ANF Visitors Bureau, Pitt-Bradford Looking for Community Participation in Economic Development Events

The Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau and students from the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford will be holding a series of town hall meetings to gauge local opinions on developing the area into a “hot spot” for trail activities.

The first meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4, in Room 121 of Blaisdell Hall on Pitt-Bradford campus. All meetings are open to the public.

The Pitt-Bradford research team is led by students in Dr. William Schumann’s Applied Anthropology course being offered this fall.

The surveys and discussions from these meetings will provide data about public opinion and local capacities for trail-centered economic development. The researchers are also examining other successful trail town models in the Appalachian region.

Other meetings will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 11, at the Desert Rose Café, 13124 Route 59 in Smethport; 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 18, at the Kane Community Center, 46 Fraley St., Kane, for a combined Kane/Mount Jewett meeting; and 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25, at the Jefferson DeFrees Family Center, 267 Second Ave., Warren.

The Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau is the official tourist promotion agency for McKean County. Its mission is to promote the region as a tourism destination utilizing the principals of geotourism, keeping the geographic area attractive, the economy strong, and the visitors happy.

Geotourism is defined by National Geographic as tourism that sustains or enhances the geographic character of a place-its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and the well-being of its residents. When pursuing tourism development strategies to enhance the visitor appeal of their destination, the ANFVB works to bolster the economic impact of tourism so there are increased revenues, new jobs created, and additional money infused in the local economy.

The ANFVB is partnering with faculty and students at Pitt-Bradford. The university team is led by Schumann, assistant professor of Anthropology, who teaches in the university’s Environmental Studies and Human Relations programs. Located in the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains, the university offers a variety of academic programs, including environmental studies and outreach programs.

Schumann can be reached at (814)362-7429 or wrs8@pitt.edu. Linda Devlin, executive director of the ANFVB, can be reached at 800-473-9370 or devlin@visitANF.com.