The Kansas Wetlands & Wildlife National Scenic Byway has been chosen to be the first of America’s Byways featured on a new website created by Rand McNally.

The map publishing company has partnered with America’s Byways Resource Center to help build public awareness of the touring experiences along the 150 routes designated by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation as national byways. Twenty-eight stops along the Wetlands & Wildlife byway, which runs through Barton, Stafford and Reno counties, are included in Rand McNally’s Best of the Road website, www.bestoftheroad.com. People can add reviews and photos of the attractions.

The website notes, "This byway showcases two of the world’s most important wetlands – Cheyenne Bottoms and the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge. Here, more than 60,000 acres of wetlands host millions of migrating birds each year. Sandhill cranes, pelicans, bald eagles, whooping cranes, plovers, sandpipers, avocets, ducks, geese and more fill these wetlands with a living spectacle of color, motion and sound. No wonder this region has been named one of the Eight Wonders of Kansas!"

There are links to each of the seven cities along the 77-mile byway, from Hoisington to Stafford. Other links include Fort Zarah Historical Marker and Park, Dozier Winery, Miller Ranch & Longhorn Cattle, and Sleeper Artesian Well.

Rand McNally spokesman Michelle Johnson, director of America’s Byways Resource Center, said in a news release that the new blog "is a terrific opportunity to gain visibility for the America’s Byways brand and individual byway routes. It’s also a terrific way for Rand McNally to introduce readers to truly American travel treasures."

"We are so excited to be a part of this partnership," said Cris Collier, director of the Great Bend Convention & Visitors Bureau. "Our byway is proud to be one of America’s Byways, and our communities look forward to welcoming byway travelers to charming and quirky little Kansas towns and to the absolutely stunning wetlands that surround them."

In addition to the Rand McNally website, people can find information online at www.byways.org and at www.KansasByway.com. Information can also be found at www.visitgreatbend.com.