The Louisiana Office of Tourism is seeking site nominations known for exceptional birding and outdoor recreation to be included for the redesigned Louisiana Birding Trails. Louisiana Byways Director Sharon Calcote said the submissions will help breathe new life into these habitats that were developed in the 2000s.
“You know a lot has happened since the 2000s, we’ve had Katrina, we’ve had Rite, we’ve had Gustav, we’ve had Ike, Laura, and then we’ve had flooding. So habitats were disturbed around the state,” Calcote said.
Birdwatching has a major impact on the tourism industry with 45 million Americans partaking in the activity. Calcote said outdoor recreation, which includes birdwatching, accounts for nearly 7 million dollars of income for the state.
“It has nearly 62 thousand jobs associated with it and nearly three billion dollars in salaries and wages so it’s a pretty substantial part,” Calcote said.
Submissions can include local parks, state parks, wildlife management areas, and even private sites as long as the property owner agrees birdwatchers can visit their area. Calcote said currently there are around 254 trails on the website but that number isn’t fixed.
“We can have any number, we’re hoping to get a thousand. We will be able to look at anything that’s nominated,” Calcote said.
Nominations can be submitted at www.labirdingtrails.com by September 30th.
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