Appalachian Highlands Birding Trail Set for May Launch

Cherokee County, AL - Nine east-central Alabama counties will come together on May 12 to launch the Appalachian Highlands Birding Trail. The newly developed trail is the sixth of eight organized trails that will ultimately cover the state as birding becomes an increasingly important source of tourism revenue for Alabama.

The official trail launch will take place at 10:30 a.m. Central Time at The Canyon Center at Little River National Preserve, bringing together national and state legislators and other state representatives, as well as local officials and civic leaders from the nine counties.

Invited speakers include: Chris Kuykendall, Commissioner, Dekalb County Commission; Bill Jordan, Mayor, Fort Payne; John Dersham, Director of Tourism, Dekalb County; Thereasa Hulgan, Director of Tourism, Cherokee County; Richard Lindsey, Legislator, Alabama House of Representatives; Pete Conroy, JSU EPIC Director; Nisa Miranda, Birding Trail Project Director and Director of the University of Alabama Center for Economic Development; Keith Hudson, the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

There will be Bird Watching for Beginners, Nature Observation Hike, Make & Take Hummingbird Feeders Children's Craft, Bird of Prey Show, and other on-going learning stations.

The nine counties that make up the trail are Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Cleburne, Etowah, Jefferson, St Clair, Shelby, and Talladega. Three years in development, the Appalachian Highlands trail now features 38 approved sites covering an area of over four million acres. The trail website, www.alabamabirdingtrails.com, when completed, will offer detailed information about the sites and sounds of all of Alabama's birding trails.

As a form of tourism, birding has seen significant growth both nationally and certainly in Alabama over the past several years. Statistics show that the typical birding enthusiast is older and well-educated with disposable income - just the type tourist that we welcome to this area.

Contact:
Thereasa Hulgan
PPBT Coordinating Office
256-927-8455