"Mud Map" is an Australian term for a crude map orienting a new-comer to a community. It was common practice in the outback to draw a map in the mud showing visitors where to find water, shelter, food, residents etc. Since it rains only during one time of the year in much of Australia, these maps would remain for a long time. The term became part of the vernacular referring to a map introducing a new-comer to a remote area. You can go into any visitor center in Australia (and virtually every community has one) and ask for a mud map. They will know exactly what you are asking for. Because this idea was promoted by David Bull, Stevens County's previous Tourism Coordinator, who hailed from Sidney Australia, it became our shorthand for the tourism maps he created. The term has come under some fire for being easily confused with "mudding", a sport of driving Off Highway Vehicles (OHVs) through a muddy area to see who would make it and who would get stuck. This practice can be great fun in the right situation but too often is associated with destruction of the environment and is forbidden by the Forest Service.
The original 20,000 Mud Maps produced and distributed in Stevens County were a great hit. They went quickly, gained a name for themselves and created a demand for more. David initiated a grant proposal with the Forest Service to produce similar maps for each county in Northeast Washington. The proposal has taken some time to work it's way through the system but now (September 2008), thanks in part to a light fire season, the project has been funded to produce 100,000 tourism maps for Northeast Washington. The time line can extend into March 2009, but is scheduled to have preparation, printing and distribution complete before December of 2008.
The grant was awarded to the Colville Chamber of Commerce with Title II Forest Service money. Joseph Barreca with the company Map Metrics is coordinating the development of information, mapping work, printing and distribution. Trica Woods with the Colville Chamber of Commerce, is the official representative for the Chamber. She has contributed some ideas from similar maps seen during her travels. The original format was 11" x 17" pads of 100 maps each that could sit on a counter, be marked up to suit the needs of the users, torn off and taken for free. We are sticking with this but creating a layout on the reverse side that will allow the maps to be folded down to a standard brochure size and inserted in information stands.
Developing content for these maps, and links to further information that can be printed, posted on line and revised as necessary will take participation from a large number of interested parties. Map review groups are being formed for each of the three counties. There is money in this grant to finance travel and communication. People in each county will have an opportunity to see drafts and revisions and approve a final draft before they are printed. If you want to participate in this process, please contact Joseph Barreca, 509-738-6155 or joe.barreca@gmail.com.