Birding, agri-tourism top possibilities

Workshops continue in quest to attract destination dollars to six-county area

Travel officials in northeast Colorado continue to work on a plan to boost tourism in the area.

About 20 interested people from across the six-county area attended a workshop in Sterling

Thursday to develop a master plan for regional tourism. The workshop was the latest in a series sponsored by the Colorado Tourism Office and funded by a state grant. The group, headed by Logan County Tourism Director Marilee Johnson, has been having the workshops since 2019.

The most recent session focused on existing tourism opportunities and, again, bird-watching and agritourism bubbled to the top as ways to draw visitors to experience northeast Colorado.

Dan Moore of the Colorado Tourism Office told the group this area is ideal for bird-watching because of the number of birds and the variety of species that are here.

According to Ducks Unlimited, Colorado straddles the borders between the Central and Pacific Flyways, which means a large number of different species can be found here. Colorado also is rich in habitat, and agricultural communities are avid conservationists.

Moore said “bird tourism” also is ideal for northeast Colorado because it’s a low-impact activity and attracts visitors year-round. He said wildlife birders spent $39 million tracking wild fowl in 2016, the last year numbers are available.

Agritourism, which has been on Johnson’s agenda for several years, also is ideal for northeast Colorado, but Moore said it doesn’t have to involve on-site tours of farms and ranches.

“It can just be a farm-to-table thing, where the meals you eat and the food you buy comes from known local sources,” Moore said.

Participants on Thursday went through a series of exercises designed to identify specific areas that can be developed in the near future and potential for future development. Moore and