Showing Off Birds to Benefit
         Communities and Conservation

       Do you know of a local park or nature center that is a fantastic spot for viewing birds and other wildlife? Do you own a wetland that attracts a great number of shorebirds, or a lake that is just splendid for viewing ducks? Perhaps you have a secluded woodlot that is home to all kinds of songbirds year round, or a grassland that serves as a booming ground for Prairie Chickens and nesting habitat for all sorts of prairie birds? If so, these resources may be perfect sites for inclusion in the Nebraska Birding Trails Project! This project already includes over 400 publicly owned sites, and is now accepting nominations for privately owned sites. Attracting birdwatchers to spend time in local communities promotes ecotourism and economic development, which encourages further habitat conservation to benefit birds and other wildlife.
      Ecotourism offers a relatively untapped economic development opportunity for Nebraska communities, families, and individuals. Over 43 million American adults (ages 16 or over), for example, watch and identify birds as a pastime, and 18 million travel to do so. Birdwatching activities generate annual economic output of $85 billion, including $32 billion in retail sales. In addition to Nebraska's internationally noted Sandhill Crane migration, Nebraska offers an enormous array of birdwatching opportunities, many of them fairly unique. Our State is positioned where east meets west, and forest meets prairie, creating a wide diversity of habitats for both eastern and western birds. As a result, Nebraska is one of the greatest, relatively undiscovered, locations for birdwatching in the United States.
       Landowners, birdwatchers, and communities form a unique partnership that everyone can benefit from! Click here to link to the Nebraska Birding Trails website. To request a nomination packet, click here.