“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” – Saint Augustine I recently came across an short article discussing the career of a very successful nature tour business owner and wildlife guide Mr. Geoffrey Kent of Abercrombie and Kent.  I want to share this article as a perspective on what is possible…. Consider what adventure you can partake or offer here in Texas! The articles starts…..”The founder and chief executive of the luxury tour operation Abercrombie & Kent, Geoffrey Kent, has… Read More →

Skunks   Skunks are arguably the most feared small mammal in the world (mice are the skunk’s main rival). Its just a natural human reaction to be wary of a skunk when encountered in the wild. Several Indians myths talk about skunk spray being deadly at one time, but after the skunk was defeated in battle, became merely obnoxious. We get our modern-day word for skunk from an Algonquian word that loosely translates into “urinating fox”. Yes, people have always been fascinated with novelties, and few animals in… Read More →

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: THURSDAY, DEC. 20, 2012   Census Bureau Reports Hunting, Fishing and Watching Wildlife Up 3 Percent from 2006 to 2011   More than 90 million U.S. residents age 16 and older participated in some form of wildlife-related recreation in 2011, up 3 percent from five years earlier, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report released today. In total, wildlife recreationists spent $144.7 billion in 2011 on their activities — accounting for about 1 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product.   These findings come from… Read More →

http://naturetourism.tamu.edu Providing assistance with market based conservation. According to the 2011 National Survey’s first preliminary report, In 2011 90.1 million Americans, 38% of the U.S. population 16 years old and older, enjoyed some form of fishing, hunting or wildlife-associated recreation. Outdoor recreation is a huge contributor to our nation’s economy. Expenditures by hunters, anglers and wildlife-recreationists were $145.0 billion. This equates to 1% of gross domestic product; meaning one out of every one hundred dollars of all goods and services produced in the U.S. is due to wildlife… Read More →

AgriLife Extension Nature Tourism Post by Intern Sarah Gracia- Summer 2012 Overview of Organization The Nature Tourism Program of AgriLife Extension was first created in 2001, and it represents 254 counties in Texas.  AgriLife Extension Nature Tourism helps communities, landowners,  businesses, and travelers with nature-based recreation & tourism  skills, planning, development, management, and marketing.  The program provides educational programs for the public, private business-both for profit and non-profit, landowners, and community leaders. Job Description The internship’s duties are as follows, but are not limited to: -Assisting with the development,… Read More →

Governor Rick Perry has proclaimed May 5-13 as Texas Travel & Tourism Week – a time to recognize the importance of the travel and tourism industry to our state’s workforce and economy.  As the Governor’s proclamation states, “The State of Texas is a premiere travel destination, and the travel and tourism industry is one of the state’s largest and most important.  Annually, the state celebrates Texas Travel and Tourism Week, not only to point out the significant economic impact of the travel industry, but …to acknowledge the more than half… Read More →

Food Safety Education and Planning for Agritourism Providers Webinar Wednesday, December 14, Noon to 1pm (Eastern Time) 12:00pm Central Time, please confirm time when you sign up. Free — open to all interested Hosted by: Lisa Chase, Londa Nwadike, and Ben Amsden University of Vermont Extension and the Plymouth State University Center for Rural Partnerships Understanding the latest in food safety is essential for farmers who sell products directly to consumers. This webinar will present the latest in food safety and food-based risk management issues specifically aimed at… Read More →

Reminder, Tuesday September 27th is the workshop for guide training. More details are listed under the workshops page however you can go to https://agrilferegister.tamu.edu search events for wildlife guide training This workshop can be combined with the online training and testing which will allow you to be eligble for Guide Certification by the Corpus Christi CVB and their marketing services. Take a look at http://www.visitcorpuschristitx.org/listings_certified_all.cfm

Hello, We are pleased to announce that we have a new volunteer with the nature tourism program! Anna Livia. She will be reporting from “the field” on the Guide Blog http://agrilife.org/naturetourism. You can read about her in her first post. This is actually just one of many things she is helping to accomplish. Welcome Anna!