UPPER LAKE – In an effort to ensure that the environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and locally owned businesses are well represented in the nominations for the North Coast Geotourism Project, the Lodge at Blue Lakes is hosting a forum to complete nomination applications on Friday, May 22, from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The end product of the North Coast Geotourism Project will be the production of a National Geographic Society branded map and a geotourism MapGuide website, with destinations nominated by community members, for the North Coast area of California, which included Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, Lake, Sonoma, and Marin Counties.

The deadline for nominations is May 31, 2009.

Marcia de Chadenèdes, outreach and partnership coordinator for the North Coast Geotourism Project, will be on hand May 22 to assist in the application process.

De Chadenèdes also will be the featured guest speaker Thursday, May 21, at the final Thursday Evening with the Schmids, a series of informal business-to-business gatherings to exchange ideas on dealing with the market downturn.

For more information and to make a nomination online, visit www.northcoastgeotourism.com.

To RSVP for the Thursday Evenings with the Schmids, please contact Sylvia DeSantis at 707-275-2181.

The Lodge at Blue Lakes is located at 5135 W. Highway 20, Upper Lake, www.thelodgeatbluelakes.com.