Cheyenne Bottoms Receives a $15,000 Attraction Development Grant!

By Madinah Hazim, Public Information Officer

Cheyenne Bottoms will receive a new addition to its world-class attraction in the spring of 2007. Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks has received a grant for building the Kansas Wetlands Interpretive Center at Cheyenne Bottoms, where people can learn about the history and the wildlife that inhabits the Cheyenne Bottoms. Kansas Wildlife & Parks has partnered with many other public and private entities to secure the remaining funding required to complete this project.

Cheyenne Bottoms has been a popular destination for birdwatchers for many years. Over 320 bird species have been spotted in the Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area. Birdwatchers can observe birds feeding along the roadways.

Cris Collier, director of the Great Bend CVB, believes that the Wetlands Interpretive Center will be a great addition to Cheyenne Bottoms. She thinks it will help people understand the evolution of the wetlands. Collier believes the interpretive center will help provide different ways of telling the story of the wetlands in an interactive and educational manner.

“The theme of the Wetlands Interpretive Center will be Motion and Change,” Collier said. “We want to tell the story of the motion and change in the areas of geology, weather, wildlife, people and wildfire.”

The CVB received a $15,000 attraction development grant from Kansas Department of Commerce. Funding for the grant is provided by the Economic Development Initiatives Fund (EDIF), which is derived from state lottery proceeds.

Collier said that receiving the grant has allowed the CVB to hire a consulting company to help with developing the interpretive/marketing plan for the center. This grant is just one example of the partnering among organizations for the development and completion of this project.

According to Collier, Kansas Wetland & Wildlife Scenic Byway (of which Cheyenne Bottoms is a major anchor) was designated as a national scenic byway by the Federal Highway Administration. This byway joins the Flint Hills byway in becoming the first such national byways for the state of Kansas. In addition, Collier said that Kansas and Florida are the only two states in the U.S. that have three wetlands which have been designated as wetlands of international importance.

“Due to the grant, we have been able to contract with Fermata,” Collier said. “Fermata, Inc. are the professionals who will help us tell the story of the wetlands,” Collier said. “With their help we will be able to make the Kansas Wetlands Interpretive Center a world-class attraction.”

Fermata is a consulting group with documented expertise in nature-based tourism.

Collier said that she is very excited to work with Fermata’s design team, especially Shomer Zwelling, because he helped build the interpretive design for the National Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.

“Zwelling has an amazing level of expertise and professionalism,” Collier said. “We can’t wait to see how he will help us with the interpretive design on the center.”

The Kansas Wetlands Interpretive Center is scheduled to have its opening in the late spring of 2007. For more information on the Kansas Wetlands Interpretive Center at Cheyenne Bottoms visit http://www.cheyennebottoms.net/ or call the Great Bend Convention and Visitors Bureau at 1-877-427-9299.