Tourist on their way to the famed Outer Banks, traveling the rural roads of southeast Virginia and coastal North Carolina, will have new opportunities to discover remarkable wildlife areas on an auto tour route created to honor the memory of the late CBS journalist Charles Kuralt. Kuralt, a native of North Carolina, died in 1997.
    

The Kuralt Trail links together twelve special sites for wildlife observation at National Wildlife Refuges and a National Fish Hatchery administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
   

"Charles Kuralt had a keen interest in nature and engaged Americans with his thoughtful reports on wildlife," said Bonnie Strawser, Wildlife Interpretive Specialist at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge - one of the Kuralt Trail sites. "This trail commemorates Mr. Kuralt's interest in the Refuge System." The Fish and Wildlife Service presented a posthumous "Refuge Hero" Citizen's Award to Mr. Kuralt in 1997.
   

The route winds some 300 miles through some of the wildest areas found along the Atlantic coastal plain. The refuges have each created special opportunities for visitors to discover nature in these wildlands, which are habitat for black bears, red wolves, alligators, and spectacular concentrations of waterbirds. People can walk boardwalks, nature trails, or view scenic vistas from observation platforms.
   

An audio tour, narrated by Wallace Kuralt, shares interesting stories behind the scenery, reminiscent of the "On the Road" reports created by his popular brother, Charles. Each site is universally accessible to provide safe and easy experiences, and includes wayside exhibits with interpretive information and opportunities for viewing wildlife. A brochure and map help interpret the wildlife and habitats of the Refuges within the Roanoke/Tar/Neuse/Cape Fear ecosystem.
   

The project was developed through a partnership of the Coastal Wildlife Refuge Society, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wilderness Graphics, Inc. of Tallahassee, Florida, and the Kuralt Family. "Our company is proud to co-sponsor this project to honor Charles Kuralt's ability to connect American people with their natural heritage," said Marvin Cook, President of Wilderness Graphics, an exhibit design and fabrication firm. "We never met Mr. Kuralt, but enjoyed the wildlife videos he shared to conclude his Sunday Morning television broadcasts, many of which were filmed on National Wildlife Refuges," Cook added.
   

The Kuralt Trail opened during Refuge Week, October 10-16, 1999, in celebration of the National Wildlife Refuge System. The opening ceremony was featured on the CBS Sunday Morning program.
   

The National Wildlife Refuge System is a far-flung collection of over 500 refuges and 93 million acres managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to conserve fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats.