Appalachian Gateway Communities 2015-2016 Regional Workshops December 2015

ARC and the National Endowment for the Arts, in partnership with the Conservation Fund, are offering technical-assistance workshops on natural and cultural heritage tourism development in Appalachian "gateway" communities—those that are entry points to Appalachia's national and state parks and forests.

The intensive three-day workshops in December 2015 and February 2016 will be team based; participating communities will send teams of 4 to 7 individuals representing a cross-section of the local leadership. Experts will assist each team in developing an action plan for capitalizing on their community's unique natural and cultural heritage resources.

Two workshops will be offered:

Northern Regional Gateway Community Workshop
December 1–3, 2015
Union Church and Berea College
Berea, Kentucky
Application deadline: October 6, 2015

Southern Regional Gateway Community Workshop
February 9–11, 2016
Joe Wheeler State Park
Rogersville, Alabama
Application deadline: December 4, 2015

Applicants or their gateway communities must be located in an Appalachian county designated by ARC as economically distressed, transitional, or at-risk. Maps and lists of Appalachian counties' economic status for FY 2016 are available on the ARC Web site.

Complete information on the workshops and the application process is available from the Conservation Fund Web site. The application deadline for the Kentucky workshop is October 6, 2015. The application deadline for the Alabama workshop is December 4, 2015.