Our plans include an interpretive center at the Hogback Mountain Scenic Overlook

Built by the Vermont Agency of Transportation in 1936, the overlook has become regionally known
and yearly accommodates over 250,000 visitors. Designed for the traffic and speeds of the 1930's, the
Overlook’s visitorship has far exceeded its design capacity, making its safety a matter of great concern
to transportation officials. Both VTrans and the Windham Regional Commission had identified the site
as an area that is in need of safety improvement.

In 1999, the Southern Vermont Natural History Museum undertook a project designed to determine
if the current pedestrian and traffic circulation problems could be solved in the context of building a
natural history museum and a natural history themed traveler's interpretive center at the Overlook.
Using funds from the Federal Enhancements Program, a feasibility study was undertaken. This study
recommended various improvements to the site including a further bulb-out of the overlook, various
traffic-calming measures and the proposed expansion of the museum with an adjoining traveler's
information and interpretive center.

With the successful conclusion of the feasibility study the project steering committee developed a
plan that would have multiple phases. The first phase was to develop conceptual design plans; the second phase was to complete a schematic design plan. The final phase was for construction. A second Enhancement Grant, awarded in 2002, to develop conceptual design plans is currently underway and is expected to be completed fall 2003. During the course of the public meetings that were involved in working out the feasibility plan, we
found that the concept of a regional tourism center is strongly supported by many parties, including the
Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce, Bennington Area Chamber of Commerce, Mount Snow
Region Chamber of Commerce, Southern Vermont Regional Marketing Organization, Green Mountain
National Forest, and many other organizations.

The interpretive center in this project will be constructed concurrently with the construction and
development of the new facility for the Southern Vermont Natural History Museum. The projected
costs for the entire project includes $1,800,000 for the Overlook bulb-out and other on-street parking
improvements, and approximately $2,800,000 for the museum/interpretive center and additional off street
parking. The costs shown in this application are only for those components of the overall plan that
are specifically for the bulb-out of the overlook and the amount of construction costs that have been
allocated for the interpretive center.

OVERLOOK SAFETY AND VISITOR IMPROVEMENTS:
The Enhancement's Feasibility Study, undertaken by Stevens and Associates was undertaken in
cooperation with the Vermont Department of Transportation. The end result of the study was a proposal
to include significant safety improvements along Route 9. Those improvements included plans to
provide a separation between the traveled lanes and the overlook, as well as, additional off-street
parking. Traffic calming methods were proposed and after much discussion and alterations, these plans
were favorably received by VTrans.

As part of these plans, a site was proposed for the new museum/interpretive center.
The Interpretive Center will be an up-to-date facility planned in conjunction with the Vermont
Department of Travel and Tourism, and the various chambers of commerce along
the byway. It will be maintained by the Southern Vermont Natural history Museum who will provide
staffing for the facility. Several of the local chambers have expressed a strong interest in helping to staff
and provide more comprehensive traveler services to tourists during the area’s busy summer/fall season.
It is currently estimated that over 250,000 people a year stop at the overlook, many passing through
the state; wishing to discover new and interesting sites to see in the region. The tourism facility and
interpretive center will serve those people that currently have no other rest area or information center
when traveling between northern New York and eastern New England. The site's location also makes it
an almost perfect gateway for visitors from the east entering the Green Mountain National Forest. It
would be the only site on the east side of the National Forest to provide park information. The staff at the Green Mountain National Forest has agreed that there is a need for such a facility and have expressed their support .

Most important will be the tourist facility's focus. A new facility will be able to focus on the region
as a whole, without the space limitations and other constraints found in current, small, in-town facilities
that are often missed by through travelers and that only focus on specific localities. It will serve all
businesses and travelers wishing to find information about the scenic and natural resources of both the
byway and all of Vermont. One of the museum's benefactors is the CEO of NUR, Inc., one of the
world's largest makers of large scale graphic printers. As they have in the past, they have agreed to
produce many of the interpretive center's large scale graphics at a fraction of their normal cost. Still
another component of the visitor center will be a weather reporting station tied to the national weather
service. In addition, VTrans has approached the museum about including, on the site,
equipment that will automatically report road conditions to a new system being implemented statewide.
The natural history museum, which currently serves to promote Vermont's natural flora and fauna,
will together with the tourist facility, serve as a model facility for introducing travelers to Vermont's
wealth of natural resources. The museum's staff views the state's natural resources as its most cherished
trust and the tourism facility will reflect that image. It will educate the traveler about the natural
resources of the region and the state, how they can be used and how they can be preserved. A message
inherent in the entire facility will be one of education about our environment and an appreciation of it.
It is expected that hiking and nature trails will be an integral part of the site plan as well. This center
will be included in a larger structure currently being planned for the Southern Vermont Natural History
Museum.

Because the primary mission of the museum is educational, the team envisions a facility that is
thoroughly integrated into the natural landscape, in order to minimize development of the site and
maximize preservation of the landscape. The current conceptual design plan, taking
clues from the Steven's study, will see much of the facility being built below the edge of Route 9. The
Byway Interpretive Center will be built on top of the museum with its entrance at ground level. By
nestling the museum into the site and occupying land below the built-out overlook, the facility will be a
model of ecologically advanced architecture and engineering.

THE MUSEUM
Attached to the visitor/interpretive center will be the Southern Vermont Natural History Museum. The
museum itself will be seen as a continuation of the visitors experience. The museum is a 501(c)(3) tax
exempt educational facility and will be soliciting both private and public funding to complete its part of
the larger project. The museum is conceived as a multi-story experience, with both static and interactive
exhibits, flexible exhibit spaces, live animal areas (such as the current live raptor exhibits and
amphibian tanks), and a space for school groups to gather and possibly stay overnight.

HOGBACK OVERLOOK ENHANCEMENT PROJECT:
Both the bulb-out of the overlook and the interpretive center will fit nicely with the project already
started with Federal Transportation Enhancement Funds. These funds granted in 1999 and 2002 funded
the initial feasibility study and the subsequent conceptual plans.

FACILITY MAINTENANCE AND STAFFING:
Maintenance and staffing of the Interpretive Center will vary with the season. During slow times, the
facility will be manned by museum staff. During the busy tourist season (Memorial Day through
October) two of the local chambers have expressed an interest in providing additional tourism services.
All maintenance and upkeep will be performed by museum staff.

PROJECT BENEFITS:
The Molly Stark Trail Interpretive Center is well located to take advantage of the large amount of
tourist traffic already frequenting this important site. The scenic overlook has served as a magnet for
over 50 years and this project will bring this important resource up-to-date, making the necessary safety
improvements that the site so sorely needs. The interpretive center will help to tie together all the
components of the Molly Stark Scenic Byway. It will inform travels of the areas unique resources and
the area's intrinsic qualities and will make a perfect fit to the other activities that the byway committee
is currently undertaking.

THE COLLABORATIVE EFFORT
Since the earliest conception of the interpretive/visitor center, widespread input and support was sought
from a broad range of interested parties. Throughout the initial feasibility stage we discovered that
programming support was strong from a wide range of participants including: The Town of Marlboro,
The Marlboro Planning Commission, the three chambers situated on the byway, The Southern Vermont
Regional Marketing Organization, the Conte Refuge, Green Mountain National Forest, The National
Weather Service, VTrans, The Vermont Information Center Division and the Windham Regional
Planning Commission. The resulting feasibility study reflected the input from all these organizations.

FINANCIAL PARTNERS
As the project has grown, so has the challenge to raise funds. As with any ongoing project, the forms of
financial support have been varied, both in their amounts and in their form. To date we have received
funds for either the feasibility study or the conceptual design phase from the following organizations:
The Vermont Community Foundation, The Windham Foundation, The Thompson Trust, The Federal
Enhancements Program, Southern Vermont Regional Marketing Organization and private donors. We
have received significant amounts of valuable donated time and services from Southern Vermont
Engineering, and Skyline Partners. We have also received promises of interpretive design help from
The Vermont Information Center Division, The Conte Refuge, Green Mountain National Forest, and
from NUR Macroprinters, Inc. for the actual printing of the informational graphics. In addition, the
owners of the 800 acres that surround the overlook have expressed repeatedly their desire to donate land
for the bulb-out of the overlook, the interpretive center and the museum.

As we move forward, we expect continued financial support from a wide range of supporters. Some of
these supporters have expressed an interest in our work and are following our plans closely. The levels
of commitment vary widely, as would be expected, at this stage of the development. One of our largest
funders, to date, has been the Federal Enhancements Program. With the reauthorization of the
Transportation Bill, this program is expecting to continue significant funding towards the project.