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The extent to which public lands managers cooperatate and collaborate with tourist industry leaders is not commonly appreciated. The level of influence that this industry holds over public lands management is much greater than many might assume.
The appended article was recently published as part of a larger White Paper. It describes a session from the "Partners Working For Tourism - Federal State Tourism Summit."
Here is a short overview:
Session Title: "How communities can leverage public lands to increase economic development and grow entrepreneurship." ... The session will examine how U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and Forest Service lands and programs benefit visitors, communities and the tourism industry, fill travel market niches such as eco-tourism, learning travel, adventure travel, cultural and geo-tourism, and "volun-tourism," and promote the development of joint marketing products.
The complete article is appended and the complete White Paper can be found here.
Scott
--- begin quoted ---
Southeast Tourism Society
3400 Peachtree Road, Suite 725
Atlanta, GA 30326
www.southeasttourism.org
SEPTEMBER 6-8, 2006
Federal State Tourism Summit - Partners Working for Tourism
<snip>
Destination Development with Federal Land Managers
By Kevin Kilcullen, Chief of Visitor Services, Fish and Wildlife Service
How communities can leverage public lands to increase economic development and grow entrepreneurship
What are the session's objectives? The session will examine how U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and Forest Service lands and programs
benefit visitors, communities and the tourism industry, fill travel
market niches such as eco-tourism, learning travel, adventure travel,
cultural and geo-tourism, and "volun-tourism," and promote the
development of joint marketing products.
What are the key issues? Federal lands are often focal points for
many outdoor activities and are located in many urban and rural areas
in the Southeast. Federal lands are often easily accessible, offer
inexpensive quality programs and facilities, and are economic engines
benefiting local gateway communities. The FWS' National Wildlife
Refuge System and Forest Service have been successful in a number of
areas throughout the country in balancing increased visitation and
expectations with our core conservation missions to ensure
sustainability.
What are some of the key factors affecting tourism and Federal lands?
Federal land managing agencies have many years of experience balancing
resource conservation and public use and serve as good models for
building sustainable tourism programs. The National Wildlife Refuge
System and Forest Service offer authentic experiences of interest to
many travelers that can be packaged with other destinations. Federal
lands are "national" in scope, but community- oriented - they often
reflect and help sustain local traditions and culture and contribute
tremendously to local economies. Lean budget times create challenges
and often necessitate closer collaboration with States, communities,
non-profits and travel organizations. The presentation will examine
successful examples where national wildlife refuges and national
forests have helped plan and fund community-oriented programs promoting
tourism and outdoor recreation in the Southeast. Balancing destination
travel with local concerns of traditional access and recreational use
(e.g. feelings of local "ownership") creates management challenges as
well.
Why and how can Federal agencies contribute to promoting tourism? While
resource conservation is at the heart of both the National Wildlife
Refuge System and U.S. Forest Service missions, both agencies have been
directed by Congress to manage their programs for the benefit of the
American people by offering wildlife-dependent recreation, and helping
states and communities wisely use forests to promote rural economic
development, respectively. Federal agencies serve as providers for
outdoor recreation, as models or catalysts for community economies and
use, assist with marketing and communications, pursue collaborative
planning, manage visitor facilities that serve as "hubs" for travel,
and collect data on visitation. We partner with many national, state
and local organizations. Examples include assisting with planning and
management of numerous scenic byways, working with States agencies and
CVBs to help promote birding and other trails, and offering other
outdoor activities. Resources offered by Federal agencies include
transportation (agency roads funding, transportation enhancements,
etc.) and other funding, planning efforts, and locally reinvested
recreation and entrance fees to improve the quality of our public
programs.
In terms of the National Wildlife Refuge System and National Forest
System, our conservation missions benefit the American people in many
ways by improving the quality of our environment and building
sustainable visitor programs. Examples include the Okefenokee
National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia, the Creole Nature Trail in
Louisiana, the Alabama Coastal Birding Trail, the Virginia Creeper
Trail, and others. These projects serve as models to illustrate how
Federal agencies can work closely with local communities to develop
marketable products and generate economic benefits. Information on the
National Wildlife Refuge System's "Banking on Nature" economic studies,
visitor surveys, contributions to hurricane recovery efforts, and
models for community involvement will be addressed during the
presentation as well.
What can the Southeast Tourism Society do to assist? There are many
opportunities for collaboration among the STS' membership and Federal
agencies. Examples include promoting destination marketing with
stewardship messages such as "leave no trace" or "respect our
wildlife," incorporating National Forest and National Wildlife Refuge
System messages into State or Region-wide promotion media including
maps, visitor information, birding opportunities, and links on the STS
web page, assisting in Federal conservation and resource management
planning to ensure that sustainable tourism programs are available in
the future, and including public land facility assets into tourism and
transportation planning and development.
For more information: More information about our programs is available at:
Agency web pages
National Wildlife Refuge System: http://www.fws.gov/refuges/
Forest
Service: http://www.fs.fed.us/
Other
Web Resources
Recreation.gov: http://www.recreation.gov/
National
Scenic Byways: http://www.byways.org/
Nature Watch: http://www.fs.fed.us/outdoors/naturewatch/
Preserve
America: http://www.preserveamerica.gov/
Partnership
Resource Center: http://www.partnershipresourcecenter.org/
Community
Tourism Assessment: http://www.montana.edu/wwwwrdc/
Agency
contacts:
Kevin Kilcullen, Fish and Wildlife Service,
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Floyd
Thompson, USDA Forest Service,
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- Land management 
