What’s a scenic byway? …a road less traveled? “…a road or track not following a main route; a minor road or path.” Spring time is as good a time as any to reflect on what makes a byway.
All national scenic byways have at least one of the six intrinsic qualities: archaeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational and scenic. I think you will agree that the Mohawk Towpath Byway is rich with each one of these qualities and I would like to share share the thoughts, ideas, and suggestions that went into our Corridor Management Plan. It was put together by our “Advocacy Committee” under the guidance of the Mohawk Valley Heritage Corridor nearly two decades ago.
Let us look at each of these qualities, each with it’s own entry, and see if they are still as relevant today as they were twenty years ago. Your comments, ideas, and perspective would be greatly appreciated!
Cultural Intrinsic Qualities – see https://wp.me/p8Z8Z1-Sd
Natural Intrinsic Qualities – see https://wp.me/p8Z8Z1-RB
Recreational Intrinsic Qualities – see https://wp.me/p8Z8Z1-RN
Scenic Intrinsic Qualities – see https://wp.me/p8Z8Z1-ST
Archaeology as an Intrinsic Quality – see https://wp.me/p8Z8Z1-Tl
Historic Intrinsic Quality – see https://wp.me/p8Z8Z1-Tr This is our intrinsic quality, the one we focus all our efforts on. In fact the Mohawk Towpath Byway has been described as, “the short Byway with the longest history.” Now, how does your story fold into the Byway story?
During the year we took advantage of a tool developed by the National Scenic Byway Foundation to evaluate the effectiveness and strengths of the Mohawk Towpath Byway. The evaluation reviewed our organizational development, capacity and adaptability; our finances, fundraising and sustainability; our outreach, partnerships and advocacy; our recognition, identity, marketing, image and communications; our visitor experience; and our documented impact.
On February 3 the Town of Clifton Park will be hosting a stewardship hike starting from the Ferry Drive entrance to the Vischer Ferry Nature & Historic Preserve. This walk led by Jennifer Viggiani often attracts botanists, natural history buffs, birders and other interesting naturalists who share their enthusiasm and their perspectives of what we see on the hikes. This is an excellent opportunity to identify recreational and stewardship needs of the Preserve and get some idea about how wildlife is surviving the winter.