Lewis and Clark slept here: trail states hope expedition's bicentennial is a boon.

• Author: Devlin, Sherry

Never has an American president delivered so spectacularly on a promise to Congress as did Thomas Jefferson when he commissioned the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Two hundred years ago this past January, Jefferson asked the leaders of his infant nation for $2,500 to mount an exploratory mission into "uncharted territory"--for the purpose, he promised, of "extending the external commerce of the United States."

Did he ever.

Jefferson's Corps of Discovery claimed for America an expanse of land barely imaginable then or now, rich in natural resources, wildlife species and indigenous people. American commerce--and history--would never be the same.

Now, two centuries later, the Lewis and Clark Expedition is itself a moneymaker.

Officially launched on Jan. 18 at Jefferson's mountaintop home in Virginia, the expedition's bicentennial has given birth to a dozen so-called "signature events," multi-day celebrations spanning the American continent and three and a half years.

At last count, 17 states claimed some piece of the Lewis and Clark story, hoping to attract history buffs and touring families during the bicentennial years. Advocacy groups hope to use the commemoration to draw attention--and dollars--to a litany of preservation-minded causes. Government agencies look to do some of both: attract visitors to public lands and waterways, and attract dollars for maintenance and improvements.

"Lewis and Clark float a lot of boats," said Jon Campbell, whose job it was at January's inaugural event to show off the handiwork of the U.S. Geological Survey.

Crowded into a conference room at the University of Virginia with dozens of other exhibitors, Campbell was on orders to call visitors' attention to a display of historic and modern-day maps--the Geological Survey's handiwork.

"We are the federal agency that does what Lewis and Clark did," he said. "We're still out there, noting the soil conditions, vegetation, stream flows, and animal species. They made maps, we make maps."

Across the room, all-in-green rangers for the U.S. Forest Service handed out wildflower seeds--all species recorded in Lewis' journals. A booth or two away, an Army Corps of Engineers retiree was dressed as Pvt. John Thompson, a surveyor who enlisted in the U.S. Army so he could accompany the captains west.

An adjoining ballroom was filled to overflowing with promotional exhibits for states along the explorers' cross-country route. Kansas was giving away leather coasters emblazoned with a bicentennial logo. Montana had lapel pins, as did North Dakota. A tourism official from Oregon was handing out posters of his state's rugged coastline. The Missouri delegation was dressed in period costumes.

Back at his station, Campbell--the USGS mapmaker--explained: "This commemoration has the attention of a lot of people whose attention we would like as well."

Promote it and They May Come

But the Lewis and Clark bicentennial is not a "build-it-and-they-will-come" event.

"No way," said Carl Wilgus, director of Idaho's Division of Tourism. "Promote...