Page 114 - Rural Tourism Report Washington County

CHAPTER 5: ASSESSMENT OF IMPACTS

Impact Assessment Framework Examples of Contributing Tourism-Based

Using information from the case study findings, and Activities
from stakeholder/public outreach described in prior • Concerts (stage performances with amplified audio)
chapters of this report, the project team developed • Wedding receptions and other celebratory
a framework to associate impacts with examples of gatherings
contributing activities, and then provided potential • Corporate events (social gatherings and team
mitigating strategies (best management practices) building recreational-based activities)
for eliminating or reducing impacts. Potential • Direct sales and marketing of farm crops (on-
impacts and examples of contributing tourism site sale of agricultural products and associated
based activities are as follows: promotional activities including u-pick operations,

Potential Impacts produce festivals, tours, Community Supported
• Traffic (congestion from all types of users on Agriculture (CSA) member parties)
public roadways); • Vehicle rallies (large gathering of show or
performance vehicles)
• Noise (audible sounds disrupting residential
neighbors or agricultural operations, includes Table 5.3 presents the impact assessment framework
both noise generated on-site and by patrons highlighting applicable mitigation strategies for im-
while traveling to site); pacts of note. The set of mitigating strategies includes
those employed by the case study participants as well
• Long-term disturbance of farm and forest as additional ones identified as part of the larger study
land (including repetitive compression of soil or observed as best practices in peer programs.
by vehicles and people on undeveloped fields)
that may take it out of production; The framework addresses cumulative impacts due to

• Public safety (guaranteeing patrons have multiple tourism operations even though these were
access to potable water, proper sanitation, not encountered during the case study research and
first-aid services, and emergency are hard to quantify. Examples of individual activities
management services); that may result in cumulative impacts include, for
example, multiple nearby weddings, a concert and a
• Dust (airborne particulates traveling to/from wedding together or nearby, large-scale recreational
site); and
activities (e.g. mud run), and multiple wineries open
• Inappropriate patron behavior including to the public at the same time. Cumulative effects
trespass on residential and agricultural are most likely to affect traffic and noise where
properties, littering, public drunkenness, and negative impacts can be magnified when multiple
unsafe behavior on roadways (e.g. violating tourism activities add impacts on top of baseline
traffic laws or controls to avoid congestion). conditions. A mitigating strategy to promote coor-

dination among operators is included. Similar coor-
dination was highlighted by agricultural operators
(e.g. communicating harvest plans to neighbors).

110 WASHINGTON COUNTY RURAL TOURISM STUDY