Burlington, VT | September 10-13, 2006

“NETworking in tourism: People, places, and partnerships”

Wednesday, September 13, 2006 8:30 – 9:30 am "The Matrix of Opportunity" Ted Lee Eubanks President, Fermata, Inc.

About the speaker: Ted Lee Eubanks, currently residing in Austin, Texas, received a BA in Journalism from the University of Houston in 1978, and since 1984 has been involved in the founding and development of a series of businesses. Eubanks founded Fermata in 1992, and since that time has been engaged in studying and promoting experiential tourism as a resilient and appropriate economic approach for communities. For example, Eubanks and his Fermata staff have been involved in assessing the economic impacts of outdoor recreation, particularly related to wildlife. Fermata has surveyed wildlife watchers along the Platte River in Nebraska for the Environmental Protection Agency, on Delaware Bay for the New Jersey Game and Parks Commission, as well as travelers along the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail and attendees at the Rio Grande Birding Festival for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Fermata completed surveys of wildlife viewers in California for the Kern Valley Biodiversity Festival and the American River Salmon Festival. The results of these surveys have been published in journals such as the Journal of Ecotourism and Human Dimensions in Wildlife. In addition, Fermata has completed an overview of the North American ecotourism market for the North American Committee for Environmental Cooperation created under the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Eubanks and Fermata Inc. are directly involved in nature tourism product development as well. Eubanks conceptualized and implemented the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Fermata wildlife trail projects now include Texas, Virginia, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Alabama, Kansas, and Connecticut. Fermata has provided guidance and consultation for additional trail projects in states such as Colorado, Oregon, Florida, Montana, Idaho, Minnesota, and Maryland. Eubanks and Fermata also prepare economic and marketing feasibility studies, completing a feasibility study for the proposed World Birding Center in Texas that resulted in an investment of $30 million from the Texas Legislature and the FEDA. In addition, Eubanks and Fermata presently coordinate the operation of the World Birding Center corporation for the founding agencies and communities. Fermata has coordinated the Texas Prairie Rivers Initiative for the Texas Panhandle region, working with rural agricultural communities and private landowners to diversify their economic base. Additional strategic plans have been developed for: · Charles County, Maryland · Lonetree WMA and Garrison Conservancy District, North Dakota · Pembina Gorge and the Turtle Mountains, North Dakota · Big Thicket Region, Texas · Texas Prairie Rivers Region · Mission, Texas · Hidalgo, Texas · Weslaco, Texas · South Padre Island, Texas · Les Cheneaux, Michigan · Great Bend, Kansas (Cheyenne Bottoms) · The Rio Grande / Rio Bravo (Texas, Mexico) · Edge of Appalachia, Ohio · Wildcatter Ranch, Texas · New Brunswick, Canada Fermata Inc. is also involved in large-scale strategic planning, such as in north central Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Wilds), the Lake Erie shoreline of Ohio, along the Illinois River for the Illinois Nature Conservancy, Maine, and the Flinthills of Kansas. Internationally, Fermata has completed projects in Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Australia, and Panama. In addition, Fermata developed a nature tourism strategy for the island of Iriomote, Japan. Eubanks frequently speaks and conducts workshops on nature-based tourism and its economic potential for communities, agencies, and landholders. Eubanks addresses state tourism conferences, wildlife meetings, and economic development forums.