FROM WORKING RANCHES TO ART GALLERIES, NOMINATIONS
FOR GREATER YELLOWSTONE MAPGUIDE ARE FLOWING IN

MapGuide to Highlight Natural and Cultural Heritage        

            Boise, ID (June 13, 2008)—Since April 15th, residents from every corner of the Greater Yellowstone region have been nominating their favorite places, events and activities for inclusion on a Geotourism MapGuide that will celebrate and help sustain the area’s world-class natural and cultural heritage. Drawing on the expertise of visitors and residents of the region, the National Geographic Society is producing the map, which is centered on Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks and includes surrounding communities and public lands in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

            “So far, we’ve received over 190 nominations, and we’re just getting rolling,” said Brian Sybert, Wyoming project coordinator, from the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. By the time the nomination period closes on Monday, June 30, Sybert anticipates the project will have generated some 300 nominations, which will be considered for inclusion on the map. “We’ve got a great diversity among the nominations so far, with everything from the Idaho Potato Museum to the Heart Mountain relocation camp to geology of the Beartooth Mountains in our database. People have nominated festivals, inns, rivers, parks and hot springs, and we’re getting more great suggestions every day.” Geotourism is defined as tourism that sustains or enhances the distinctive geographical character of a place.

Sybert and colleagues from the Greater Yellowstone Coalition have just wrapped up a series of community workshops in Wyoming (Jackson, Lander and Cody) and Montana (Red Lodge, Livingston, Bozeman and Ennis). Barb Cestero, Montana project coordinator, said, “I’ve been impressed by the thoughtfulness and enthusiasm that community members have shown toward this project. Around the region, I think this is seen as an opportunity to promote what’s best about our communities and our region, in a way that will protect and enhance our unique character.”

Kyle Babbitt, Idaho project coordinator with the Yellowstone Business Partnership, has been making presentations at conferences in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. She has just completed community forums and nomination opportunities in Driggs, Rexburg, Pocatello and Island Park. “Everyone knows what makes their part of the region special, but the MapGuide offers an opportunity to combine all those separate pieces into a bigger picture,” Babbitt said.

            Nominations may be made online through June 30 at www.yellowstonegeotourism.net. Nomination forms may also be downloaded from the site and mailed in.

A regional advisory committee called the Greater Yellowstone Geotourism Stewardship Council will advise National Geographic in selecting entries and developing content for the MapGuide. The Council represents diverse perspectives, including community leadership, historic preservation, natural resources, public lands management, indigenous peoples, traditional and local arts, agriculture, tourism promotion and local businesses.

Significant funding and regional leadership are being provided by Wyoming Travel & Tourism, the Idaho Division of Tourism Development and the Montana Department of Commerce (Travel Montana). Partners also include the Yellowstone Country tourism region and the Bozeman, Big Sky and West Yellowstone convention and visitor bureaus in Montana, and the Sonoran Institute. The U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service are contributing funding for the community-involvement process.

Geotourism MapGuides are an initiative of National Geographic’s Center for Sustainable Destinations, a mission-based program of the National Geographic Society.

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