MEETINGS TO DISCUSS HIGHWAY-BASED NATURE TRAILS
Western Kansas natural resources targeted

PRATT — Combined with agricultural, historical, and cultural attractions, Kansas natural resources can provide additional economic opportunity for small towns in Kansas. One special opportunity is the highway-based nature trail. Several workshops are being planned in western Kansas to explore opportunities for designing highway-based nature trails.

Patterned after successful efforts in Texas, Oklahoma, and other states, these trails provide travel information for tourists interested in seeing natural wonders and wildlife. There are many such natural attractions in western Kansas that remain largely unknown. Nature-based tourism has been the fastest growing outdoor activity in recent years, and Kansas can capitalize on this expanding market by developing and publicizing such areas.

The meetings will provide information on existing highway-based trails in other states, how to nominate potential areas for western Kansas, and the coordination process involved. Audubon of Kansas has been involved with similar trails in eastern Kansas.

This effort is a partnership led by the Western Kansas Rural Economic Development Alliance, the Kansas Nature-based Tourism Alliance, the Wild West Country Tourism Alliance, the Great Bend Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Kansas Division of Travel and Tourism, and the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP).

Anyone interested in learning how to develop more local nature tourism or to nominate a site should attend these workshops. They will last about an hour and one-half and will include presentations on nature tourism opportunities and resources in Kansas, as well as plans to publish nature tourism routes, loops, and attractions. For more information, email Ken Brunson, KDWP wildlife diversity coordinator, at kenb@wp.state.ks.us or phone him at 620-672-0757.

The following is a list of meetings to date: