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A Success Story
from Canadian, Texas — but it can happen anywhere
click map to enlarge
Far away from everything, Canadian, Texas was desperately struggling for survival
just a few years ago. The oil and gas boom of the 50s and 60s had dried up and
blown away—and ranching wasn’t much better off. The town of 1500 was
rapidly losing its young people and its hope for the future.
But Canadian did have something special — Lesser Prairie-Chickens and
the natural riches of the Canadian River and the Texas High Plains. Community
leader Remelle Farrar noticed an article about Fermata President Ted Eubanks in
Progressive Farmer magazine (an interesting story in its own right), and
invited Ted to consider working with Canadian on a nature tourism strategy.
In late 1998 Ted suggested that Canadian and the surrounding communities create
a wildlife coop — the Texas
Prairie Rivers Initiative. Local landowners, goods and service providers,
and tourism promoters would ban together to offer an array of travel opportunities
and experiences. Travel and tourism would serve as a catalyst by which the region
might revision its economy and its future.
Today, Canadian has a wildlife co-op that books trips for nature tourists to
see prairie-chickens and to immerse themselves in a cowboy culture for a few days.
The profits from the tours are split fairly among restaurants, B&Bs and ranchers.
A $250,000 National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant funds biologists to help
ranchers make habitat improvements for Lesser Prairie-Chickens and other prairie
wildlife.
Jobs have increased by more than 150 in just five years. Canadian is no longer
blowing away; it’s thriving in the way the community wants it to thrive —
preserving their way of life and assuring a future for its children.
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