Travel briefs

Plan would spruce up Jamestown for 400th anniversary

JAMESTOWN, Va. -- Historic Jamestowne would add water taxis, a tram system and a pedestrian-bicycle bridge under a plan to spruce it up for the 400th anniversary of its 1607 founding as the first permanent English settlement in North America.

The plan will make the island, better known as Jamestown Island, more accessible and understandable to visitors and increase the quality of research and educational programs, say the island's joint owners, the National Park Service and the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities.

A public meeting is scheduled Sept. 12 at the Williamsburg Community Building, and comments on the plan will be accepted through Oct. 1. A final decision on the exact plan that will be followed is expected by Jan. 1, with construction to begin in 2003 and be completed by the end of 2006.

If approved, the plan would lead to replacement of the visitor center, the integration of now-separate park service and APVA facilities and a host of new exhibit facilities.

The parking lot would shrink, and most visitors in the busy seasons would arrive by foot, tram, shuttle bus or boat from a parking and reception area north of the island, across the Back River.

Wisconsin officials promote statewide bird trail

MADISON, Wis. -- Wisconsin wildlife officials want to make it easier for people to spot a dark-eyed junco, a horned grebe and other birds.

Employees with the state Department of Natural Resources are spreading the word about plans for the Great Wisconsin Birding Trail, the state's most comprehensive and ambitious wildlife-watching project.

The DNR hired Ted Eubanks, who owns a Texas-based nature tourism company called Fermata Inc., to get the trail started. He helped establish similar trails in other states.

Eubanks said the trail will help the state capitalize on a growing ecotourism market.

"This isn't just about some warm and little fuzzy project building a trail," Eubanks said. "This trail is going to make it easier for local economic development people to plug into the business of nature."

Federal money is paying for most of the project, said Susan Foote-Martin, a DNR conservation biologist.

The trail will link dozens of the state's most popular bird-watching sites and some of its lesser-known ones, she said. The state will provide visitors with guides to bird life and places to stay and to visit.

-- From wire reports