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Wildlife, nature tourism, agritourism feel effects of Texas' worrisome weatherTexas Drought, hurricanes, storms, floods and other weather woes this year have affected much of the state's nature and agriculture-based tourism businesses, according to experts. "The weather's effect on wildlife and nature sites has led to a reduction in wildlife viewing, hunting and other outdoor recreation and activities in many parts of the state," said Miles Phillips, Texas AgriLife Extension Service nature tourism specialist in College Station. The impact has been especially significant along coastal areas, but has affected other parts of the state to a lesser degree, Phillips said. And agriculture-based tourism has been affected, too. "Nature tourism, everything from bird watching, camping, visiting preserves and state parks, kayaking, fishing and other recreational activities, has been affected in coastal areas from the Rio Grande Valley in the south to Galveston and Beaumont to the north," he said. Phillips added that this year's extremes of drought and flooding in many parts of the state have also led to fewer people making on-farm visits related to agriculture-based tourism. "In addition, there's also a lot of agritourism, such as pumpkin patches, corn mazes and hay rides, that take place in the fall," he said. "Drought and flooding won't help these either." There are currently no estimates on the economic impact of these acts of nature, but a 2006 study commissioned by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department shows the statewide economic impact from wildlife-related recreation alone is $15.8 billion annually. Bird watching and hunting, particularly that related to birds on a southward migration through Texas, were both affected by hurricanes Dolly and Ike, said Jim Gallagher, AgriLife Extension wildlife specialist at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Uvalde. "Migrating ducks and geese typically land in rice and sorghum fields around Beaumont and other parts of upper coastal Texas, so Ike deprived them of many landing and feeding sites," he said. "And many coastal bird species were displaced and had to go inland. This made both bird watching and hunting in these areas more difficult this year." Gallagher added that heavy rains and tornados from Hurricane Dolly also created problems for quail, turkey and other ground-nesting birds in South and South Central Texas. "Even though these birds, along with doves and chachalacas, have generally recovered, widespread flooding spoiled a lot of good feed fields, and that will make it a challenge for hunters to find good bird concentrations in some areas," he said. Gallagher added that the long, dry summer reduced grain crops in South Central Texas, which will have a negative impact on dove hunting. As for deer hunting, Gallagher said while this year's hurricanes scattered some deer in coastal and nearby inland counties, the overall effect on the deer population will be nominal. "But rains from Ike helped counter the drought and greened up many parts of Texas, so it looks like the deer will be pretty well dispersed when the season opens," he said. "While that's good news for the deer, it's bad news for the hunter, because the deer will be harder to locate." Orange and Jefferson counties in upper coastal Texas saw a high mortality with alligators and other popular viewing wildlife due to Ike, while squirrel and deer populations were affected by trees downed by high winds, said Jim Cathey, AgriLife Extension wildlife ecologist. Along with Dolly and Ike causing serious direct damage to many nature-based operations and activities, they affected others well before making landfall. "We closed 37 state parks temporarily, in anticipation of or due to Ike, and seven of them are still closed," said Walt Dabney, state parks director for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. "We also let more than 6,000 evacuees stay free at other state parks." Recent flooding in the Trans-Pecos and Lower Rio Grande areas has affected visitor access to area parks, Dabney said. He added that drought, too, created challenges, with burn bans affecting camping and dry conditions leading to fires, including one at Mission Tejas State Park. Revenues for state parks were up this year, but the fiscal year ended in August and figures do not reflect the economic impact of Hurricane Ike. Other department sources added that hunting and fishing licensing is down from last year, but overall park visitation is good due to the park system having more than 100 sites statewide. Many national wildlife refuges also either closed temporarily or remain closed. "Three wildlife refuges in the Texas Chenier Plain Refuges Complex area of the northern Gulf Coast were essentially destroyed by Ike and another half dozen were damaged," said Desiree Sorenson-Groves, vice president for governmental affairs with the National Wildlife Refuge Association. "In all, there was about $260 million in storm damage, but the real long-term economic impact is on nearby communities. Each dollar wildlife refuges bring in generates four dollars of income for the surrounding community." Farther down the coast, Rockport canceled its 20th annual Hummer/Bird Celebration in mid-September when early reports indicted Ike might strike the area. "We lost out on 5,000 visitors and an estimated $500,000 in tourist revenue to the area," said Diane Probst, president and CEO of the Rockport-Fulton Area Chamber of Commerce. "But the wider effect of cancellation and loss of tourism led to layoffs and a challenging September." "Right now I'd say nature tourism here is almost non-existent," said Herb Price, president of the Galveston Island Nature Tourism Council. "We usually have about 5 million people a year visit the Galveston area. This year we'll have significantly less, so the economic impact will be tremendous. Right now we can't say how many millions of dollars." Price said between nature tourism businesses being damaged or destroyed, insufficient personnel to staff those still open, and the absence of water and electricity, many are unsure if their operations will survive. "There's no bird watching, wildlife viewing, hiking or camping activity," he said. "And there are few water activities, like fishing, boating or kayaking. Of course, it's also going to take a while before we get the beaches back in shape for tourists." Price added, however, that there are "signs of life" for area nature tourism, and that his organization is helping coordinate a nature tourism survey and develop a recovery plan. In the meantime, Galveston hopes to have at least two area beaches open in time for the 2009 spring break and is going forward with its annual Galveston Island FeatherFest to be held April 3 to 6. "Nature tourism and agritourism are important and growing industries for Texas," said Phillips. "And in the same way wildlife and agriculture rebound, these industries in areas affected by this year's weather will rebound, too." More information on nature tourism can be found at http://naturetourism.tamu.edu. 10/27/08 Date: 10/23/08
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