happy trails!

© Susan Salinger

Long car trips inevitably mean taking lots of breaks: snack breaks, restroom breaks, fuel breaks-even breaks to gape at roadside wonders, like the world's largest wheel of cheese. But breaks to bird? You got it. These pit stops are even on the maps.

Birding-trail maps, that is-handy depictions of a state's natural resources, connected by the open road. Since Texas welcomed people to the country's first section of driving trail six years ago, more than half the states in the nation have followed its lead.

These prime wildlife-watching sites may beeline across a county or may be strung together in meandering loops. They may be located just off of major highways, state routes, or small country roads. They may be on private or public land. Each site is as unique as the ecosystem it highlights, from Niagara's tumbling waters to Arizona's dry scrub. But they all have one thing in common: They're home to a wealth of avian treasures you might not otherwise find.

And what faster way to preserve a treasure than by trumpeting its value? After all, birders sleep, eat, and shop, just like everybody else. Trail maps frequently provide information on lodging, restaurants, and other places of interest.

This can be a real coup for rural areas, which often depend on extractive industries like mining. "People are searching for ways to diversify their economies," says David Whitehurst, director of the Wildlife Diversity Division of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, which is creating a statewide trail. "And if businesses and individuals see natural areas providing good social, economic, and cultural benefits," he says, "they will recognize that they have to protect them."

That's a lesson being learned by visitors' bureaus, departments of transportation, wildlife agencies, and, of course, Audubon chapters and state offices all around the country. These and many more entities have banded together into a hodgepodge of partnerships almost as diverse as the birding sites they sponsor.

The opportunities are tremendous. "Birding trails are a great way to encourage conservation of Important Bird Areas," says Laura Busby, director of centers and education for Audubon Ohio, which is aiding in trail development along the Lake Erie shore and the Ohio River. "And they encourage citizen science at nature centers."

Sally Crofoot calls the trails an "elegant solution" to the challenges private landowners face as well. She is general manager of Fennessey Ranch, a working ranch that runs about 300 cattle and is site No. 41 on the central portion of the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail. "One can't hardly make a ranch support itself on cattle alone," Crofoot says. "This area was very rich in oil and gas, but it's all drying up." The ranch now offers birding programs on its 3,500 acres of prime coastal Texas habitat, and attracts about 1,200 visitors a season.

What's truly exciting about birding trails is that birds are just the start. "The next generation of trails includes dragonflies, butterflies, beetles, and reptiles," says Ted Eubanks, a former Audubon board member and president of Fermata Inc., a consulting firm that specializes in nature tourism. Eventually, he says, they'll be linked into one Great American Nature Trail, with sites an easy drive from just about anywhere.

Best pack the binoculars.