Nebraska Birding Trails Project

 

The Nebraska Partnership for ALL Bird Conservation (NPABC) was organized in May, 2002 and is currently comprised of over 75 partners statewide. Those partners include state and local government agencies, public and private businesses, conservation groups and private citizens. The NPABC has seven workgroups which are addressing the conservation and education needs for Nebraska's rich birding heritage. These workgroups are overseen by the NPABC Steering Committee, a group of community leaders from across the state.

 

The NPABC Birding Trails Work Group has taken on the task of connecting approximately 400+ bird viewing locations throughout Nebraska using state highways and Scenic By-Ways. These sites include diverse habitats, such as the lowland deciduous forests of the Missouri Valley, the eastern tall grass prairies, the Platte and Niobrara River corridors, the Sandhills grasslands, short grass plains, and the wooded buttes of the Pine Ridge. Nebraska, because of its central geographic position in North America, offers birders an opportunity to see a transitional avifauna between the eastern and western species. Additionally, birding in the Sandhills offers one of the best remaining opportunities to see Great Plains grassland birds in all of North America. The Birding Trails Project is an inter-active web site where users are able to access individual birding sites, locator maps, road access information, and information about local bird species and site habitats. Where available, local site checklists of birds will be provided. The current identified birding sites are primarily on public lands and lands operated for the public by private entities. Additional sites will include properties of private landowners where rich birding habitats occur and who wish to participate in the Nebraska Birding Trails Project.

 

The economics associated with birding was published in a 2001 survey by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The survey found that people engaged in bird related activities in the United States account for an annual economic out put of 85 billion dollars. Bird enthusiasts generate 32 billion dollars in retail sales and account for 13 billion dollars in Federal and State income tax yearly. To support the needs of these birding activities over 800,000 jobs have been created. The economics of birding could prove beneficial to many Nebraska communities while promoting the sustainability of bird habitats. The routes for Nebraska's statewide birding trails which will appear on the Nebraska Birding Trails website will utilize Nebraska's Scenic Byways as well as state and county roads with additional routes to be determined as new birding sites are added. Communities with websites will be linked to the Nebraska Birding Trails through the Nebraska Department of Tourism website. Those communities will be able to offer information to resident and non-resident travelers on other nature-based tourism opportunities in the area as well as nearby lodging, restaurants, retail outlets, community services, local events and other travel-related amenities. Participating communities will be associated with the regional birding sites found in their area as described on the Nebraska Birding Trails webpage.

 

Birding Trails Promote Nature-Based Tourism as the primary purpose of a birding trail is to direct birdwatchers to opportunities for viewing birds. Trails address the biggest need of the bird watching market, which is to find places where they can successfully see the specific birds that interest them. This is particularly a need of those birdwatchers wanting to travel outside their home communities. This is also the segment of the bird watching population that will spend money on transportation, lodging, restaurants, and other travel-related items. Many states around the country have recently developed, or are in the process of developing, regional birding trails. These states include nearly all of our neighbors: Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, South Dakota, and Colorado as well as Texas, Oklahoma and North Dakota. A future vision of a Central Great Plains Birding Trail stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian border is shared by many. One of the main reasons birding trails have become so popular nationwide is that they can benefit local economies by stimulating nature-based tourism. As a result, by placing an economic value on habitats for birds it strongly supports the conservation those bird habitats. It produces a win-win situation for the economy and for conservation.

 

The data for the Birding Trails web site will provide more extensive information than just location and directions to productive birding areas throughout the state. Each identified birding site will contain: the name of the site, size in acres, types of habitat, written directions to compliment the detailed maps, birds specific to each location and best season in which to view them. Each site will list ownership; Federal, state, private organization or privately owned land, plus the facilities available at each particular site. Future searches will permit users to select a specific species of bird which will then show the area of Nebraska and the identified sites where that particular bird species may be observed. Users will also be able to select a specific area of Nebraska they may be traveling to and find out what bird species may be located in that area and again the sites where these species can be viewed. This information is being provided by Dr. Paul Johnsgard, longtime Nebraska resident and Professor Emeritus of the University of Nebraska, who has dedicated nearly 40 years of his life to researching the flora and fauna of Nebraska and the Central Great Plains. Dr. Johnsgard's bird studies throughout Nebraska are proving to be an invaluable source of data to make the Nebraska Birding Trails project a success.

 

The Nebraska Birding Trails Project is a two phase program. Phase one is the web based statewide birding trails system where new features will be added as they are developed. Phase two of the Nebraska Statewide Birding Trails Project is publishing hard copy maps in a user friendly form which will be distributed across Nebraska where travel information is now available. These hard copy maps will also be available at national trade shows, conferences, and upon request by mail from birders traveling to Nebraska. The completion date for phase two of the Nebraska Birding Trails Project has yet to be determined by the Birding Trails Workgroup.

 

The Birding Trails workgroup has developed a format for participants to follow to assure consistency throughout both phase one, the inter-active web based birding trails site, and phase two, published hard copy birding trail maps. It is necessary to maintain that consistency to avoid confusion and produce a user friendly standardized product that will not vary from border to border or site to site. This uniformity will also reduce the overall cost and provide the tools needed for areas in Nebraska already considering birding trails as a source of economic development.

 

Funding the Nebraska Birding Trails Project will come from a variety of sources. The Birding Trails Workgroup has already received a grant from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development with matching funds from Nebraska's Wildlife Fund. Additional grant funding opportunities are underway for developing additional features on the website. This initial investment has created an opportunity for a source of economic growth for communities across Nebraska. Those communities are being empowered to protect and possibly enhance the bird habitats in their respective areas for future economic development. Participating Private landowners with productive bird habitats will be able to charge for services and set fees for allowing bird watchers to enjoy the avi-fauna on their properties. Sponsorships and contributions are being requested from both the public and private business sectors to support the Nebraska Birding Trails Project. These sponsors and contributors will be acknowledged with their name, logo and web page link appearing on the birding trails website and published on hard copy trail maps. The Nebraska Birding Trails Project is a partnership between the NPABC, the Birding Trails Workgroup, participating communities and private landowners as an effort to increase economic development across the state and promote good stewardship of bird habitats.

 

Community participation in the Nebraska Birding Trails Project is essential to the overall success in stimulating economic growth and promoting the conservation bird habitats. Communities near identified birding sites will be listed on the website. Website users will obtain information about those communities directly from each birding site through the Nebraska Department of Tourism's website. The Birding Trails workgroup also encourages participation from local Chambers of Commerce, business organizations, county governments and Extension Departments and regional RC&Ds. The NPABC Birding Trails Workgroup members are non-paid volunteers who are working to provide a valuable tool to generate economic development across Nebraska and conserve Nebraska's rich birding heritage.

 

Partnering for the success of the NPABC's Nebraska Birding Trails Project is the Nebraska Department of Travel and Tourism, the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, and the Nebraska Scenic By-Ways Council. Nature based tourism has been identified by these agencies as an activity capable of generating additional dollars for Nebraska's economy from nature enthusiasts with-in Nebraska and those traveling to the state.

 

Community links and participation in the Nebraska Birding Trails Project will be an important asset in promoting and maintaining Nebraska's statewide birding trails system. Links will be added that allow people to access many state agencies which are essential to the tourism industry in Nebraska (Nebraska Department of Travel & Tourism, Nebraska's Scenic By-Ways Council, Nebraska Game & Parks Commission, etc.). Additional links will also provide users with a variety of on-line bird related topics from regional and national websites.

 

The Nebraska Birding Trails Workgroup will continue to work with eVorticity on the website design. The workgroup will maintain an updated list of communities, organizations, state, regional and county agencies and private landowners who wish to participate in the Nebraska Birding Trails Project. The process of entering data on the Nebraska Birding Trails website will be an on-going task by the workgroup. Current birding sites will continue to be updated and new birding sites will be added. New features will be incorporated as they are developed and funding becomes available. To participate in the Nebraska Birding Trails Project contact the NPABC's Birding Trails Workgroup. The workgroup will answer questions, provide additional information, or make every effort to send a representative to speak with your group or organization about the Nebraska Birding Trails Project.

Groups, agencies, and individuals who wish to contact us please send e-mail to: info@nebraskabirdingtrails.com