge-eligible proposals is available at www.nps.gov/2016.

The National Tour Association was established in 1951 as a unified voice to fight legislation in the newly formed packaged travel industry. Today, NTA's government relations activities include monitoring security issues, as well as state and federal legislation and regulatory issues affecting the travel and tourism industry. NTA maintains full-time representation in Washington, D.C., to serve as the association's voice on Capitol Hill. Additionally, NTA empowers its members to be advocates for the association on the local level, as well as to provide support for NTA's positions on national priority issues through its Grassroots Action Network. For more information on NTA's government relations activities, please visit www.NTA.travel or call 800.682.8886.