Water and Wildlife Spark EcoTourism Boom
business, eco-tourists, elizabeth city, mark powell, natural resource conservation service, recreation, waterfront,
A rich variety of wildlife and waterways are drawing eco-tourists from near and far to the Elizabeth City region.
Many come to follow a new network of paddling trails and camping platforms called the Paths of Pasquotank. The trail system stretches south from upper Pasquotank and Camden counties near the Virginia line down to Edenton.
“The greatest asset we have in this region is water,” says Mark Powell, of the Natural Resource Conservation Service.
The Conservation Service has been working with the Albemarle Resource Conservation and Development Council and the North Carolina Paddle Trails Association on developing the Paths of Pasquotank.
In addition to the new platforms, the council and the N.C. Paddle Trails Association have updated and installed trail markers throughout Pasquotank, Perquimans, Camden and Chowan counties.
“We want to try to develop the nature-based tourism on a regional level,” Powell says. “We think we’ve got a good start on that by putting in these camping platforms and marking and maintaining the paddle trails.”
Several grants were used to fund the construction of the camping platforms. Four platforms were added along the upper Pasquotank River in 2007 through a $50,000 grant from the North Carolina Recreational Trail Program. Camping platforms also were added in Chowan County and Perquimans County, which received a $100,000 Golden Leaf Foundation grant to construct eight platforms. The elevated wooden platforms are about three to four feet off the swamp floor.
“There’s a narrow walkway that goes 75 feet into the woods into wooden camping platforms that are big enough to put a tent, with some room to move around,” Powell says. “It’s primitive camping, and you pack everything in and you have to pack everything out.”
These and other recreational opportunities, from kayaking to hiking, should give the local economy a boost, says Debbie Leete, community outreach manager for Albemarle Health and secretary for Paths of Pasquotank.
“We feel this is a wonderful opportunity to step in and allow people to focus on [disease] prevention and get people outside and away from the TV,” she says. “We’re all starting to learn about ecotourism and the benefits for those counties.”
Elizabeth City and other communities in the region are well equipped to handle the growing influx of visitors, Leete notes.
“We have a hotel and restaurant base, a lot of historical sites, and quaint little towns and communities,” she says. “We have the perfect package for tourism opportunities.”
George “Bucket” Taylor, who worked for years as a naturalist for the Virginia State Parks system, knows some of the best spots around Pasquotank County and 15 other counties in the region.
“Northeastern North Carolina is probably the only place in the country where in an hour and a half you can be in seven national wildlife refuges,” Taylor says. “The richness of bio-diversity in this area is overwhelming,” he says.
The Elizabeth City Area Convention & Visitors Bureau has found that eco-tourism can be a positive for the community.
“We don’t really have to do much to improve our product,” says Russ Haddad, bureau director. “Mother Nature has done it all for us.”
Story by Cristal Cody
Photo by Ian Curcio
