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Once an idea for a project on a historic trail has surfaced, how does it become a reality? There is no single formula for success, but there are steps identified in the Oregon Tourism Commission's Tourism Product Development Workbook that describe a thoughtful planning process which can be applied to a variety of projects. As you think about your idea, try applying the following steps.

Step one: The Idea
It takes a clear path to make any idea a reality. You need to be able to clearly define the essence of your idea in a simple paragraph. The process of defining your historic trails project forces you to think about the potential of the idea, to clearly and precisely articulate the project, to gain acceptance on the definition from others, and to begin to assess your resources and ability to complete the project.

Step two: A Visit to the Marketplace
Whether you are planning a single interpretive sign or developing a tour route, an understanding of your audience will help you determine if the public would be interested in your project and how it might fit with other existing or planned heritage resources. Research may also help you identify key players, surface new ideas, or find undiscovered resources.

Step three: Gaining Community Support
Building community awareness and support is important to the success of any project which serves the public. Your project may impact life in the local community. A tour route will increase the number of visitors coming through town. An interpretive sign might cause folks to seek out additional historical information or to look for other heritage resources in the area. That same interpretive sign may need the support of your local service club to provide maintenance. Most of all, a project that has the support of the community helps build community pride and ownership.

Step four: Establishing an Organization
In order to implement a project, you need to address organizational issues early in the planning phase. If you are a single group working on a historic trails project, that may not be difficult. If more than one entity is involved, you will want to determine how best to combine stakeholders into a single governing body. One of the partners may be able to provide you with a nonprofit status beneficial for fundraising. Other contributors may be able to find volunteers, donate land, or provide staff support. Any collaborative effort requires careful attention to common goals, relationships, structure, responsibilities, accountability, and the sharing of benefits and rewards.

Step five: The Site
The proposed site of a historic trails project requires careful consideration of significance, interpretive potential, accessibility, scenic quality, and suitability of the project to the site's history and to the surrounding community. Land ownership, regulatory restrictions, infrastructure, and visitor services need to be considered before a project moves ahead.

Step six: Developing the Plans
Any planning process should be in scale with the size and scope of your historic trails project. The actual presentation and detail of project information will vary depending on the individual circumstances of the project -- it may require an interpretive plan, master plan, conceptual designs, or a simple written proposal. The planning process offers you the opportunity to commit the concept to paper and provides you with a tool to communicate your vision to a larger public for support and fundraising.

Step seven: Financial Feasibility
Most projects require money. As part of the planning process, it is important to capture the cost of the project including good estimates of what it will cost to research, design, build, operate, and maintain. Once you know the costs, you can begin to analyze your ability to find the funding. You might also find that your project needs additional partners or a phased implementation plan. It is important that the numbers you present be as strong as possible and that you can validate them with research.

Step eight: The Business Plan
A business plan is simply a summary of all your research, evaluation, planning, and analysis. The business plan presents project information in a single document which can be used to guide you through fundraising and implementation.

Step nine: Demonstrating Economic Benefit
You may be undertaking a historic trails project because it is "the right thing to do", but many times we are challenged to provide supporters and funders with information that demonstrates there will be positive economic benefit to the community or region. Resist the temptation to oversell your case but be sure to think about both direct and indirect economic impacts of increased visitation or community enhancement.

Step ten: The Marketing Plan
Marketing is a way to inform people about what your project has to offer. It is an important step in the overall planning process and should not be left until the project is completed. If the public does not know what you have, what makes your historic trails project special, they won't know why they should visit -- and they won't. Marketing plans should include an evaluation of the resource's management needs -- assess how many visitors the project can sustain without damage -- and should promote stewardship. A directional signage program should be included in both your site plan and your marketing plan. Make sure your plan includes opportunities to maximize the efforts of other complementary marketing efforts in the region or state. Look for good examples of regional or heritage corridor marketing pieces.

Step eleven: The Fundraising Plan
If you've worked through the steps, you probably have a well-researched and carefully planned project with broad support that is positioned to compete for funding from a variety of sources. There are many resources available to help you identify potential funders, but remember that the family always gives first, including all the partners. Outside funders will want to see substantial commitment by stakeholders before providing additional funding.

The Oregon Trails Coordinating Council has establish the Oregon Historic Trails Fund at the Oregon Community Foundation. Funding is limited to projects on one of sixteen historic trails recognized in ORS 358.057: the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, Oregon NHT, Applegate NHT, Nez Perce NHT, Whitman Mission Route, Upper Columbia River Route, Meek Cutoff, Free Emigrant Road, Cutoff to the Barlow Road, Klamath Trail, Jedediah Smith Route, Nathaniel Wyeth Route, Benjamin Bonneville Route, Ewing Young Route, John Fremont Route, and the Santiam Wagon Road.

Oregon Community Foundation staff in Portland, Oregon, can be contacted for information about the Oregon Historic Trails Fund.

A Few Words About Historic Trails Projects
A successful historic trails project combines rigorous historical research, careful design, creative presentation, and effective marketing. It must be meaningful to persons with a wide range of experiences and interests; it can be valued locally but must also have a larger appeal.

Good history is key to any historic trails project. As you look at developing a project, focus on quality and authenticity. Provide your audience with a rigorously researched, accurate and realistic presentation of a person, place, or event. Elsewhere in this document can be found lists of resources: bibliographical information pertaining to the sixteen recognized historic trails found in Oregon, existing interpretive and historic resources along each trail, and potential partners and players in historic trails projects. Take advantage of existing resources to develop the best project possible.

Consider your audiences. Are you developing your project for the community, historians, the preservation enthusiast, or the visitor? Be clear about your goals for each audience. Plan to make sites come alive through interpretation which reveals the importance of a site, which relates the essence of the message to the audience's experience or everyday lives, and which promotes an understanding and appreciation of the resource. Be prepared to interpret the complex issues of Oregon's diverse cultures, issues, and historical events from a number of perspectives.

The Oregon Historic Trails Fund requires that projects meet the interpretive standards equal to those of the National Association for Interpretation, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, US Forest Service, or the American Association of Museums. You may want to consider contracting with a professional interpreter or tap into the expertise of a land management agency.

Partnerships are essential to success. Many historic trails projects will include a variety of land owners and land managers. Some partners will provide access to information, expertise, or funding. Others will have important historical information or contacts within the broader heritage community. Tourism folks will welcome the opportunity to help market a quality project of interest to visitors; Oregon's heritage is their "product." Invite the appropriate local and regional experts in history, preservation, interpretation, and tourism to act as partners or to serve as advisors. Include partners from both the public and private sectors.

Recommended Reading and References
Cultural Heritage Tourism Guidelines, by the Oregon Tourism Commission (contact the OTC in Salem, OR)

Getting Funded: A Complete Guide to Proposal Writing, by Mary Hall (contact Portland State University)

Interpretive Master Planning, by John A. Ververka (contact the Interpretation Publication and Resource Center in North Stonington, CT)

Marketing Workbook for Nonprofit Organizations (contact Amherst Wilder Foundation, St. Paul, MN)

Oregon Foundation Databook, by C & D Publishing (contact the publisher in Portland, OR)

Oregon Visitor Profile, by the Oregon Tourism Commission (contact the OTC in Salem, OR)

Signs, Trails, and Wayside Exhibits, but Suzanna Trapp, Michael Gross, and Ron Zimmerman (contact the Interpretation Publication and Resource Center in North Stonington, CT)

Tourism Product Development Workbook, by the Oregon Tourism Commission (contact the OTC in Salem, OR)

Wayside Exhibit Guidelines: the ABCs of Planning, Design, and Fabrication, by the National Park Service

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