Overview

San Juan Skyway Scenic and Historic Byway (San Juan Skyway) was approved to participate in the Reimagine Industry Associations Program by the Colorado Tourism Office in October 2022. 

The purpose of San Juan Skyway is to provide recreational, educational, and economic benefits to Coloradans and visitors by designating, interpreting, protecting, and promoting the Byway and its gateway communities. Designated as a National Forest Scenic Byway in 1988, and by the State of Colorado as a Colorado Scenic Byway in 1987, San Juan Skyway was the first byway in Colorado to receive these official designations. 

San Juan Skyway was paired with Kathleen Pittman, a CRAFT Mentor with experience in tourism economic development, organizational strategy, governance, and management, to deliver 75 hours of consulting to conduct the activities listed below.

The purpose of this Reimagine Industry Associations Mentor project was to reestablish a governance structure for San Juan Skyway that provides sufficient capacity, effective systems, and an achievable workload for management of the byway and its assets. 

Project objectives included:

• identify the individuals who will govern San Juan Skyway, and their roles and responsibilities
• develop a management framework for San Juan Skyway based on a stakeholder engagement process
• develop a short-term work plan to meet the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) requirements for Scenic and Historic Byways
• identify medium-term priorities for updating the San Juan Skyway Corridor Management Plan (CMP)

San Juan Skyway achieved the following results with its Reimagine Industry Associations Mentor:

• stakeholder list and position descriptions that identify the individuals to govern San Juan Skyway, representation of constituent communities along the byway, and roles and responsibilities
• management structure for the San Juan Skyway, based on completion of a robust stakeholder engagement process
• short-term (2023-2024) action plan and high-level outline of medium-term (2023-2033) priorities 
   

About Reimagine Industry Associations Program

The Reimagine Industry Associations Program supports Colorado tourism industry associations to foster long-term resilience. Awarded industry associations receive 75 hours of consulting and a $10,000 creative asset production shoot from the Colorado Tourism Office.