The workshop, originally scheduled for the first week of February, was postponed due to hazardous weather and travel conditions. All of the original speakers will be presenting at the March workshop, including keynote speaker Stan Meador.


Meador—founder, owner and general manager of the X Bar Ranch Nature Retreat in Eldorado, Texas—will share 15 years worth of experiences with starting and running a tourism enterprise on his family’s fifth-generation ranch. This “nuts and bolts” presentation will help participants better understand why and how to diversify, how to manage various businesses operating on the same piece of land, and how to market a recreation product.

Previous registrants do not need to re-register. Those who now are unable to attend can contact Tom Tabor at tom.tabor@nebraska.gov for a refund. Others interested in the workshop can register at www.VisitNebraska.gov/industry. Lodging is available at the Ramada Conference Center. A discounted block of rooms is being held for the Governor’s Agri/Eco-Tourism Workshop until March 8.

The rescheduled workshop falls during the peak of the annual sandhill crane migration. Participants interested in viewing the cranes while in the area, can reserve a blind through the Rowe Sanctuary & Iain Nicolson Audubon Center, 308-468-5282, www.rowesanctuary.org; or the Nebraska Nature & Visitor Center, 308-382-1820, www.nebraskanature.org.