ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, March 5, 1997 TAG: 9703050056
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: EDWARD T. WALTERS
THE SHAWNEES and Cherokees and Catawbas and Delawares were drawn by the abundance of game and fish. George Washington, as commander of the Virginia Militia, was attracted by the presence of all those Indians. Thomas Jefferson was attracted by the "medicinal springs," as were Robert E. and the arthritic Mrs. Lee.
Douglas Fairbanks Jr. came to woo a wealthy divorcee. The Duke of Windsor appreciated the golf courses as well as the cuisine at The Homestead, one of the nation's premier spas and resorts, which has been in the hospitality business since 1766.
Indeed, a substantial number and wide variety of visitors have traveled to Bath County, where tourism has long been a part of the daily life in the Allegheny Mountains of Virginia.
Tourism, in fact, represents the major hunk of the county's economic activity, employment and tax revenues. Some Bath County leaders believe, however, that tourism could - and should - contribute even more to the economy of the commonwealth's third least-populated county (with about 5,000 inhabitants).
And so it is that Bath County will soon have an official Tourism Commission. It will be established with the support of the Board of Supervisors as well as the local business community. Its mandate will be to explore ways by which even more tourists (and their dollars) can be lured to Bath County.
There were some concerns initially expressed (sotto voce) by various residents about such ambitious plans. These folks had nightmarish visions of the "new Bath County" becoming some sort of Dollywood and/or Disneyland and/or Gatlinburg. These fears were soon assuaged, however, by the organizers' avowals that the "natural beauty and character or Bath County" would be maintained.
Let us hope so.
The basic thesis of building upon this area's strength (tourism) and resources (its beauty) instead of attempting to lure Microsoft or Merck to pack up and move its operations to Bath County does make a lot of sense as a strategy for economic development. But following traditional laissez-faire, growth patterns could, in the long run, be counterproductive if not disastrous.
To achieve the lofty goals of both preservation and development simultaneously will require the melding of a variety of attributes - attributes that are often hard to find. They include:
* The perspicacity to realize that this beauty upon which its tourism depends is fragile and can easily be damaged or even destroyed.
* The willingness by one and all to be militant defenders of this natural beauty that comprises so much of the county's economic assets.
* The imagination to devise innovative zoning and land-use strategies that will complement rather than degrade the landscape.
* The foresight to preserve open spaces, farmlands and forests by encouraging conservation easements, forestal and agricultural districts, and clustered residential villages rather than suburbs and rural subdivisions.
* The sagacity to push for programs such as scenic-byways and exceptional-waters designations that give official recognition to the quality of the scenery, the water and the life in Bath County.
* The wisdom to adopt environmental guidelines - best-management practices for agriculture and silviculture, vegetative buffers and erosion-control practices for all construction activities - and follow them.
* The courage to say no to all but the highest-quality and Bath County-compatible proposals for commercial, industrial, recreational and housing developments.
* The ability to think small, to look within the county rather than afar, encouraging local entrepreneurs and artisans with their commercial ventures.
* The discipline to keep this county clean and free of litter, junked vehicles and illegal garbage dumps. (No one cares to see rural slums.)
* The patience (remembering that although Rome wasn't built in a day, it was sacked and pillaged overnight by the Visigoths) to implement - and stick with - a carefully designed long-range development strategy.
This is quite a list. Overly ambitious? Possibly. Idealistic? Probably. Impracticable? No. Definitely not. The Swiss for many generations have shown that it can be done with great success. There's no reason - other than myopia, sloth, ignorance, greed or political timidity - that it can't also be done in Bath County. Or, for that matter, in Highland County or Montgomery County or Albemarle County. Or in Roanoke. Or in the entire Commonwealth of Virginia.
The essence of this argument relates basically to standards. The more valuable the asset that one seeks to defend and preserve, the higher one must set the standards governing the use, enjoyment and conservation of that resource.
Education, of course, is a critical factor in this equation. All too often, some things aren't really appreciated until it's too late. Those of us who live in Bath County and Virginia are fortunate for, indeed, we are surrounded by much natural beauty. But the guardianship of that beauty is an ever-present and continuing challenge for each of us.
We must all be stewards of this common heritage that is our environment. More specifically: Without its woodlands and forested mountains, without its sparkling clear streams and rivers, without its varied wildlife, there will be little tourism (and possibly even fewer residents) in Bath County.
A footnote: One specific recommendation to this newly formed commission is that it look to Virginia Tech's College of Forestry and Wildlife Resources for new ideas about this whole issue of developing/conserving natural resources. Professor Bob Giles and his colleagues have distilled years of research and professional observations into an innovative, comprehensive management system that addresses in depth the problems confronting Bath County and numerous other rural areas.
Here is an opportunity: Working with this type of support, guidance and brain power, Bath County could well become the model for profitable as well as environmentally sound resource management and economic development.
Edward T. Walters is a former county supervisor who lives and farms in Bath County.
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