NWRS Scenic Byways Grants

The National Scenic Byways Program is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. The program is a grass-roots collaborative effort established to help recognize, preserve and enhance selected roads throughout the United States. America's Byways® is the umbrella term used for marketing the collection of 126 distinct and diverse roads designated by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation. These roads are recognized by the Secretary as All-American Roads or National Scenic Byways based on one or more archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational and scenic qualities. America's Byways® include the National Scenic Byways and All-American Roads. Since 1992, the National Scenic Byways Program has provided funding for almost 1500 state and nationally designated byway projects in 48 states.

Cover of the Byways to America's Wildest Places Brochure

A guide to the National Scenic Program for Fish and Wildlife Service staff and Friends groups has been revised and updated to reflect the changes made by SAFTEA-LU and is available as Draft NSB Guide 9-2005 (440 KB PDF). The brochure Byways to America's Wildest Places (961 KB PDF) is also available.

Information on the National Scenic Byway Program and the location of America's Byways® can be found at http://www.byways.org.

Read about The Refuge System Birding Initiative in the March/April 2007 America's Byways® Vistas newsletter (2.2 MB PDF), or click here to view back issues of the newsletters.

Along with Byway Support Groups and/or local communities, Fish and Wildlife Service offices can submit proposals to designate new State or National Byways to the appropriate State Departments of Transportation (DOTs). They can also obtain FHWA funds for projects on or adjacent to Service managed lands. Eligible refuges can be found at this link, Designated Byways and FWS Units (52 KB PDF). You should contact your State DOT to begin the application process. Review the selection criteria (17 KB PDF) for projects before you submit your proposals.

Information about the Scenic Byways grant process and its schedule can be found on the National Scenic Byways Community Web site. You can use the information to begin preparation of grants for the upcoming cycle, which happens annually.

Approximately $35,000,000 for FY 2007, $40,000,000 for FY 2008 and $43,500,000 for FY 2009 of scenic byways funds are available for award. Roads designated as State scenic byways, National Scenic Byways or All-American Roads are eligible for consideration. The Federal share of the cost of carrying out a scenic byways project is 80 percent, except that, in the case of any scenic byway project along a public road that provides access to or within Federal or Indian land, a Federal land management agency may use funds authorized for use by the agency as the non-Federal share.

To find out who to contact and where to submit your proposal, there is an online searchable database. If you submit a proposal related to byways associated with Fish and Wildlife Service areas to the State DOT, please send a copy of the proposal to Nathan_Caldwell@fws.gov He can work with FHWA to highlight your proposals submitted to the State DOT. Copies of proposals can be sent to: Refuge Roads Program Scenic Byways Coordinator, National Wildlife Refuge System, MS 634, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203. Mr. Caldwell can also be reached at (703) 358-2205.

National Preservation Conference
Saint Paul, Minnesota
October 2-6, 2007

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Trails and Scenic Byways Coordinator, Nathan Caldwell, participated in a panel at the 2007 National Preservation Conference in Saint Paul, Minnesota from October 2-6, entitled Partnerships for Historic and Cultural Preservation along Scenic Byways. The presentation was organized and sponsored by the America's Byways® Resource, and also featured presentations by Bonnie Hundreiser, a Byways Specialist from the ABRC, Glenn Harper from the Ohio Historic Preservation Office and the National Road Byway in Ohio, and Mark Anderson, the Scenic Byways and Transportation Enhancement programs manager for Minnesota Department of Transportation. Click the logo below for a link to his presentation "Lewis and Clark Never Saw a Tumbleweed." (2.2 M PDF)

Two photographs - one of the skyline of Saint Paul, Minnesota and one of the skyline of Minneapolis, Minnesota

The National Preservation Conference is sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The next Conference is in Tulsa, Oklahoma on October 21-25, 2008. It plans to feature a track on Scenic Byways and Historic Roads. To get more information on the 2008 or the 2007 conference, or to propose a field or education session for 2008, follow this link, http://www.nthpconference.org

If you have any question about scenic byways you can contact Bob Bini of the Federal Land Highway Program in the Federal Highway Administration at (202) 366-9491, or by e-mail at Robert.Bini@dot.gov You can also contact Nathan Caldwell of the Fish and Wildlife Service at (703) 358-2205, or by e-mail at Nathan_Caldwell@fws.gov.