CALVERT COUNTY HERITAGE AND ECOLOGICAL TOURISM

CALVERT COUNTY HERITAGE AND ECOLOGICAL TOURISM

PLACES, PEOPLE AND PROCESSES
J. Glenn Eugster
U.S. EPA Chesapeake Bay Program Office
1993

1. THANKS FOR OPPORTUNITY!

Discussions here similar to others. Interesting places, exciting ideas and timely forums. Our landscape has special natural, physical and social qualities. Participatory efforts are the most creative and effective way of empowering people to get things done. There is a need for locally supported actions to conserve, protect, restore, interpret and enjoy what we have.

Your County and dicussions are especially important because you are located within the internationally important Chesapeake Bay watershed. Local actions ultimately will decide the future of the Bay and its residents.

2. HERITAGE: A UNIFYING CONCEPT

Over the last five years we have seen a regeneration of interest in our heritage. Definition---something transmitted or acquired from a predecessor. Our heritage as Americans is our collective traditions, our culture in its broadest sense.

One of the more effective unifying themes. Why? Perhaps because we all have a past, a present and a future. The term means slightly different things to different people and all the interpretations are correct.

The term seems to unify people and organizations because it reflects:

PLACES: Specific identifiable geographic areas that reflect special natural, physical and social values.

PEOPLE: Residents of an area that reflect/ illustrate the human use of the resources of the geographic place.

PROCESSES: The traditions, activities, uses and events that take place in the geographic area.


The places, people and processes of a region are what make regions distinctive and are a major reason why people seek out these areas for tourism. More and more American travelers want to experience elements of a way of life different from their own.

This notion of heritage tourism is different from our past sense of tourism since it involves larger landscapes/ regions rather than specific sites, buildings and public lands. It involves the planned and unprogrammed presentation and exploration of a region by travelers on public and private lands. It provides for, and actually requires that, visitors and residents interact beyond basic tourism services.

Some quick definitions may help provide us with some common points of view.

Richard Roddewig of Clarion Associates defines heritage tourism as an encounter with our traditions and culture. he says that it includes encounters with not only history and architecture, but also landscape both natural and urban, the arts (music, painting, sculpture, literature, etc.) sports, cooking and cuisine, traditional leisure time activities of all sorts, language, social customs, and even institutions.

In a paper which I co-authored with Deirdre Gibson, we identified heritage areas as places which are regionally identifiable and significant landscapes which are the focus of a cooperative public and private decision-making effort to recognize, organize and communicate a community's natural, cultural, recreational and economic attributes in order to protect important ecological and human values, stimulate the regional economy and improve the quality of life.



The PLACES, PEOPLE AND PROCESSES of Southern Maryland/ Calvert County are the cornerstone for your heritage/ ecological tourism strategy.

3. PLACES: WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT YOUR LANDSCAPE? HOW DOES YOUR AREA WORK ECOLOGICALLY AND WHAT DOES THAT TELL YOU ABOUT WHAT YOU CAN USE IT FOR?

The process you use for your strategy needs to reflect a good understanding of what is important to:

* The community: What do the residents of the area take pride in?
* Experts from outside the community such as Maryland State agencies, and federal agencies.

The strategy must reflect an understanding of how the place functions both ecologically and socially. The area has been studied extensively as part of the Chesapeake Bay effort. Sound information will tell you about the health of your area. The
ecological health of the region is important since the condition of the place will influence your heritage tourism effort. People want to come to quality areas.

You must also understand how people use the region. Traditional uses will provide you with tourism ideas/ activities. You will also want to be sure that your strategy doesn't conflict with
existing local traditions that you may wish to maintain.

Don't forget to pay attention to the scenry---the 3-dimensional expression of people and the land/ water. Maintaining a sense of place is an important aspect of a heritage effort.

Understanding the place you are working in/ with/ on will insure that your future actions do not destroy the natural, physical or social values that are the reason that visitors will come here.

4. PEOPLE: UNDERSTAND THE DESIRES OF THE COMMUNITY AND THE VISITOR

A successful heritage area strategy needs to be locally supported and responsive to both the community and the interests of the visitor. People from the community need to feel as if the heritage tourism effort is something they benefit from and that it is good for the community.

Successful heritage tourism efforts have been seen locally as a source of pride. Heritage tourism is more than an exchange of services/ goods for money. In many ways it is a cultural exchange that benefits both all those involved.


In order to engage the community in the strategy the effort must reach out to people and actively include them in the development of the strategy. Be mindful that there is more interest in democracy than ever before. People want to be involved in decisions about the future. They have ideas about the future and if they feel a part of the effort they will support it and work to see that it is successful.

Also realize that people are more educated now. They are more interested in history, culture and ecology than before. Many people are interested in learning about the history and heritage of the Chesapeake Bay and their country. They frequently are looking for experiences that they can't find in other places. Experiences that are authentic.

Heritage tourism is more than attractions. It is the experience of place that is enriched by interaction with the place and the people of the area. As you put your strategy together think of ways to bring visitors together to interact with the landscape and its residents. These interactions can help to illustrate the interconnectedness between people, this place, its past, present and future.

5. PROCESSES: THE WAY YOU DO WHAT YOU DO WILL INFLUENCE THE OUTCOME OF YOUR WORK

The strategy you are preparing has to be more than just good ideas for your region. To be successful you need to have good ideas with broad based support. The approach that you have chosen to pursue takes time but is time tested. Seek input and concensus agreement on all decisions large and small. Run a process that is open and accessible to all.

Design your strategy to further develop your local capability to carry out your plans and continue your efforts. The process of cooperation and coordination takes time, skill and money. Be sure to include a management task in your strategy.

Understand that the interaction between your providers of services and the visitors will be especially important. Members of the service industry can be spokespeople for heritage tourism. They must be trained and provided with insight about the heritage of the area.

Take time to look at ways to insure that the attractions that bring people to the area will be protected and managed in a way to sustain their use overtime. All too often tourism has destroyed the attractions that have made the region/ area a destination.
Specifically create incentives to maintain and/ or protect the special qualities of the place. Don't leave the task to happen-stance for the natural and cultural values and functions of the region are the ecological underpinnings of your heritage tourism strategy.

6. PLAN TO WORK HARD BUT TAKE TIME TO PERIODICALLY GET REAQUAINTED WITH YOUR HERITAGE

Heritage tourism strategies are hard and challenging work. There is no quick and easy way to successfully put one of these together.
Expect to exceed the committment you anticipate making and don't get involved unless you are sure of your convictions. Despite the rigors realize what your are doing is so very important for these special places, there residents---plants, animals, people and for our future.

As you work through the effort don't lose sight of what you are doing and why you are doing this. When the going gets tough take time to experience your area and enjoy the richness of your heritage. The time you invest will sustain you through the effort.

I wish you success in your work.