How to build a paddle trail in your community

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How to build a paddle trail in your community

• Session II
• Micro-Level Development
• February 22, 2006

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Community Development

• Long term process
• Sustainability requires
• Partnerships
• Deliberate Networking
• Creative conflict resolution

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Community Development

• No matter how dedicated you are, you can not do
  this alone
• Why not?
• Funding
• Liability
• Support
• Sustainability

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Process

• Idea
• Public Meeting
• Steering Committee
• Asset Mapping
• SWOT
• Plan
• Timeline
• MOU
• Volunteer recruitment
• Start the process

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Idea

• Ok fine, I am an individual or small group and I
  want to build a paddle trail.
• So, how do I get started?

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Initial Meeting

• Request a meeting with your county/town planner,
  parks and recreation director, and county
  Extension director.
• Why these three?

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N.C. Cooperative Extension

• In all 100 counties, plus Cherokee Reservation
• County, State, Federal Government partnership
• Educators and Professional Facilitators
• Provides technical assistance to farmers,
  families, and other landowners
• Assists with community development

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County/Town Planner

• Responsible for Municipal planning process
• Is aware of long term planning goals
• Coordinates with tax and land records offices
• Understands permitting process

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Parks Recreation Director

• Managing parks facilities recreational
  programming
• Networked with local conservation groups and
  recreational clubs
• Access to PARTF grant

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Parks and Recreation Offices Map
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At the initial meeting

• Develop a list of stakeholders
• Determine who should personally contact each
  stakeholder
• Locate a facility to hold the public meeting
• Set a date

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Potential Stakeholders

• Municipal Elected Officials
• Wildlife Resources
• Tourism contacts
• Landowners
• Real Estate Developers
• Community College Faculty
• Religious Volunteer Organizations

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Potential Stakeholders

• Non-government Organizations
• Business Owners
• Chamber of Commerce
• Community/Economic Development Officers
• Emergency Management
• Media
• And of course, paddlers!

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Public Meeting

• Arrange date for public meeting
• Publicize meeting openly and extensively at least
  4 weeks prior
• Can be held in conjunction with other large well
  publicized event such as municipal strategic plan
  or SCORP plan

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Public Meeting

• Provide the following information to show how
  different factions can benefit from adding a
  paddle trail to your community.

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SCORP

• State Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan

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SCORP

• If the state is going to effectively address its
  outdoor recreational needs, the commitment must
  come from within North Carolina.
• A cooperative effort is needed from all
  interested agencies, groups, and individuals to
  build support for quality recreational
  opportunities and natural resource conservation.

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Paddle Trail Benefits? Landowners
Perspective

• Earn supplemental income
• Teach others about what rural life is really like
• Create jobs for family members
• Diversify products
• Preserve land and farmland

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Paddle Trail Benefits Visitor Perspective

• Rural is safe and wholesome
• Re-connect with nature
• Desire for non-MTV recreation
• Natural areas are diminishing as cities and
  suburbs sprawl (supply decreases, demand
  increases)
• Teach kids/ grandkids about rural life/ growing
  up outside the city
• Unique

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Paddle Trail Benefits Community Perspective

• Fabulous mix of
• Cultural preservation/ celebration
• Farm/ open space preservation
• Education
• Economic development
• Rural/ community pride and vitality

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Paddle Trail Benefits Developers Perspective

• Why include Real Estate Agents and Developers?
• Palmetto Bluff

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Potential Tourism Products

• EXPERIENCES! MEMORIES!
• Water activities canoeing, kayaking, fishing,
  hunting
• Camping/ lodging
• Guided educational eco-friendly tour packages
• Special events/ festivals

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NC Tourism

• Local County Contacts
• Heritage Tourism Contacts

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Public Meeting

• Assess interest in group for planning paddle
  trail
• Determine if there are enough people interested
  in serving on a steering committee

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Public Meeting

• If not, stop the process!
• You will have to work on building personal
  communications with individuals in the community
  until enough critical mass is reached to make the
  effort sustainable.

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Steering Committee Responsibilities

• If there is enough interest to proceed
• Elect steering committee members
• Plan for email/internet updates
• Schedule at least one physical meeting per month

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Steering Committee Responsibilities

• Asset Mapping
• SWOT Analysis
• Planning Considerations
• Networking

• Strategic Plan
• Timeline
• MOA/MOU
• Volunteers
• Starting the process

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Steering Committee Responsibilities

• TAKE NOTES! chronicling the process is imperative
• Send updates to all people involved
• Write press releases for media/public meetings

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Asset Mapping

• List all positive features of your community
• Determine how a possible trail could complement
  those features
• Network with the people in charge of those
  features
• Involve them in the process

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SWOT Analysis

• Strengths
• Weaknesses
• Be creative
• Opportunities
• Threats
• Be proactive

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NOTE!

• Asset Mapping and SWOT Analysis procedures are
  very complex!
• These take many meetings over a series of
  months/years to develop.
• Experienced, trained facilitators are required.

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Planning Considerations

• Balance with surrounding area
• Community Involvement
• Educational Programming
• Funding for development
• Health regulations
• Interpretation

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Planning Considerations

• Liability/ safety
• Marketing
• Staff/ skills
• Tax
• Visitor/ site-readiness
• Zoning

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Network

• Network in your community/region
• Support local business efforts
• Cross promote with other trails
• Keep the tourism/economic/municipal officers and
  extension personnel informed about your business
• Support your community

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Strategy

• Develop a comprehensive, dynamic plan
• Set goals that are
• Measurable
• Specific
• Attainable
• Determine responsibilities

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Timeline

• Make it Realistic
• Make it Fluid
• Have Specific Milestones

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Memorandum of Understanding

• Determination of which agencies will be
  responsible for what action.
• It is not legally binding, but rather serves as
  clarification.
• The signing should be a ceremony or event.

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Volunteers

• It takes a great deal of effort to coordinate
  volunteers and keep momentum
• Recruit them
• Manage them
• Nurture them
• Remember they are not paid!

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Start the Process

• Small steps
• Attainable goals
• Maintain momentum
• Publicize/Praise efforts
• Celebrate events

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• What is the very, very last phase in the paddle
  trail development process??

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• Actually building the trail!

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The efforts can be worthwhile

• Michigan Heritage Water Trails

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Contact Information

• Eric N Caldwell
• County Extension Director
• Transylvania County
• eric_caldwell_at_ncsu.edu
• Phone [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• Mail Address
• 203 E Morgan St
• Brevard, NC   28712

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References

• http//ils.unc.edu/parkproject/resource/scorp/scor
  p_int.pdf
• http//pprc.umsl.edu/base_pages/cnd/toolkit/05c.ht
  m
• http//www.commerce.state.nc.us/tourism/
• http//www.wmich.edu/glcms/watertrails/
• http//www.palmetto-bluff.com/default.asp
• http//www.nps.gov/phso/rtcatoolbox/

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