thousand islands regional assassment report 2/14/2015

8/9/2019 THOUSAND ISLANDS REGIONAL ASSASSMENT REPORT 2/14/2015

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Dra Re

Tousand Islands Regional Assessme

Towns of Hammond, Orleans and Alexandria, Town and Village of Cape Vincent, Town and Village of Clayton, and Village of Mo

New York State Department

Oce of Planning and Deve

February


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Dra Re

Tousand Islands Regional Assessm

New York State Department of State, Oce of Planning and Deve

Barbara L. Kendall, Coastal Resources

Town of H

Ron Bertram, Town S

Project Advisory Co

Valerie Johns

Prepared by: Dodson & Fl

Landscape Architects and

This report was prepared for the New York State Department of State with funds provided under Title 11 of the Environmental Protecon F

February

Towns of Hammond, Orleans and Alexandria, Town and Village of Cape Vincent, Town and Village of Clayton, and Village of Mo


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Project Stakehold

Municipalies:

Town of Hammond

Town of Cape Vincent

Village of Cape Vincent

Town of Clayton

Village of Clayton

Village of Morristown

Town of Alexandria

Town of Orleans

Depending on the municipality, parcipants may have included

Town Board members, Village Trustees, Town and Village Planning

and Zoning Board Members, and Town and Village Historians

Counes:

St Lawrence County Planning Oce

Jeerson County Planning Oce

St Lawrence County Legislature

Jeerson County Legislature

Organizaons:

Anque Boat Museum

Town and Village Chambers of Commerce

Hammond Business and Economic Commiee

North Country Chamber of Commerce

Save the River

Singer Castle

St Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce

NY State Bass Chapter Federaon

Thousand Islands Land Trust

Thousand Islands Tourism Council

Seaway Trail

Project Managem

Ron Bertram, Town of Hammond Supe

Valerie Johnson, Project Coord

Clif Schneider, Volunteer Coord

Harry Dodson and Nate Burgess, Dodson & Flinker, Lead Consu

Beth Moeller, Interacve Media Cons

Jackie Hakes, MJ Engine

Advisory Board Steering Comm

David

Del Ham

Mary Ham

Allan N

Robert Pa

Ronald

Susan W


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Table of Conte

I. Execuve Summary

II. Introducon

• Scenic Landscapes

• Promoon of Tourism and Markengof the Region

• Idencaon and Promoon of Lesser

Known Scenic Areas

• Grants and Funding

• Method

• Inventory

• Evaluaon

• Scenic Areas of Statewide Signicance

Designaon and Implementaon

• Recognion and Implementaon of

Scenic Areas at the Local Level

•Promoon

III. Background

• A Tradion of Conservaon

• State Iniaves

• Federal Policy

• Previous Studies

• Local Organizaon and Support

• Project Advisory Commiee

• Volunteers

IV. Landscape Inventory• Research and Data Collecon

• Inventory

9. Chippewa Creek

10. American Island

X. Appendices:

A. Survey Results: Secon One

B. Survey Results: Secon Two

C. Survey Results: Secon Three

D. Survey: Demographics,

Comments

E. Modied Table of Scenic Components

F. Evaluaon Table

G. Maps

1

3

8

14

17

16

• Base Maps

• Field Work/Photography

• Idencaon of Visual Districts

• Idencaon of Visual Subunits

• Idencaon of Study Area Boundary

• Coastal Viewshed

• Important Viewpoints

• Visually Prominent Structures

V. Visual Survey

• Summary

• Project Website

• The Survey

• Modicaon of the Table of Scenic

Components based on the Survey

• A Preference for Blended Natural/

Cultural Landscapes

• A Preference for Waterscapes

• Land Use

• Landform

• Terrain and Geology

• Vegetaon

• Discordant Features

• Cultural

• Architecture

• Ephemeral Characteriscs

• State of Upkeep/Environmental

Quality

• Views

• Composion of Views

• Background of Views

• Focal Points of Views

• Other Factors Cited in the Legislaon

• Variety

• Unity

• Contrast

• Uniqueness

• Public Value

• Photo Condions

VI. Landscape Assessment - Evaluang

Scenic Quality

• Rene Table of Scenic Components

• Visual Assessment

• Determining Scenic Areas

VII. Scenic Areas of Statewide Signicance

Designaon and Implementaon

• Designaon Process

• Regional Coordinaon

VIII. Recognion and Implementaon of

Scenic Areas at the Local Level

IX. Potenal Scenic Areas of Statewide

Signicance Narraves

1. Lake Ontario

2. Carleton Island

3. Grindstone Island

4. French Creek

5. Wellesley Island

6. American Narrows7. Chippewa/Goose Bay

8. Crooked Creek

5

2

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Thousand Islands Scenic Resources Protecon Plan

I. Execuve Summary

Eight municipalities in the Tousand Islands region o northern New York Statehave partnered with the New York State Department o State’s Office o Planningand Development (DOS) to evaluate, promote and identiy tools to protect the re-gion’s unique scenic resources. Te purpose o this two year project is to providethe background and justification to propose designation o eligible portions o the

Tousand Islands region as “Scenic Areas o Statewide Significance” (SASS). TeTousand Islands region possesses unique, highly scenic landscapes that are ac-cessible to the public and recognized or their scenic quality. Te proposed SASSdesignation provides or an additional visual assessment o projects that requirestate or ederal actions in the Coastal Zone, including direct actions, permits orunding. Te SASS report also provides suggestions or local land use tools thatmunicipalities could consider or review o actions in both state and local areaso scenic significance, and supports tourism development and marketing in theTousand Islands region.

Te eight towns and villages that participated in this project extend rom CapeVincent in Jefferson County to the Village o Morristown in St Lawrence County.Trough coordination provided by the own o Hammond, the municipalities or-ganized a stakeholder team and retained a consultant to conduct the study. Teconsultant adapted New York State’s scenic evaluation methodology to local condi-tions incorporating natural and cultural actors, views and visual perception ele-

ments, and conducted a thorough visual inventory and assessment process. Anon-line visual survey completed by more than 600 people helped the consultantsinterpret and adjust the state standards to reflect the ways that local residents and visitors value their scenic resources.

More than 52 miles o the Saint Lawrence River and 14 miles o tributary creekswere surveyed. Over 100 square miles o upland terrain were also assessed as parto the project. A total o 109 separate visual landscapes were inventori ed and evalu-ated. en areas totaling 156 square miles were proposed or designation as Sce-nic Areas o Statewide Significance under New York State’s Coastal ManagementProgram. Detailed descriptions o the potential SASS were prepared, along withan impact assessment and recommendations or reducing visual impacts in theseareas.

An additional three areas with potential or designation as Scenic Areas o LocalSignificance were identified in the study. Te eight participating municipalities

have the option to consider oversight o Scenic Areas o Local Significance throughlocal land use measures or regional initiatives. Recommendations or local andcounty employment o the scenic protection plan were also developed as part othe study. Calumet Island and the Village of Clayton


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Page 2 Thousand Islands Scenic Resources Proteco

II. Introducon

Five towns, three villages, businesses and community groups in the Tousand Is-lands have partnered with the New York Department o State’s Department o Plan-ning and Development (DOS) to evaluate, promote and identiy tools to protect theregion’s unique scenic resources. Te spectacular scenery o the Tousand Islandsis central to the region’s quality o lie, and to its economy. Guarding this resourceor uture generations and promoting the economy o the region is a central goal othe project, called the “Tousand Islands Regional Assessment”.

With technical support rom the DOS and financial support rom itle 11 o theEnvironmental Protection Fund, the eight partnering municipalities organizeda public participation process, adapted State scenic evaluation methodology tolocal conditions and conducted a thorough visual inventory and assessment pro-cess. Te inventory and assessment process is based on standards and criteriadeveloped by the DOS. Landscapes o local, regional and State-wide significanceare identified through a simple, straight-orward process based on local partici-pation and State scenic assessment standards.

Scenic Landscapes: One purpose or this project is to recognize and documentwhat makes this region o New York State’s coastal area scenic and to use current-ly available tools to ensure that uture large scal e development projects are locat-ed and designed in a way that minimizes damage to the region’s scenic characterand its economy. I scenic views are ruined, i large towers and tall buildings arebuilt in inappropriate places, i wildlie habitat is damaged and the environment

is degraded, the region’s tourist-based economy will suffer. ourists come to seeand visit historic castles and architecture; to boat and fish on the St. LawrenceRiver and its tributaries; and to bird watch, hike and hunt in natural areas. Whilepeople can travel to other places in the world or these activities, the unique sce -nic landscapes that combine historic, natural and recreational attributes are thereason that people come to the Tousand Islands or their vacation time. Teeight communities partnering in this project recognized that New York State’sScenic Areas o Statewide Significance Program offers a means to address theirconcerns about overseeing potential impacts in their unique scenic landscapes.

Promotion of ourism and Marketing of the Region: Another important pur-pose or the project is the promotion o tourism and the marketing o the regionto the rest o the state, the country and internationally. Identiying the TousandIslands as one o the most scenic coastal areas in New York State will more em-phatically put the region on the map, attracting visitors and boosting its tourist-based economy. Promoting the region based on sustainable development prac-

tices will create a unique image or the Tousand Islands as a beautiul, careullyoverseen area that values its scene ry and environmental quality.

Identification and Promotion of Lesser Known Scenic Areas: While the iconic

Tousand Islands landscapes o castles on rocky islands, sweeping water views,and craggy, unspoiled shorelines shape the public perception o the region, manylesser known, less spectacular scenic areas have great potential or marketing andcareul stewardship. Tese less well known scenic areas include portions o theSaint Lawrence River with ewer islands, tributary streams and their associatedmarshlands, bluffs and hills with distant views o the river, rolling woodlandsdotted with small arms, sweeping expanses o open armland extending inland

rom the river, and historic waterront villages and boathouses with classic Tou-sand Islands architecture. Tese areas have great potential to blend existing landuses with uture tourist activities.

Grants and Funding: Te inormation generated by this project will also providebackground and improve opportunities or grants. Designation as a Scenic Areao Statewide Significance greatly increases a region’s ability to obtain public grantsand private oundation support or a range o projects. Grants including economicdevelopment, tourism promotion, land conservation, environmental restoration,historic preservation, downtown revitalization and sustainable transportation areamong the many potential sources o unding that will be enhanced by state-widerecognition. Potential unding sources include the Federal ransportation En-hancement Program (EP), the Northern Border Regional Commission, and ap-plicable categories in the New York State Consolidated Funding Application (CFA)such as the Local Waterront Revitalization Program (DOS), NY Main St. (Officeo Community Renewal), Market New York (Empire State Development), and Mu-

nicipal Parks (Office o Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation) . Private in- vestment in residential and commercial real estate, businesses, and inrastructurewill also be encouraged by the act that the region has been officially recognized asa unique and valuable asset to the entire state.

Method: Dodson & Flinker, a firm o landscape architects and regional plaworked with the project team and local communities to inventory and the region’s scenic landscapes. Te inventory and assessment was donea method developed by DOS or use in the State’s coastal areas and previimplemented in the Hudson River Valley and in the own o East HamptLong Island.

Te visual assessment process emphasizes both natural and cultural actthe landscape. In historic coastal landscapes, such as the Tousand Islandman activities over the centuries have modified and oen enhanced the character o the land.

Te methodology includes local public participation in the visual assessprocess. Incorporating local residents’ perceptions o scenery in the etion process is as important as meeting State-wide scenic assessment standUnderstanding and documenting historical and cultural traditions helps sessing scenic character, especially in communities with a long tradition painting, photography, architecture, landscape architecture, and agricuAnd finally, developing a simple, straight-orward assessment method on solid data as well as on public participation ensures that the plan is pracomprehensible and usable by both experts and the general public.

Te visual assessment process consists o five steps:

1. Inventory: With the help o local residents, divide the region into separeas based on their visual characteristics. Tis step does not involve ratiscenic quality o the areas. It is an objective process to inventory the di

Singer Island


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types o visual eatures that distinguish one area rom another.

2. Evaluation: Aer the inventory stage is complete, the region’s landscapes areevaluated or their level o scenic quality. Te evaluation is based on state criteriaand on local opinion. Te state criteria rate scenery based on natural eaturessuch as terrain, water and vegetation; on cultural eatures such as villages, historicsites, arms and estates; and on other criteria such as recognition, views, visibil-ity and lack o discordant eatures. Local opinion is gauged by asking meetingattendees and visitors to this web site to rank images o a variety o Tousand

Islands landscapes. Te results o this poll are combined with the state criteria tocreate a system to rank each landscape. Te highest ranked landscapes are eligi-ble or designation as “Scenic Areas o Statewide Significance” (SASS). Te nexthighest are eligible or designation as “Scenic Landscapes o Local Significance”.

3. Scenic Areas of Statewide Significance Designation and Implementation:Proposed SASS areas are described in detail and submitted or review and ap-proval at the local, regional and state levels. Aer public hearings and a finalreview at the state level, the SASS are officially designated under ederal and statelaws relating to management o the New York coastline. Projects requiring ed-eral or state permits and/or ederal or state unding will be required to determinewhether there may be adverse impacts to scenic resources and to incorporatemeasures to avoid those impacts. Specific recommendations or avoiding scenicimpacts are included in this SASS report.

4. Recognition and Implementation of Scenic Areas at the Local Level: Out-

side o the Scenic Areas o Statewide Significance are areas which scored lowerin the assessment process but still exhibit some important scenic characteristics,known as Scenic Areas o Local Significance. Trough planning support provided by MJ Engineering, preliminary guidance was developed or local commu-nities on optional local land use tools they can use to help sustain and promoteboth Local and Statewide Scenic Areas o Significance. Tese tools include revi-sions to local policies, local land use ordinances, inrastructure plans and volun-tary conservation programs.

5. Promotion: For decades a central ocus o promotional efforts in the Tou-sand Islands has been the region’s scenic beauty. Books, brochures, marketingcampaigns and ads or businesses almost always eature striking photos o thearea’s scenic vistas. I the Tousand Islands are designated one o the state’s topscenic destinations promotion o the region’s tourist trade and economy will begreatly enhanced. People and businesses will want to come to an area that hasreceived a major scenic designation aer a rigorous review and analysis process.Te SASS designation should be cited in promotional materials and brochures.And visitors, investors, new businesses and new residents will be reassured toknow that measures have been taken to conserve and enhance the scenery oruture generations.

III. Background

A radition of Stewardship: Te Tousand Islands have long been recognizedas an area o exceptional scenic beauty. Appreciated or centuries by local res-idents, the region began to attract vacationers as early as the mid-NineteenthCentury. Tese early visitors built spectacular homes and castles on the islandsand along the shoreline o the river. Te care and creativity used by these early visitors in locating and designing homes and structures that fit in with the land-scape created a tradition o land stewardship and creative design that continues

today. Te blending o nature and culture in the Tousand Islands is unique andcan be a guiding orce as the region takes steps to promote and manage its sceniclandscapes in the uture. oday people live, visit, and invest in the TousandIslands, in part, because o the spectacular scenery. Our beautiul river and itsmany islands are an important part o our quality o lie and o our e conomy..

State Initiatives: Tese early traditions set a high standard or saeguarding andoverseeing the aesthetic character o the landscape that has continued to returndividends over the years. Early efforts, motivated in significant part by a desire

to protect the Tousand Islands’ environment, scenic beauty and recreationresulted in the acquisition o areas o public park and conservation land.

New York State has long recognized the importance o scenic resourcesfirst broad based movement to recognize American scenic landscapes occin the mid-century through the work o the Hudson River School o paiTe American Romantic Landscape Movement which expressed itsel in thmusic and literature developed in New York State beore spreading to the the nation. Te Castles and stately homes o the Gilded Age that grace the

sand Islands are an outgrowth o this movement that emphasized the harous blending o nature and culture.

Te New York State Legislature summed up compelling reasons to addressagement o scenic resources when they enacted New York State (NYS) ExeLaw 42 in 1981, and established the Division o Coastal Resources to “achbalance between economic development and preservation that will permbeneficial use o coastal resources while preventing the loss o living marisources and wildlie, diminution o open space areas or public access to th


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terront, shoreline erosion, impairment o scenic beauty, or permanent damageto ecological systems.” (Article 42, s. 912). Te State Legislature included scenic

character as a key coastal resource protected by law. Te law’s Policy #24 en-courages guarding o Scenic Areas o Statewide Significance and discourages themodification or destruction o geological orms, vegetation and structures thatcontribute to the scenic quality o these areas. Te policy also discourages thelocation o inappropriate structures in scenic areas. Policy #25 encourages theprotection, enhancement or restoration o scenic areas outside o SASS that con-tribute to local scenic character.

New York State has also helped local communities sustain and restore theircoastal resources through the Local Waterront Revitalization Program (LWRP)provisions o Article 42. LWRPs have helped dozens o waterront communi-ties develop and implement revitalizations plans or their waterronts, includingconsideration o scenic resources in local decision-making. Tis has resulted innew improvements and investments in community waterronts including parks,public access, interpretive centers and other steps that have attracted new invest-ments by businesses, tourism groups and municipal governments in New YorkState’s waterro nt areas. For more inormation about LWRPs in the TousandIslands region see Section VII.

Federal Policy: Te Federal Coastal Zone Management Act also recognizes the

importance o aesthetic values in managing coastal resources. Te Federal ActStates that it is national policy “to encourage and assist the States to…achieve wise

use o the land and water resources o the coastal zone, giving ull consideration toecologica l, cultural, historic and aesthetic values….”. (16 U.S.C. s. 1452[2]) Federalpolicy thereore compels the State to shelter and oversee scenic resources as a vitalcomponent o the nation’s coastal resources. Te Federal Coastal Zone Manage-ment agency has supported New York State’s work in this area.

Local Organization and Support played a critical role in the project. Te proj-ect was guided by a project advisory committee with contributions rom dozenso local volunteers.

Project Advisory Committee: Initial discussions between local communitiesand DOS resulted in the ormation o a project advisory committee. Te com-mittee included representatives rom a variety o backgrounds and interests inproject decision-making. Led by Valerie Johnson, the committee has coordi-nated the project, reached out to involve others and has organized meetings andspecial events to promote the work. Over 60 people serve on the Advisory Com-mittee and have played a critical role as project volunteers taking photos, provid-ing historic inormation and advice on the project.

Advisory Committee members include elected officials, planning officials, local his-

torians, members o recreational clubs, artists, business owners, and others winterest in enhancing lie along the shores o the Tousand Islands. Te Ad

Committee met requently during the course o the project to discuss task cotion, public participation, scenic assessment and uture implementation. AdCommittee members also volunteered their time to assist with field work, datlection, historical research and public events. Numerous people and organizhave lent their support and expertise to the project including, the municipalitLawrence and Jefferson County legislators and planning staff, local businessnumerous non-profit organizations.

Volunteers: Many people signed up as volunteers on the project are ull timdents, seasonal residents, representatives rom business, local and county offitourism groups and non-profit organizations. More than ten hours o aeriaage o the region was donated by the own o Hammond. In addition, voluattended workshops and meetings, provided inormation on the area and athe consultant team in a number o ways. Volunteers also participated in long workshop in May to record valuable inormation on the Tousand Islanmaps o the study area. Volunteers have also helped manage and organize thect, providing important leadership and coordination. Volunteers will contiplay an important role as the project evolves in the uture. Teir work will ithe promotion o the Tousand Islands and assistance with developing new ligrant unding or capital projects and tourism marketing.

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Wellesley Island

AmericanNarrows

AlexandriaFarm andForest Land

CrookedCreek

Clayton/OrleansFarm and Forest Land

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LakeOntario

Grindstone Island

CarletonIsland

Wellesley Island

Chippewa

Creek

Chippewa/GooseBay

Cape Vincent

Farm andForest Land

American

Narrows

AlexandriaFarm and

ForestLand

Morristown FarmandForest Land

American

Island

French

Creek

Crooked

Creek

Clayton/Orleans

Farm andForest Land

Hammond FarmandForest Land

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Project Boundary

VisualDist ricts

Coastal AreaBoundary

Subunit Boundaries

Digital Elevation Model

ValueHigh

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A Digital Elevaon Model (DEM) for the project area was compiled by merging led DEM data obtained from the NY GIS Clearinghouse. The DEM was used

map viewsheds in the project area.

Map of project area and visual subunits


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IV. Landscape Inventory

Te goal o the landscape inventory phase o the project was to gather inorma-tion on the location and objective characteristics o the Tousand Islands visualenvironment. Te visual inventory consists o observing and documenting therelatively objective visual, physical and cultural characteristics o the landscape.Tese characteristics include physical character, cultural character, views, land-scape composition and public accessibility.

Research and Data Collection: Te Project Advisory Committee provided nu-merous reports and data or the project including comprehensive plans, zoningand subdivision regulations and open space plans. St. Lawrence and JeffersonCounty Planning Offices and the Tousand Island Land rust (IL) providedGIS inormation on resources, protected lands and sensitive habitats. Te LocalWaterront Revitalization Programs, which address scenic resource issues, werealso very useul. Te Department o State provided inormation on its scenic as-sessment process and copies o the 1993 Scenic Areas o Statewide Significancedocument or the Hudson River Valley.

Te consultants used recent (2010) ESRI world imagery ortho photos in project-base maps. Digital versions o the 7.5 minute USGS topographic quad sheetsorthe owns and Villages, and a Digital Elevation Model rom the NYS GIS Clear-inghouse was also obtained or the project area. Tis allowed the planimetricdata in the USGS quad sheets and Digital Elevation Model to be overlain andcompared to the photographic data in the aerial ortho photos. Marine navigation

charts and land use data rom various local programs was also obtained.

With the help o the Advisory Committee, the consultants compiled a library orelevant publications, historic photographs, local guidebooks and histories. TeTousand Islands rails Preservation Society prepared a report entitled “ScenicViews as Seen rom the Tousand Islands rails System” that provided excellentdocumentation on scenic quality in the more remote areas o own accessibleonly by oot.

Inventory: Aer extensive field work, research and data acquisition the visualinventory was completed in the office by identiying the scenic components pres-ent in each scenic area subunit.

Base Maps: Te consultants developed digital base maps o the study areausing both USGS topo quad sheets and aerial photographs. Te coastal areaboundary, and other important eatures such as parks, conservation areas, sce-nic roads, historic districts and other eatures were identified on the maps. Tebase maps were used or field work, presentations and the compilation o finalscenic assessment maps.

Field Work/Photography: In order to ully document the landscapes o theTousand Islands, Dodson & Flinker conducted field work throughout the re-gion in March, May and August o 2014. Te purpose o the field trips was togather data and inormation about the visual characteristics o the landscape.Tey were able to observe the area in winter, spring and summer. Area volun-teers provided additional photographs o the area during peak all oliage. Teconsultants took extensive field notes and photographs o their observations us-ing the visual landscape categories described in the able o Scenic Componentsand the Visual Evaluation Form. Field notes also identified the date, climatic

conditions and other pertinent data relating to the field work. Te ollowingmethods were used or field data collection:

• Air Photos: Te own o Hammond provided unding or ten hours o highresolution digital video o the entire region, providing the consultant team withan invaluable photographic archive o the region. A continuous series o photoso the shoreline as well as interior sections o the owns and Villages were takenrom an altitude o approximately 200‘ to 1,500’. Photos were overlapped toensure a continuous photographic record o the landscape. Te photos are avail-able or use by the participating owns and Villages in digital ormat. Dodson& Flinker also made extensive use o on-line aerial photo sources such as BingMaps and Google Maps which provide high resolution aerial oblique photo cov-erage o the region.

• Car: Te consultants traversed the entire coastal and interior areas o the re-gion by car, stopping as necessary to photograph specific sites. Roads leading to

the water as well as elevated areas providing views o the coast were careully in- vestigated and photographed. Major highways as well as minor local roads weretraveled to gain a complete understanding and visual record o the landscape asseen rom roadways. All o the major and most o the minor roads rom CapeVincent to Morristown were travelled and documented over the course o threedays o continuous driving.

• Boat: Te consultant’s research vessel, the Wally D. was trailered to Tou-sand Islands in May and August to conduct a visual survey o the coastline romthe water. Te entire coastline o the river was visited and photographed romCape Vincent to Morristown at a distance o one quarter to one hal mile romshore. Te Wally D. made two complete transits o the river and Lake Ontarioshoreline with requent side trips to visit clusters o islands and major river tribu-taries. Field evaluators took water level photographs o the coastline, includingnavigable bays and estuaries.

• Hiking: Te evaluators covered certain areas on oot including state parkand conservation lands, public hiking trails and accessible locations on some othe islands. Hiking provided a close-up view o the landscape not available romthe boat, car or aircra.

Identification of Visual Districts: Based on the preliminary site visits, AdCommittee meetings and research, the Tousand Islands landscape was i

toried and divided into 15 Visual Districts, defined as large areas showing sistent visual character. Some visual districts were based on prominent neatures such as Chippewa Bay, Grindstone Island or Lake Ontario. Othershaped by a blend o cultural and natural eatures such as areas o arm anest land. Creating large visual districts based on consistent character allowlandscape to be divided into manageable areas or urther field investigatioevaluation. Te visual districts were identified on working field maps andGIS data base. Adjustments to the districts were made as a result o addfield work and the comments o the Advisory Committee.

Te visual districts include the Following:

1. Lake Ontario2. Carleton Island3. Cape Vincent Farm and Forest Land4. Grindstone Island5. French Creek 6. Clayton/Orleans Farm and Forest Land7. Wellesley Island8. American Narrows

Dodson & Flinker’s Research Vessel


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9. Alexandria Farm and Forest Land10. Chippewa Bay 11. Crooked Creek 12. Hammond Farm and Forest Land13. Chippewa Creek 14. American Island15. Morristown Farm and Forest Land

Identification of Visual Subunits: Te 15 visual districts were urther subdividedinto 109 Visual Subunits, which are smaller areas o consistent visual character. Teprocess to determine subunits is similar to the process to determine visual districts,but occurs on a much smaller, more detailed scale. Te landscape was surveyedrom the air, the water, by car and on oot to identiy areas sharing common visualcharacteristic s. No value judgments were used during this process - only the objective visual characteristics o each area were considered. Te individual elementsthat make up the visual landscape, called scenic components, were identified anddescribed in the inventory stage o work. Tese components include water, vegeta-tion, topography, buildings and other natural and cultural eatures that shape the visual environment. Te able o Scenic Components developed by the DOS orstate-wide use was used as a basis or identiying scenic components in Tousand

Image Poll - Secon 1 - Water Present?

Top 10 Boom 10Overall

100%50% 74%100% 50%74%

Yes No

Above are the top 10 and boom 10 photos from secon one of the imag

along with the average rank of each photo. At the top le of the page is

number one image from this secon.

Rock Island Lighthouse


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Islands, but modified to address unique local conditions.

Inventory notes were compiled in Microso Excel. Te districts and subunitswere mapped as shape files in ESRI’s ArcGIS, a geographic inormation system.Inventory notes and evaluation values, tabulated in Excel, were then joined tothese shape files.

Identification of the Study Area Boundary: Te New York Coastal Manage-ment Program defines the coastal boundary or the entire New York State coast-

line. Tis boundary varies in width, depending on terrain, hydrology, land useand other jurisdiction actors. In the Tousand Islands the coastal boundary isoen located in close proximity to the river. Tis is due to the act that much othe river’s shoreline consists o steep bluffs which limit views o inland areas. Butbecause tall buildings or structures can be visible rom considerable distancesrom the shoreline, the study area boundary was moved urther inland. Testudy area boundary was located rom one to three miles inland rom the shoreso the river and Lake Ontario or this reason. Adjustments to the official CoastalArea Boundary map would be proposed during the SASS designation process toreflect the visual districts that result rom the data collection and analysis.

Coastal Viewshed: Te coastal viewshed is defined as the area o the coastline visible rom coastal water bodies such as the ocean, the sound, bays and estuaries.Conversely, the coastal viewshed includes areas o the coastline rom which coastalwater bodies are visible as well as the water bodies themselves. Viewsheds werecalculated in ArcMap using the visibility tool, part o the ArcGIS 3-D Analyst Vis-

ibility toolset. wo types o viewsheds were calculated: the primary viewshed andthe secondary viewshed. Te primary viewshed map shows areas that are visiblerom the river and its major tributaries today, not taking into account vegetationand buildings. Vegetation and buildings can be removed which is why the views-hed boundary does not include them. Te secondary viewshed map shows areasin which tall structures over 100’ in height would be visible rom the river. Tis sec-ondary viewshed extends in a number o areas well back rom the shore o the river.

As mentioned above, the principal program used to determine the coastal views-hed was ArcGIS 3D Analyst Visibility oolset (Visibility ool). Te details o thisprocedure are below:

• Input (elevation data): Began with a digital elevation model smoothed to40x40 meter resolution. Tis coarser DEM increased computation time and cre-ated a result that was meaningul at the relatively coarse scale o site analysiswithout adding unnecessary detail. Assumed viewer height o 1.7 meters. Inputdata spatial reerence system: NAD 1927 UM Zone 18N.

• Input (viewpoints): Created a shape file with 87 points distributed through-out the area o open river. Points were distributed or even coverage and to allow

views into major bays and tributaries.

• Analysis: Viewshed (no trees): Used “visibility” toolset with deault settingsunless otherwise noted above. Te input DEM had x,y,z resolution in meters sono multiplier was used to scale Z values.

• Viewshed (100’ structure): Created a “height above” analysis map in parallelwith creation o the viewshed (no trees) dataset. Tis maps the minimum heightthat would need to be added to the elevation o a particular pixel or that pixel

to be viewed rom the viewpoints input. Classified “height above” values with abreakpoint at 30 meters (approximately 100’).

Important Viewpoints: Four different types o viewpoints were identified: keywater views, minor water views, views rom boats and views o upland areas.Viewpoints are requently visited locations open to the public that provide ex-ceptional, extensive views o the coastal region. Examples include parks, estates,bridges and sections o roads skirting the coastline or providing views rom highelevations. Viewpoints on water include areas covered by excursion boats andother areas accessible by smaller boats. Key viewpoints can either be specificpoints or linear segments o roads, paths and river channels.

Key viewpoints were first identified with the help o local residents at a workshopheld in May 2014 in Clayton. Te workshop provided excellent guidance to theevaluators conducting the inventory o view points in the field. Determining thelocation and extent o views involved ground level field work supplemented by

analysis o topographic maps and aerial photos. Additional field checking andinput rom Advisory C ommittee members provided supplemental inormation.Key viewpoints were added to the GIS database, including inormation on thedirection, extent and character o the views.

Visually Prominent Structures: Visually prominent structures include bothstructures and landscapes radically altered by human activity visible over a widearea. Tey include tall buildings, transmission lines, wind turbines, bridges,communications towers, large highways, road cuts and large areas transormedby human activity, such as landfills and very large paved areas. Visually promi-nent eatures and landscapes were added to the GIS database, including inorma-tion on the extent and character o their prominence. Te positive or negativeimpacts o these eatures were not taken into consideration at this point in thestudy: only their location and objective visual characteristics (height, color, ma-terial, orm) were inventoried.

1 2

1

2

3

Image Poll Results - Secon 2 (Shoreline Category)Instrucons: Rank the following shorelines from most scenic (3) to least scenic (1).

1.3

1.8

2.9

A N T I C I P A T E D R

A N K

AVERAGE RANK

1 2 3

AVERAGE RANK

A N T I C I P A T E D R

A N K

WATER

FEATURES

VEGETATION

STATEOF

UPKEEP

SHORELINE

LANDSCAPECHARACTER

LANDFORM

LANDUSE

HISTORIC

CHARACTER

COASTAL

VIEWSHED

ARCHITECTURAL

CHARACTER

Image Poll Results - Secon 2Instrucons: Rank the following landscape views from most scenic (3) to least scenic (1).


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V. Visual Survey

Summary: A public participation process was organized to ensure that theTousand Islands scenic assessment process was based on solid oundations.While a remarkable continuity o visual values ex ists rom region to region, im-portant local variations also exist and need to be incorporated in visual assess-ment methods. Te public participation process consisted o a web-based visualsurvey as well as a day-long brainstorming session with stakeholders rom mosto the towns and villages in the study area.

Te goal o the visual survey was to incorporate the preerences o local resi-dents in the scenic assessment process. Te results o the survey were analyzedto determine the specific visual elements that contribute to positive or negativeperceptions o the landscape.

Project Web Site: A web site or the project was created by Interactive MediaConsulting (IMC) o Saratoga Springs. IMC worked closely with the projectadvisory committee and Dodson & Flinker to create a web site that explains thegoals o the project, describes the process o identiying and caring or sceniclandscapes and invites visitors to the site to participate in the process. A visualpreerence poll was available on the web site allowing visitors to rate a variety oTousand Island landscapes on line. Te involvement o a large number o par-ticipants through an on-line poll allowed the project team to determine the typeso landscapes residents o the region view as scenic.

Te web site also provides access to project data including aerial video ootage,air and ground level photographs, maps o visual districts, subunits, coastal view-points and viewsheds. Te web name and a logo or the project were developed

by Dodson & Flinker or use on the web site and other project materials.

Te Survey: Over 600 Tousand Islands residents participated in the web-based visual preerence survey in the summer o 2014. Te results o the survey are oneo several actors used to determine which Tousand Islands landscapes will berated as highly scenic. (Please see the Appendices or detailed inormation onthe survey and its results).

Te survey was divided into three sections. In the first section participants ratedimages o typical Tousand Islands landscapes on a scale o +3 to –3, registeringtheir likes and dislikes. Images included a variety o landscape types rangingrom natural landscapes to historic sites to contemporary residential develop-ment and to strip commercial development along highways. Participants votedtheir “gut reaction” to each image. Respondents also submitted written com-ments about their preerences and concerns which have been summarized in theAppendices o this report.

Te results o the first section o the visual survey have been analyzed by breakingeach image down into its individual scenic components that are described in thestate-wide evaluation methodology. Tese include natural eatures (landorm,

vegetation, water), cultural eatures (historic, landscape, architecture, discoephemeral, settlement pattern and symbolism), views, landscape compoand public value. Breaking the survey down into specific scenic compone

lowed the results o the survey to be incorporated into the final scenic evalu

Te second section o the survey included 10 sets o three images that ppants ranked 1 (least scenic) to 3 (most scenic). ogether with commenlicited aer the poll, this section provided a more controlled and direct wcomparing our interpretation o the state value system to respondents vFor example, one item in the state able o Scenic Components is shorelithe state system, more varied shoreline geometries are considered more dtive, while simpler shoreline geometries are considered less distinctive. Wlected three images o shorelines, taken rom a similar distance rom shothe same partly cloudy day with slight chop in the water. One image shohighly varied shoreline: what we would c onsider a distinctive shoreline basthe state system. Another image showed a shoreline with a little less varwhat we would consider a noteworthy shoreline. A final image showed a stshoreline: a common landscape. We ound that though some people had ent opinions, the overwhelming majority o participants ranked the photomanner consistent with the state system.

Te third section o the survey asked participants to rank the most scenic irom section two. Tis section provides an additional, more controlled p

Above are two images from the landform category of the image poll. On the le is the image that we ancipated would be ranked as most scenic (“disnc

based on the New York State Table of Scenic Components. On the right is the image that we ancipated would be ranked as second most scenic (“notewort

The survey results were consistent with our expectaons.

% O

F T O T A L V O T E S P E R R A N K

12345678910

9. Vegetaon

8. Landscape Character

7. Architectural Character

6. Water Feature

5. Historic Character

4. Land Use

3. Coastal Viewshed View

2. Shoreline

1. Landform

State of Upkeep

Vegetaon

LandscapeCharacter

ArchitecturalCharacter

WaterFeatures

HistoricCharacter

LandUse

CoastalViewshed

Shoreline

Landform

10. State of Upkeep

LEAST SCENIC MOST SCENIC

Image Poll Results - Secon 3Best Images from Scenic Component Categories Ranked 10-1.


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to support the kind o conclusions the consultant team drew rom section one othe poll. ogether with section one, the results o this section provide insight intowhat scenic components respondents eel play larger and smaller roles in scenicquality.

Modification of the able of Scenic C omponents Based on Visual Survey Re-

sults: Te able o Scenic C omponents was modified based on the results o the visual survey. As expected, the eatures present and visual preerences or thesecomponents in the Tousand Islands differed in some ways rom other scenic

areas in the state. For example, residents in East Hampton rated recent devel-opment in rural areas at the bottom o the scale, whereas respondents in theTousand Islands showed a greater tolerance or development in rural areas. Inaddition, the physical characteristics o the landscape vary rom region to region,requiring a modification o the able o Sce nic Components to match the eatureso a particular region. For example, on Long Island beaches and sand dunes playa major role in the visual landscape. In the Tousand Islands these eatures areo minimal important or are non-existent.

A Preference for Blended Natural/Cultural Landscapes: A striking eature othe survey results is the overwhelming preerence or images that include bothnatural and cultural landscapes. In other scenic areas across the state, naturallandscapes have tended to outweigh cultural landscapes. Te difference in theTousand Islands may be due to the sensitive – even artistic way that buildingsare integrated into the riverscape, as well as due to the very high, i at times,quirky character o the Gilded Age architecture that dominates the most scenic

areas o the river.

Te most highly ranked image o the Rock Island light house is typical o theregion’s preerence or combinations o nature and culture, artistically interwo- ven. Seven o the top ten images eature combinations o natural waterscapeswith historic, careully sited structures that respect rather than overwhelm theirnatural setting. Interestingly, none o the structures are contemporary and allhark rom the Gilded Age era and beore. Te respondents clearly appreciatebuildings careully sited in the landscape which has interesting implications orthe design guidelines and l ocal implementation sections o this report.

Former grazing and pasture land, active arming, historic parks and greens, his-toric main streets, tree-lined residential streets, trails, swimming beaches, estategardens all actored within the top 50 images. Clearly human alteration o thelandscape can have a positive effect on scenery, especially in a community asrich in landscape history as the Tousand Islands. Cultural landscape actorsinclude land use, historic character, architecture, landscape character, discordant

eatures (“eyesores”), settlement patterns, ephemeral (temporary or transient)characteristics, and symbolic meaning. Respondents overwhelmingly preerredconservation, recreation or traditional land uses such as parks, preserved areas,

arms, orests, working waterronts and historic centers and neighborhoods. Testate-wide table o scenic components was modified to reflect this unique re-gional perception.

Historic character o both landscapes and buildings had a strongly positive in-fluence on the rating o the images. Elements such as historic arming, historicparks and commons, historic landmarks, streets and neighborhoods eaturedprominently in the highly rated images.

A Preference for Waterscapes: Natural eatures that actored in the survey in-clude, above all, water. Out o the top 20 images, all but two eature water land-scapes. Tis is consistent with surveys conducted throughout the world, wherewater is almost always the most highly-rated natural scenic actor. Humans usu-ally like views o water, our most basic lie-sustaining element. Te TousandIslands region is no exception. Views o water - the River, Lake Ontario, thetributary streams, marshes and lakes - predominated in the top-ranked images.Te top-ranked image is a view o the Rock Island Light House with water sur-rounding the Canadian Shield rocks and shoals. Te first image without water is#14, a view o an historic limestone house with a towering American elm. Tepresence o extensive views o water is almost always an important actor in rais-

ing the overall score o an image.

Section two o the visual survey provided more detailed inormation abospondent’s preerences or specific views o water, such as shoreline configuand coastal viewshed. In section two, respondents ranked an image o a shoreline as most distinctive, an image o a less varied shoreline as notewoand a relatively straight shoreline as common. Tese visual preerences wersistent with the state table o scenic components. Te distinctive image o line rom section two was ranked as the second most distinctive image o

in poll section three, suggesting that respondents were in agreement witstate system o values. Te three images o coastal viewsheds were also rby respondents in a manner consistent with the table o scenic componenexpected, respondents preerred open sweeping views o the river to morited views.

Land Use: By an overwhelming margin, the preerred land use in the consisted o small amounts o residential, especially historic residential dement careully sited in unspoiled natural settings. Tis reflects a strong pence or blending natural landscapes with limited amounts o developmlong as the underlying scenic character o nature is preserved by the sitin

Boldt Castle Alexandria Bay Waterfront


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design o structures. Tis type o land use and the siting and design principlesthat shape it could become a oundation o uture development guidelines andstandards in the region. Surprisingly, working waterronts did not score as well,the majority occurring in the bottom hal o the ratings. Te Tousand Islands’working water-related industries are obviously an important economic and cul-tural element o the community, but are oen not perceived as highly scenic withthe exception o some historic working waterronts.

Te lowest ranked images in section one eature contemporary automotive land-scapes consisting o billboards and roadside commercial strips. D evelopment cre-ated by automobile oriented liestyles is clearly the least scenic land use or surveyparticipants. It is interesting to note that advertisements or cars almost alwayseature individual cars set in scenic landscapes and almost never eature groups ocars, especiall y cars stuck in traffic. Te act that the billboard/commercial stripphoto was rated as a highly negative image may be due to the association with theside effects o our vehicular liestyle such as wide paved roads, parking lots, sprawl-ing land use patterns, air pollution, road rage and accidents. Te remaining 20lowest-ranked images consisted o mobile home parks on the waterront, wind tur-bines, suburban sprawl in armlands, boat storage, transmission towers and poorlymaintained older structures. Tis wide range o uses was generally united by poor

site planning, poor architecture, excessive paving, lack o landscape planting andlack o relationship to the surroundings and historic context. Te state-wide tableo scenic components was modified to reflect this unique regional perception.

Landform: Survey respondents showed a strong preerence or hilly, varirain with rounded islands and shoreline hills. O the top ten images, eigclude rolling terrain with moderate relie. Since the Tousand Islands lacks dramatic topography, moderate terrain is proportionally more signiFlat terrain, while occasionally included in highly-rated images, tended tdominate in the lower rankings. O the bottom ten images, seven includterrain. Te remaining three bottom-ranked images showed only low orerately rolling relie. Similarly, in section two o the poll, the majority oticipants ranked images o landorm in a manner consistent with the stat

table o scenic components. Te image ranked most distinctive included ashoreront bluff in an area with regionally high relie. Te image rankedworthy showed a lower shoreront bluff. Te common image showed a relflat shoreront underlain by limestone with limited bedrock outcrops. Bo the relatively modest landorms in the Tousand Islands, moderate hilbluffs received higher rankings and greater importance in the region comto areas such as the Hudson River. Te state-wide table o scenic compowas modified to reflect this unique regional perception.

errain and Geology: Respondents showed a strong preerence or thterrain characteristic o Canadian Shield geology, especially islands withnounced relie as well as or bluffs along shorelines o the river and its tribuHilly to rolling terrain created by Canadian Shield rock ormations typifiedo the highest rated images. Outcrops o the igneous and metamorphic CanShield rocks also scored very high in section one o the poll. Areas underllimestone tend to be flat to moderately rolling, resulting in lower scores image preerence poll.

Te oundation o the visual character o the Tousand Islands has beeated by the interaction o Canadian Shield geography with the waters o theLawrence River. Te Shield covers almost hal o Canada, including almo Quebec and Nunavut, and most o Ontario and Manitoba. It is Pre-Camrock, some o the oldest geology in the world. Canadian Shield rock is tyrolling with a rounded profile and a thin coating o soil and pockets o vetion. It’s only connection with the United States occurs in the Tousand Iwhere it extends to orm the Adirondacks, bringing the rugged, sculpted character o the north to the sedimentary terrain o the region. Tis is wTousand Islands are geologically and visually unique. Perhaps it is no suthen that respondents in section three o the poll overwhelmingly rankedhighest rated landorm image as most scenic overall. Te state-wide table nic components was modified to reflect this unique regional perception.

Vegetation: Vegetation eaturing mature orests, open meadows or

seashore vegetation and mature street trees was rated very highly by pspondents. Evergreen trees bent towards the east by the strong westerly wwinds sweeping off Lake Ontario were particularly highly rated. Open m

The Canadian Shield, shown in red, extends into the United States through the

Thousand Islands area. Source: William L. GRANT, "Geography", in W. StewartWALLACE, ed., The Encyclopedia of Canada , Vol. III, Toronto, University

Associates of Canada, 1948, 396p., pp. 17-22.

Shipping creates a striking and unique visual character throughout the Thousand Islands


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PThousand Islands Scenic Resources Protecon Plan

along tributary streams scored very high as well. Low scrub vegetation, suc-cessional fields and areas o uniormly dense second growth vegetation scoredlower in the poll results. Mixed mature deciduous/evergreen orests received very high scores. Te highest-scoring vegetation in the survey eatured islandsor shorelines covered with dense, mature vegetation oen with a preponder-ance o mature evergreen trees, including wend-swept pines. In section twoo the survey, respondents preerred mature vegetation with prominent ever-green trees over younger, scrubbier vegetation--consistent with the state valuesystem. Houses, castles or garden structures were oen tucked into the orest

with trees raming or partially screening the structures. O the top ten imagesin section one, nine contain mature trees on islands or along the shoreline, sixo which screen or rame buildings tucked into the woodland. Tis symbiosiso buildings and trees is a strong tradition in the Tousand Islands extendingback to the Gilded Age era o design and construction. Tese historic designprinciples can be applied today and could become guiding principles or uturedevelopment in the region. Te visual survey results or vegetation in theTousand Islands were consistent with results in other areas o the New YorkState coastline. Te state-wide able o Scenic Components did not have to bemodified in this category.

Te lowest-ranked images in section one o the poll are notable or their gen-eral lack o vegetation. Highways, parking lots, median strips, lawns and weedyshrubs are the predominant type o vegetation in these images. O bottom tenimages, five lack vegetation or have vegetation o a scrubby or scattered character.Where mature trees are present they are oen partially obscured by developmentoccurring in the oreground o the view.

Discordant Features: Discordant eatures are eatures which, due to siting, orm,scale, materials or usage, visually interrupt the overall scenic quality o the land-scape. Tis discordance was reflected in the ratings in the visual survey. Manyo the man-made “visually prominent eatures” described above were rated verylow in section one o the visual survey. Te exceptions to this low ranking werehistoric bridges, castles, passing ships and historic decorative towers and monu-ments. Te lowest rated land uses were tall structures such as wind turbines orextensive areas o pavement such as wide highways lined by strip commercialdevelopment. O the bottom ten images, all but two contain visually prominent,man-made eatures such as wind turbines, industrial style boat storage build-ings, billboards and highway commercial strips. Again, a unique aspect o visualcharacter in the Tousand Islands is the act that prominent, man-made eaturescan either be viewed as eyesores (highway strips, billboards) or attractive accentsto the natural landscape (castles, historic bridges). Te reason or this dramaticcontrast lies in the type o prominent eature and the siting and design o devel-

opment and construction. Again, this offers lessons rom the past that may beuseul in guiding development in the uture. Te state-wide table o scenic com-ponents was modified to reflect this unique regional perception.

Cultural: As described above, cultural actors are strikingly present in the toprated images. Tis is in marked contrast to the East Hampton SASS where theywere strikingly absent. Farming landscapes play an important role in the top rat-ed images: pasture land, potato fields, hay fields, meadows and woodlots figureprominently in the highest-ranked views. Te role o history and traditionalarchitectural and landscape principles figures prominently in the region’s highesteem or cultural landscapes. Some o the positive influence o cultural land-scapes is based on very old historic traditions such as the limestone houses, tra-ditional post-and-beam homes and the historic light houses that line the river

channels. A second and even more dominant influence was created by the archi-tects, landscape architects and their clients w ho brought a unique way o locatingand designing buildings in harmony with the dramatic landscape o the Tou-

sand Islands. Tese influences have shaped development in the interveninand continue in some new development today. In other areas these tradcultural influences have not been as influential, leading to clear cutting oetation and the construction o high density development on small islandsensitive shorelines. Te state-wide table o scenic components was modireflect this unique regional perception.

Architecture: Te top-ranked images in section one included buildings

into the natural landscape. Some highly prominent buildings such as theCastle which dominate the surrounding landscape were also highly ratedspondents in section one and two showed a very strong preerence or trad

Historic Limestone House and Scenic Farmland


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Tousand Islands architecture and a moderate dislike o modern or contemporaryarchitecture. But Tousand Islands respondents showed a greater affinity or recentdevelopment than residents o other areas o New York State. Tis may be due tothe relatively low amount o development in the region compared to Long Islandor the Hudson River. All but two o the buildings included in the top-ranked 50slides eatured traditional Tousand Islands architecture. Te two exceptions werea very careully designed and sited modernist home and a recently built residenceabove a boat house. In contrast, nine structures built within the last fiy years wereeatured in the lowest ranked second hal o the survey.

Preerred architectural styles include residential, commercial and waterrontstructures dating rom beore the industrial revolution. Te top-rated eightbuildings are all designed in traditional architectural styles (Colonial, Victo-rian, Classical, Eclectic Castle or careully designed raditional Revival styles).Te architecture o the Gilded Age including castles, Edwardian era mansions,

substantial summer homes and early limestone cottages were all highly ratedin the poll. Te region’s amous limestone arm houses were especially highlyrated and requently mentioned in workshops and meetings. Early to mid-Nineteenth Century wood rame houses as well as stone waterront warehouseand commercial buildings also received high ratings.

Te iconic castles and large estate buildings typical o the Gilded Age in the lateNineteenth and early wentieth Centuries were the most highly rated as well asthe most visually prominent o all the architectural styles in the region. Less

imposing and less flamboyant and eccentric estates and large summer homesdating rom the early wentieth Century in Edwardian, Queen Anne, Edward-ian and Colonial Revival styles were also highly ranked, especially when set incareully designed landscapes. Architectural components o estate landscapesincluding park buildings, ollies, stairways and courtyards were also highlyrated.

Te first modern or contemporary building to be rated occurs in image #23, sing a very careully designed modern house tucked into a shoreline. Eight bottom ten images eatured buildings and structures built aer World War cluding residences, industrial or storage buildings, roadway commercial buiwind turbines and communication towers. Tis builds a case or some mo architectural siting and design guidance, especially in historic areas and visensitive landscapes such as shorelines and open armland. It also builds a case or the review and modification o large utility, road or large scale indprojects that all within the jurisdiction o the SASS program. Te visual surv

sults or architecture in the Tousand Islands were consistent with results inareas o the New York State coastline. Te state-wide able o Scenic Compdid not have to be modified in this category.

Ephemeral Characteristics: Ephemeral characteristic s are transient eor events in the landscape that are temporary, intermittent yet repetitive. eatures have a direct impact on the perception o beauty in the landscapeTousand Islands are rich in ephemera due to the Saint Lawrence Seaway, extwildlie habitats, varied climate, the nearby presence o one o the Great Lakpresence o many arms and the extensive viewpoints created by the many iand promontories in the river. Te importance o ephemeral eatures was esized in meetings and workshops held in the region. Wildlie, sunsets and shwere cited as important contributors to the region’s scenic quality. Shipping ticular was mentioned as a unique eature o the landscape, unique nationallworldwide. It is highly unusual to have ocean going ships navigating such a nand scenic waterway. Sailors on the ships repeatedly mention how uniquelytiul the Tousand Islands are compared to most waterways they navigate.

State of Upkeep/Environmental Quality: Run down, poorly maintaineshabby buildings and landscapes were rated poorly in the visual survey, espi the poor condition o the structures also implied the presence o pollutitrash. On the other hand, ruins o historic architectural styles can have an elo the picturesque that can be viewed as a positive scenic element. Section the visual survey compared three degrees o upkeep and environmental qTe results o the ratings or these upkeep images showed a clear preerence maintained, environmentally clean landscapes and buildings as well as or pesque ruins o historic buildings.

Views: A large majority o the top-scoring images consist o mid-range viewwater towards islands and varied shorelines. O the top ranked 25 views onlyconsist o long range views o open water or expansive areas o armlandremainder are mid-range views. Tis is in part due to the smaller visual scmany parts o the region and in part due to the visual preerences o respon

Te able o Scenic Components has been revised to reflect the regional pence or mid-range views with an emphasis on composition and variety over and breadth. C oastal views also predominate in the top-ranked images. O Grindstone Island


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top-ranked images, all but 21 include views o water. Clearly, the presence o theSaint Lawrence River and its major tributaries are an important scenic element inTousand Islands.

Composition of Views: Te composition o views including raming, arrange-ment o visual elements and the juxtaposition o orm, line, color and texture playan important role in the perception o scenery. Te multitude o islands in theregion creates numerous opportunities or a wide range o visual compositionsto occur. Perhaps as a result composition played a very strong role in the visual

survey results. O the top ten images, eight showed strong composition with a variety o subjects in the near, middle and background areas o the image. Com-positional actors in the landscape can be enhanced or reduced through the skillo the photographer. Ti s survey attempts to avoid excessively composed , highlyartistic images but no photograph can be completely neutral. Te ocus o thisanalysis is on compositional elements such as vegetation, contrasting orms andlines, structures and other graphic elements that predominate in a given land-scape, not in the lens o the photographer.

Background of Views: Backgro und elements in a view have an important e-ect on the image’s overall rating. Positively ranked backg rounds include waterbodies, woodlands, fields and meadows and historic structures. Negative back-ground elements include many types o contemporary development, transmis-sion towers, prominent structures, roads and billboards. In rating scenic quality,the presence o a nearby positive or negative background eature can play an im-portant role. Important positive background elements in the Tousand Islandsinclude the Interstate 81 Tousand Island Bridge, shoreline bluffs, wooded hillsand Lake Ontario. Negative background elements include the Wole Island windturbine complex, the Brockville high rise building, water containment and com-munications towers.

Focal Points of Views: Focal points, while similar to background views, tendto be more prominent objects or objects located in a more ocused position inthe landscape. Te most highly rated ocal points include prominent naturaleatures such as small wooded islands, historic architecture, unique geology andmajor wind swept trees. Water requently serves as a ocal point, especially whenramed or highlighted by other landscape eatures. Buildings and structures ratehighly in the survey almost on an equal ooting with natural ocal points. Promi-nent landmarks such as the historic lighthouses, the castles, bridges, notablemansions and estate grounds received consistently high rankings. Negative ocalpoints include utility lines, transmission towers, high-rise buildings, contempo-rary buildings and shoreline development.

Other Factors Cited in the Legislation: Specific, tangible actors such as to-pography, vegetation and architecture obviously have an important role in shap-ing scenic quality. But more abstract actors such as variety, unity, contrast and

uniqueness also play an important role. Consideration o these actors is requiredin New York State’s coastal scenic area designation process.

• Variety can be an important contributing actor to the creation o scenicquality. Images consisting o a wide range o positive visual elements will ofenbe perceived as more scenic than images with ew components, though this is notalways the case. Te highest-ranked image is an example o rich visual variety: itincludes water, sky, diverse vegetation, unique cultural and architectural eaturesas well as a wide range o colors, lines, textures and patterns. Other high rankedimages have similar amounts o visual variety either in terms o subject matter or visual variety. O the top ten images, eight show a high degree o visual variety.Variety in and o itsel is not always positive: variety o negative visual elements

can create low scenic ratings. Image 48, or example, shows a high degree o vi-sual variety but received a very low rating. Tis is due to the negative character othe varied elements o the image: industrial buildings, overhead utilities, parked

cars and trucks, pavement and a single street tree.

• Unity reers to the visual cohesion and consistency o an image. A unified image contains elements that fit well together as a scene. Unityboth in orm (unity o shapes, lines, colors, textures and composition) as win content (unity o land uses, cultural actors, lack o discordant eaturesagement). O the top 20 images, 12 are highly unified and eight are unifiedhave low unity. Image #1 is highly unified both in orm and in contentshapes, textures and lines o its visual composition weave the varied elemo the scene together in a cohesive visual scene. Te content o the view ified because it is a completely undisturbed natural scene whose individualponents (sky, water, trees, wetlands) are compatible with each other and h

strong interrelations hip. O the lowest 20 images, 12 have low unity and 1negative unity (strong discordant actors). Image #48 is a classic examplimage with low unity. Te visual orms in the image conflict with each

Shipping Docks, Presco, Ontario. Ogdensburg Bridge in the Background


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producing a jarring pattern o orms, lines and textures. While the content othe image: a highway commercial strip, is unified as a work o engineering, it ishighly ragmented rom an environmental, architectural land use and landscapeperspective.

• Contrast, like variety, can be either beneficial or detrimental to visual quality,depending on the nature o the contrasting elements. Positive contrast creates astrong visual dynamic in an image by creating a dynamic juxtaposition o orms,lines and colors. Negative contrast pits conflicting and incompatible elements

against each other to create visual discord. O the top 20 images, 14 have high or very high positive contrast. Image #2 is a good example o strong positive con-trast: the multiple small islands covered with dark evergreen trees contrast withthe light tones o the water and the sky. On the opposite end o the spectrum,image #37 shows a lack o contrast between the various elements o the scene: thefields, woodlands and road merge together in a uniorm scene.

• Uniqueness reers to the relative scarcity or special qualities o a landscapeor visual eature. Highly unique landscapes are rare with ew similar examplesin the surrounding area. Uniqueness is usually a positive eature, but uniquelynegative images also exist. O the top 20 images, 16 are unique or highly uniquebased on the statewide table o scenic components. O the lowest 20 images, 14show either low or moderate uniqueness (common) or negative uniqueness. Im-ages # 46 (wind turbine complex) and #42 (rural hamlet in disrepair) are goodexamples o negative uniqueness: both images eature very unusual structuresthat received very low scenic ratings.

Public Value: Te extent to which a landscape is recognized by the public andthe requency with which it is viewed have important indirect impacts on scenicquality and on the preservation and management o scenic landscapes. Publicrecognition o landscapes was determined by analyzing historic records, traveland tourism publications and discussions with advisory committee members andothers. Visibility o landscapes was determined by the requency o viewing: veryhigh or heavily traveled roads, high or other roads and requently used pedes-trian and marine areas, moderate or inrequently traveled roads, trails or marinechannels, and low or areas requiring extensive hiking, boating, off-road drivingor flight to view. Highly recognized, highly visible landscapes and landscape ea-tures can receive higher levels o designation and protection than less recognized,less visible landscapes.

Photo Conditions: Perception o a landscape can be influenced by the conditionsthat exist at the time o viewing. Te time o year, time o day, weather, aspect andatmospheric conditions need to be taken into account in evaluating a given view.

Te most avorable conditions include clear, sunny mornings and afernoons in thelate spring, summer or early all. Least avorable conditions include cloudy, hazy,rainy weather in flat (midday) or dark light. Ephemeral effects such as sunsets,

sunrises, wildlie, people or cars also need to be taken into account in evaluating animage. Every attempt was made to take all photos or the survey under similar, pos-itive conditions (sunny summer weather). Unortunately, this was not always pos-sible. Compensation will be provided or overly enhancing or overly detractingenvironmental conditions. Most o the photos o the Tousand Islands weretaken during clear, sunny conditions. Some were taken in hazy sunshine anda limited number were taken in overcast conditions. Photos o Cape Vincentwere initially taken in hazy and overcast conditions resulting in unduly nega-tive ratings. A third visit to the site at a later date benefited rom clear, sunnyconditions revealing the hidden beauty o this portion o the Tousand Islands.

Te results o the survey show that photo conditions were not a major actorin the results. O the top 25 images, 15 were taken in bright summer sunshine,

six were taken in haze and our were taken in overcast weather. O the lowestranked 25 images, 17 were taken in bright sunshine, five in haze and three inovercast or cloudy weather.

Natural Features Cultural Features Views Complex Features

Landform Historic Character Coastal Viewshed Ephemeral Character

• Relave Relief Architecture View Length Symbolic Value

• Geology Landscape Character View Width State of Upkeep

• Blus • Selement Paern View Background Discordant Features

Vegetaon • Designed Landscapes View Composion Variety

Shoreline Confguraon State of Upkeep View Focal Points Unity

Water Features Land Use Contrast

• Great Lakes • Wilderness Uniqueness

• Lakes & Sounds • Forestry Public Recognion

• Major Rivers • Parks & Open Space Visibility

• Streams • Farmland

• Ponds • Estates

• Wetlands • Exurban Development

• Recreaonal Resorts

• Suburbs

• Villages

• Town Centers

• Cies

• Industry

• Mineral Extracon

• Transportaon Networks

• Bridges, Towers, Lighthouses and

Elevated Structures

• Harbors & Waterfronts

VI. Landscape Assessment: Evaluang Scenic Quality

Te inventory phase o the project determined where specific types o scare located and what they consist o. Te public participation phase gagepublic perception o landscapes varied rom statewide norms. And in tsessment phase, this inormation was evaluated in order to rate the qua various landscape types based on a system o scenic values. Te methodis based on local public opinion, standards established by the DOS and psional visual assessment standards applied by the consultants.

Refine Table of Scenic Components: Te results o the Tousand Islansual survey were analyzed and incorporated into the scenic landscape evtion method developed by the DOS or use in New York State’s coastal zo

cornerstone o this method is the able o Scenic Components, a descrio scenic eatures (such as vegetation, terrain, land use, views, water, cueatures, etc.) that together create the visual character o the landscape.


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o the scenic eatures is defined according to three levels o scenic quality: dis-tinctive (scenery o national or statewide significance), noteworthy (scenery oregional or local significance) and common (not considered scenic).

Developed by DOS or use on the entire New York coastline and tested in theHudson River Valley, the able o Scenic Components is fine tuned to suit theunique conditions and perceptions o each region o the coast. In the Tou-sand Islands, the able was modified based on the results o the visual survey.Te preerences expressed in the public opinion poll influenced the way that the

consultant applied the language o the table o scenic components to specific ele-ments o the landscape.

Te DOS able o Sce nic Components was modified to reflect Tousand Islandslocal preerences as ollows:

• High scenic quality is oen created by the interplay o natural and culturaleatures. • Ephemeral characteristics, especially wildlie habitats and seaway shipping

were seen as an important part o the visual experience. • Historic architecture is seen as especially important in enhancing the scen-

ery. • Recent residential development along shorelines was ound not as objection-

able as in other regions in the state. • Landorm and terrain is appreciated on a more subtle level than hilly regions

such as the Hudson River Valley • Residents o the area are highly attuned to the scenic beauty o their region.

• Water plays an even greater role in the perception o scenic quality in theregion. • Not surprisingly, islands play a dominant role in the appreciation o scenery. • Playulness in architecture and landscape is an important scenic eature as

seen in the high ratings received by Gilded Age castles, whimsical towers andgarden ollies. • A tolerance or recent waterront development on islands and the mainland. • A preerence or waterront as opposed to inland arm and orest land-

scapes. • An awareness o the stark geological contrasts that underlie the visual land-

scape. • A muted appreciation o the visual character o certain arm landscapes. • A strong awareness o iconic landscape eatures such as seaway ships, light

houses and limestone arm houses.• Wind turbines can have major visual impacts and were added to the list opotential discordant eatures.

Please see the Appendices or the revised able o Scenic Components.

Visual Assessment: With the completion o the inventory o the visual land-scape and the determination o the public’s perception o scenic values, the actualscenic assessment process begins. Te process is based on statewide assessmentcriteria development by DOS as modified by the results o local perceptions asexpressed in the visual survey. Using the modified able o Scenic Components,evaluators filled out the Visual Evaluation Form. Te Form consists o a spreadsheet listing all the visual elements o the able o Scenic Components. Te Vi-sual Evaluation Form includes categories or natural and cultural eatures as wellas the visual cr iteria rom the New York State SASS legislation.

Te scenic components identified in each subunit are rated based on the values de-scribed in the modified able o Scenic components on a scale ranging rom high-est scenic quality (“Distinctive”), moderate scenic quality (“Noteworthy”) and lowscenic quality (“Common”). A composite score or each subunit was determinedby adding the individual scores or each scenic component ound in the subunit.Te basic premise o the method is to base the scenic rating system on the results othe public participation process and the state-wide evaluation methodology.

Te assessment o the subunits was completed in ArcView, a geographic inor-mation system program that links data to maps and aerial photographs. A datatable or each o the 109 subunits was created in ArcView (see the able o ScenicComponents in Appendix C). Te scenic components in the table at le, de-scribed in detail in the able o Scenic Components, were rated on a scale o +1to +3 in the data table.

Te GIS data table or each subunit also includes a subunit identification number,

a brie description o the landscape and inormation on the visual absorbtivenessand visual vulnerability o the subunit (see Appendix C). I a particular sceniccomponent was not present in a given subunit, it received a neutral rating. Tisensures that landscapes containing only a ew, spectacular scenic eatures will notbe overshadowed by landscapes c ontaining many mediocre components.

Because water is such a major element in the visual landscape, both in the state-wide methodology as well as in the regional visual survey, a multiplier o 2 wasapplied to subunit scores in areas where water dominates the visual e nvironmentand where shoreline configuration is a actor. Tis includes the Saint LawrenceRiver and its major tributaries.

A data analysis was conducted on the completed ArcView Data able to deter-mine the overall scenic rating (score) or each subunit. Te requency that eachrating was applied to the scenic components within a subunit was determined bycounting the number o “distinctive,” “noteworthy,” and “common” ratings within

each subunit. Tat is, visual subunits with more distinctive scenic componentsthan noteworthy or common components were rated distinctive overall. Visualsubunits with more noteworthy components than distinctive or common scenic

components were rated noteworthy. Visual subunits with more commonponents than noteworthy or distinctive components were rated common.

Determining Scenic Areas: Aer each subunit was evaluated and given ascore, the results were mapped using ArcGIS. Te highest-scoring subunitsbe eligible as Scenic Areas o Statewide Significance (SASS) under the C

Management Program. Tese subunits meet stringent New York State cor scenic quality in the coastal zone. Te next level o scenic scores apropriate or designation as scenic areas o local concern. Tese areas cogiven a measure o recognition and protection through local action o the Vor own (zoning, subdivision regulations, special districts or other measuthough County or other State and ederal programs.

From our maps o rated visual subunits overall patterns o scenic quality beemerge. While isolated pockets o scenery in individual subunits do existtypically, larger scenic areas consisting o several subunits tend to become ent. Areas that predominantly eatured distinctive visual subunits or groo distinctive visual subunits were designated as SASS areas. Visual subuniside o these SASS areas were aggregated into Scenic Areas o Local Signifiand named or t

thousand islands regional assassment report 2/14/2015

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