GLIN==> Press release: Great Lakes Seaway Trail Shipwrecks Project Wins National Scenic Byway Award

JOINT PRESS RELEASE
from America¹s Byways Resource Center, Duluth, MN, and
Great Lakes Seaway Trail, Sackets Harbor, NY

September 1, 2009  
FOR IMMEDIATE USE with jpg and sidebar options
 
CONTACT: Teresa Mitchell, President & CEO, Seaway Trail, Inc., PO Box 660,
Sackets Harbor, NY 13685, 315-646-1000, teresa at seawaytrail.com
 
Great Lakes Seaway Trail Project Wins National Scenic Byway Award
 
³2007 Shipwrecks of the Great Lakes Seaway Trail Project² receives
prestigious award at National Scenic Byways 2009 Conference in Denver,
Colorado
 
Denver, CO ­ The ³2007 Shipwrecks of the Great Lakes Seaway Trail Project²
that put a spotlight on the maritime heritage resources of the 518-mile
coastal region of the St. Lawrence River, Lake Ontario, Niagara River and
Lake Erie in New York and Pennsylvania received a 2009 Scenic Byway Award
for Interpretation during the National Scenic Byways 2009 Conference in
Denver, Colorado, in August.

Project partners Great Lakes Seaway Trail President and CEO Teresa Mitchell,
New York Sea Grant Recreation and Tourism Specialist Dave White accepted the
award on behalf of their organizations and the New York State Scenic Byways
Program. 

The prestigious award sponsored by the America¹s Byways Resource Center,
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and the American Association of State
Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) recognizes projects of excellence
from across the country.

Selection by a panel of byway community experts is based on four criteria:
community involvement and public outreach, partnerships, advancing the goals
of the byway¹s corridor management plan, and innovation.

³We hope these winning projects will inspire new efforts to preserve,
protect, interpret, and promote the intrinsic qualities along America¹s
Byways, distinctive routes designated by the National Scenic Byways
Program,² said America¹s Byways Resource Center Director Michelle Johnson.

Seaway Trail, Inc. President and CEO Teresa Mitchell said, ³Maritime history
is a strong travel theme for the Great Lakes Seaway Trail. The Dive the
Seaway Trail project and the 2007 shipwrecks series are among the ways we
encourage divers, history buffs and travelers to explore the full length of
our freshwater America¹s Byway to discover the rich underwater history of
the 518-mile coastal region as represented by our only-found-here
shipwrecks, 28 historic lighthouses and maritime museums.²

The ³2007 Shipwrecks of the Great Lakes Seaway Trail Project² combined
exhibitry on land-based and underwater maritime heritage resources exclusive
to the Great Lakes Seaway Trail byway region at the Great Lakes Seaway Trail
Discovery Center in Sackets Harbor, NY, with an expert speakers series, a
new Great Lakes Seaway Trail maritime theme-based outdoor storyteller
interpretive signage system, the Dive the Seaway Trail project and online
resources to engage a broader public audience.

The Dive the Seaway Trail project, coordinated by New York Sea Grant,
Oswego, NY, involves local community-based stewardship of historic dive
sites and underwater landscapes accessed from the Great Lakes Seaway Trail
byway that is both an America¹s Byway and a National Recreation Trail.

Dive the Seaway Trail marketing materials attract scuba divers who represent
an annual economic impact of more than $108 million to New York¹s Great
Lakes Seaway Trail region (New York Sea Grant).

Seaway Trail, Inc. Board Member and Dive the Seaway Trail Project
Coordinator Dave White of New York Sea Grant, Oswego, NY, said, ³Our
economic survey clearly showed the opportunity to interpret and market the
region to divers and we found that non-diving history enthusiasts also
welcomed the program series that has now set a standard for interpreting the
other unique themes of New York¹s freshwater, Seaway Trail shoreline
region.²

Dive the Seaway Trail is part of the New York State Blueway Trail project
that is linking submerged heritage preserves with recreational
opportunities, local heritage attractions, greenways and byways statewide.

New York State Scenic Byways Coordinator Mark Woods of the New York State
Department of Transportation Landscape Architecture Bureau said, ³The awards
that have been granted to this shipwrecks series recognize the link between
the byway, its parallel underwater landscape and the unique destinations and
experiences found only along New York¹s Great Lakes Seaway Trail.²

The Seaway Trail, Inc. and the Seaway Trail Foundation also received awards
for the ³2007 Shipwrecks of the Great Lakes Seaway Trail Project² from the
Upstate History Alliance in 2008 and a 2008 New York State Governor¹s
Adventure Tourism Award. The 518-mile freshwater coastal byway was named a
first-round National Scenic Byway in 1996; it was designated as a National
Recreation Trail in the 1980s.
# # #

Photo attached or available: America¹s Byways Resource Center Director
Michele Johnson (far left) and Federal Highway Administration National
Scenic Byways Program Team Leader Gary Jensen (far right) present New York
Sea Grant Recreation & Tourism Specialist Dave White and Great Lakes Seaway
Trail President & CEO Teresa Mitchell with a 2009 Scenic Byway Award for
Interpretation for the ³2007 Shipwrecks of the Great Lakes Seaway Trail
Project² at the National Scenic Byways Conference in Denver, CO.
 
Sidebar: Notable Ships and Shipwrecks of the Great Lakes Seaway Trail
Among the notable shipwrecks of the Great Lakes Seaway Trail are:
·      David W. Mills - New York State¹s first Submerged Cultural Preserve
in Lake Ontario, a 202-foot steambarge that sank in 1919, Oswego, NY
·      Hundreds of shipwrecks in the Eastern Basin of Lake Erie ­ begin your
exploration at Dunkirk, NY
·      Islander ­ a wooden sidewheel steamer built in 1871 that burned and
sank near Alexandria Bay, NY
·      St. Peter ­ this 135-foot, three-masted schooner rests (since 1898)
intact and upright in the deep water of Lake Ontario, Pultneyville, NY
·      HMS Ontario, a British sloop-of-war that sank in Lake Ontario on
October 31, 1780, during the Revolutionary War.

Among the notable ships still cruising the waters of the Great Lakes Seaway
Trail:
·      Maid of the Mist taking tourists to see Niagara Falls since 1854 (it
started in 1846 as a U.S.-Canada ferry service), Niagara Falls, NY
·      World War II military vessels at the Buffalo Erie County Military &
Naval Park, Buffalo, NY
·      LT-5 Tugboat ³Nash² - one of the last remaining tugboats that served
in the WWII Normandy Invasion, now dockside at the H. Lee White Marine
Museum, Oswego, NY
·      The Flagship Niagara ­ an historic replica War of 1812 tall ship
whose home harbor is Erie, PA (Seaway Trail Pennsylvania)
·      A world-class collection of antique raceboats and classic watercraft
at The Antique Boat Museum, Clayton, NY

And more! See for yourself! Plan your trip at www.seawaytrail.com
<http://www.seawaytrail.com> , 800-SEAWAY-T.
 
America¹s Byways Resource Center is a division of the Arrowhead Regional
Development Commission (ARDC) in partnership with the Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA). This material is based upon work supported by the
FHWA and ARDC under cooperative agreement No. DTH61-08H-00007. Any opinions,
findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication
are those of the Author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the
FHWA and/or ARDC. The ARDC is an equal opportunity employer.




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