MASSENA – Planning meetings for a tourist Military Trail Scenic Byway will include a meeting in Massena Monday, Sept. 27 at the New York Power Authority from 9:30 a.m. to noon.

A corridor management plan to define the future of the byway is under development. The current plan has the byway running from Rouses Point to Massena on US Rt. 11 and NY Rt. 37, and an extension west of Malone along Rt. 11 to Potsdam and Canton will be proposed for consideration during local planning.

The scenic byway designation is aimed at bringing tourism dollars to communities along travel routes throughout the Adirondack North Country.

Contact Susan Day Fuller at sdfuller@fullerventures.com or (518) 483-7154, or Robert Hest at robert.hest@centralny.twcbc.com or (518) 483-7593 to register, and for additional information.

Issues that will be addressed during the next several months include assessments of the byway’s current assets and conditions; goals for the byway; objectives, strategic actions, responsible parties, and timelines needed to achieve goals.

Recreation, tourism, transportation safety, marketing, promotions, resource interpretation, and stewardship needs and opportunities will be reviewed.

The plan will result in an inventory of historic, cultural, recreational, and natural resources in the towns and villages across the project region. The process creates opportunities for collaboration and cooperation amongst communities, lodging, restaurant, and attraction owners, local producers of arts, crafts, foods, gas station proprietors, outdoor sporting goods stores, guide services, and others.

At this meeting people will get brief overviews of Adirondack North Country Association byways program benefits and key issues and benefits of the corridor management planning process including economic development, traffic (alternative transportation/pedestrian) safety, and the needed efforts to minimize invasive species.

The majority of time in these meetings will be spent in informal interactive facilitated work sessions.

Requested from attendees is information about previous or current relevant planning initiatives underway along the byway route (strategic plans, community revitalization efforts, transportation studies, unit management plans, tourism, and other economic development initiatives, and marketing), and specific intrinsic historic, natural, archeological, cultural, recreational qualities of your section of the byway route.

To see examples of the benefits of outcomes of the corridor management plans of the Adirondack Trail, the Olympic, and the Central Adirondack Trail, visit adirondackscenicbyways.org/.