SENT VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL
Subject: ACTION: National Scenic Byways Nominations Due to Headquarters by April 29, 2005
From: (Original signed by) James M. Shrouds, Director Office of Natural and Human Environment
To: Division Administrators, Resource Center Directors, Federal Lands Highway Division Engineers
Date: January 26, 2005
In Reply Refer To: HEPN-50
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is announcing the fifth National Scenic Byways Program nomination cycle culminating in additional byways being designated by Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta in September 2005. A hard copy of the completed nomination is due to division offices by April 8, 2005, and to Headquarters by April 29, 2005 (see attached schedule). This year, FHWA encourages States to establish intermediate review dates when drafts of a nomination can be reviewed and shared with the division. We are encouraging this step so that the review and revision effort is not so overwhelming when State and division staff begin their 3-week review periods.
Nomination is not about filling out an application. It is all about telling the byway’s story, the significance of its intrinsic qualities, and what a visitor will find as they travel the byway. Nominees might want to think of their byway’s nomination as a thorough and complete visitor’s guide for the byway.
This solicitation and other important information is available in the nomination section of FHWA’s byways community website, http://www.bywaysonline.org/nominations. All nominations must be completed online and submitted both electronically and as a signed hard copy. The hard copy should include the corridor management plan or other existing plans, supporting documents, maps, digital photos, and brochures. The emphasis is on the quality of a byway and its supporting materials, rather than quantity.
New this year, FHWA has produced several documents to help potential nominees prepare their nomination. In September 2004, we released a Designation Readiness Worksheet organized around the Interim Policy to assist byway leaders with initial preparations. In November, we released a Nomination Guide that offered explanations for each section of the nomination. The Online Nomination, available at http://www.bywaysonline.org/nominations/, includes references to these earlier documents and asks nominees to provide specific information in both narrative and tabular forms. The nomination asks for specific information regarding the significance of the byway’s intrinsic qualities.
Anyone may nominate a road for possible designation as a National Scenic Byway or an All-American Road. However, the byway must have a corridor management plan and the nomination must be submitted through a State’s identified scenic byway agency. In most States, the Department of Transportation serves as the scenic byway agency.
The Secretary of Transportation recognizes certain roads as National Scenic Byways or All-American Roads based on their archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic qualities. There are 96 such designated byways in 39 States. The FHWA promotes the collection as America’s Byways™, for example see our travelers’ website at http://www.byways.org/. To be designated as a National Scenic Byway, a road must possess at least one of the six intrinsic qualities. The significance of the features contributing to the distinctive characteristics of the corridor’s intrinsic qualities must be recognized throughout the multi-State region. To receive an All-American Road designation, a road must possess multiple intrinsic qualities that are nationally significant and contain one-of-a-kind features that do not exist elsewhere. The road or highway must also be considered a “destination unto itself.” That is, it must provide an exceptional traveling experience so recognized by travelers that they would make a drive along the highway a primary reason for their trip.
The full criteria for designation are included in FHWA’s Interim Policy for the National Scenic Byway Program published in the Federal Register on May 18, 1995. The policy and other important documents including the Designation Readiness Worksheet and Nomination Guide are available at: http://www.bywaysonline.org/nominations/docs.html. There is a four-step review of the nominations.
Section 4 of FHWA’s Interim Policy notes that State concurrence is necessary for each nomination. As part of the online submission to the FHWA division office, FHWA will request the State to determine whether the scenic byway possesses intrinsic qualities sufficient to merit its nomination as a National Scenic Byway or an All-American Road. The FHWA also requests the State to provide 10 copies of its highway map, highlighting each road previously designated as a National Scenic Byway or an All-American Road, plus each road nominated for possible national designation.
Each division office will review the nomination to ensure it is complete and that the corridor management plan conforms with Section 9 of FHWA’s Interim Policy. The division office will provide its own assessment of each road as part of the online submission to Headquarters.
Several experts from outside FHWA will assess each nomination using the criteria in FHWA’s Interim Policy. The experts will reflect a cross-section of the scenic byways community of interests, including experts on the intrinsic qualities, tourism, and other State and byway interests. After completing their initial assessment, they will meet face-to-face to discuss their observations. A facilitator assists with their discussions. The FHWA Headquarters staff will identify concerns associated with each nomination that the experts should consider during their discussions. The experts will not be charged with reaching consensus on whether the Secretary should designate a particular road, rather each expert will complete an independent assessment of each nomination.
The FHWA Headquarters staff will compile the results of the reviews and assessments of each nomination for use by the Federal Highway Administrator and the Secretary in deciding which roads to designate as National Scenic Byways or All-American Roads. The FHWA expects Secretary Mineta will announce his selections the week of September 19, 2005. The designation event will be held in Washington, DC. The event will include one-on-one meetings between reviewers and byway leaders as well as other sessions that welcome byway leaders to the program and expose them to staff and partners who can help byways further develop.
Pending the ongoing reauthorization of the National Scenic Byways Program, FHWA will next likely solicit nominations in 2007 for possible designation in 2008.
As noted earlier, more information can be found on the nomination section of FHWA’s byways community website, http://www.bywaysonline.org. If you have questions about nominating a road for possible designation as a National Scenic Byway or an All-American Road, feel free to contact either Dennis Adams at 202-366-6515 or Bethaney Bacher at 202-366-4196, Office of Natural and Human Environment. Dennis Adams and Bethaney Bacher each serve a group of States identified on http://www.bywaysonline.org/contacts/fhwa_contacts.html.
| Activity | Date |
|---|---|
| On-line Nomination opens, see http://www.bywaysonline.org/nominations | Week of January 24, 2005 |
|
State Submits Nomination to Division 1
|
April 8, 2005 |
|
FHWA Division Submits Nomination to Headquarters 2
|
April 29, 2005 |
| Review by FHWA Headquarters Staff and Independent Panel of Experts | May 2, 2005 to August 2005 |
| Secretary of Transportation Announces New Group of America’s Byways™ at Designation Event | Week of September 19, 2005 |
States are encouraged to establish intermediate review dates so that the claims made on behalf of each route can be verified prior to the start of the State and division review period. ↩
Submit hard copy packages directly to program staff at:
FHWA
Dennis Adams or Bethaney Bacher
400 7th Street, SW
Room 3240, HEPN-50
Washington, DC 20590
(202-366-0182)
To avoid the effects of radiation on all surface mail, we encourage divisions to send the packages via a delivery service like UPS, DHL or FedEx. ↩