City eyeing development along river to draw tourists

D’IBERVILLE — The city of D’Iberville is exploring tourism opportunities such as a small park along the winding Tchoutacabouffa River.

Initial plans also call for linking sections of the river for paddle sports.

“It’s been a dream for a long time for the city to do something with the upper Tchoutacabouffa. The lower part has been developed for years, but from this point north, it’s basically undisturbed,” Jeff Taylor, who helps direct economic development for the city, tells WLOX-TV.

“Connecting a paddling trail, often called a blueway. It’s for low impact recreational: kayaks, canoes, stand up paddle boards,” said Cynthia Ramseur, who’s a consultant on the project.

She said long range plans include adjoining walking trails.

“I think here in South Mississippi we have some great opportunities to connect people back to the natural areas,” she said.

Not only does this project promise to boost recreational and tourism opportunities, it’s also seen as a catalyst for long term economic development. Short-term economic development could mean more customers for a river front restaurant.

“That’s great. We have a lot of people that come and launch their kayak here and come up and grab a bite to eat. So, if this is along the path that would be super. We’d really like that,” said Andrea Borst, with “Your Mamma’z House.”

City leaders envision D’Iberville taking advantage of the growing ecotourism industry.

“Now we’ve got the eco. So all we need to do is get people to come down here and be a tourist in it,” said Taylor.

A public meeting was held Tuesday at city hall to discuss more about the project.