Orange Beach enters ecotourism business
Two-hour trips through Back Country Trail will begin this week Sunday, January 25, 2009 By RYAN DEZEMBER Staff Reporter
ORANGE BEACH - Eager to tap into the growing ecotourism market and show off the diverse ecosystems within its boundaries, the City Council has approved a resolution setting guidelines for paid tours of the Back Country Trail.
"We're just trying to expose our Back Country Trail to as many people as possible," Mayor Tony Kennon said last week. "It's just a great asset to have."
Several years in the making, the Back Country Trail is a network of about 16cm HALF miles of paths that traverse a variety of ecosystems, from pitcher plant bogs and ancient maritime forest to pine savanna, swamps and scrub-covered dunes.
"There are places there where you're hard pressed to believe you're on Pleasure Island," Coastal Resources Manager Phillip West said.
The tours will begin this week. They'll last about two hours with up to another hour set aside for participants to peruse the Orange Beach Museum at no charge.
The trips will be conducted on six-person golf carts, which means each one is limited to five participants and the guide. Each person will be charged $15 to go on the trip, but a group of five will only have to pay a total of $60 - cash or check only.
Of course, the trail and surrounding public lands will still be free to anyone who wants to visit on their own .
West said the tours will be accessible to people - young, old or disabled - who may not have been able to reach the deepest parts of the trail, but will also allow for the entire trail to be viewed in a two-hour stretch.
Most tours will be led by Larry Ellis, who was hired in 2006 as the city's forester but has since taken on duties related to wildlife. Ellis, who has a forestry degree from Auburn University, has worked for the Nature Con servancy and was, at one point in the 1970s, an intern at the Gulf State Park, portions of which the trail runs through.
In addition to discussing the flora and fauna along the trail, Ellis said he hopes to tie in cultural and historical tidbits into his talks during the tours.
For now, tours can be booked by calling Ellis at 251-981-6979.
Ecotourism is one of the fastest-growing segments of the tourism industry and Alabama's beaches are eager to cash in, said Mike Foster, the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau's vice president of marketing. To that end, the organization has for several years hosted conferences on sustainable tourism and watchable wildlife.
Visitors to Alabama's beaches aren't content to sit on the beach for seven days and head home anymore - they want things to do, Foster said.
"The reality is we as a destination have to diversify what we offer," Foster said. "Any kind of group that is down here is looking for new experiences."
West said city officials are currently surveying trail users and have found that it "has spurred some economic activity, which I think will be surprising when we present the data."
These users may have bought bikes or binoculars or hiking boots, West said. They might also tack on extra days to a stay at the beach or even make a special trip to enjoy the trail, he said.
"Hopefully it will become a destination for people to enjoy in many forms whether it's nature watching, exercise or just solitude," West said.
Kennon and West said that they are also contemplating some sort of water-based ecotours, exploring the variety of aquatic habitats - from the Gulf of Mexico to the back bays to the islands north of Perdido Pass - around Orange Beach.
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