Study to examine tourism’s impact on public safety resources

Does tourism strain public safety resources in small towns? The Woodlands Partnership of Northwest Massachusetts wants to know.

With help from the Edward J. Collins Jr. Center for Public Management at the University of Massachusetts Boston, the Woodlands Partnership is launching a study, paid for using a $75,000 grant from the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, that will examine the effects of tourism on municipal emergency services.

Woodlands Partnership board member Liz Kidder said the goal of the study is to give the partnership direction for future grant applications, programs and legislative efforts. The Woodlands Partnership includes representatives from 20 towns across Franklin and Berkshire counties who are working to preserve the region’s forests and support its rural, land-based economies.

“It’s a unique approach to land conservation and economic development,” said Woodlands Partnership Coordinator Kate Conlin.

But as the partnership proceeds with efforts to boost tourism and forest-based industries, it needs to ensure the region can support the increased visitors.

“Current policies regarding state aid [like payments in lieu of taxes] do not recognize this value of conserved land in the partnership region and, instead, place priority on assessed value, which results in many lands in eastern Massachusetts receiving much higher payments,” the Woodlands Partnership wrote in a statement.

Kidder explained that land is assessed based on development potential, thus conservation land does not bring in a lot of money for towns, leading to underfunded police, fire, ambulance and highway departments, even when tourism connected to that conserved land brings in people who use these resources.

“Based on our experience in Leyden, we noted when there’s events and outdoor recreation tourism, it increases calls and a lot of these towns can’t support it,” Kidder said. “We’re struggling to keep our fire departments. The costs of trucks, gear and equipment, it’s all so expensive.”

Likewise, in Ashfield, Fire Chief Kyle Walker confirmed that emergency responses related to outdoor recreation make up a chunk of the calls his department receives.

He said between Ashfield Lake and the trails that people use for swimming, hiking, skiing and snowmobiling, there are “absolutely” some tourists who visit the region to take advantage of outdoor recreation and end up needing help from emergency services.

“Occasionally people don’t use their heads,” said Jay Healy, a Woodlands Partnership board member from Charlemont. “There’s been a few issues with people needing ambulances or helicopters, but overall I think people see tourism as a net positive for the area.”

In Charlemont, recreation companies like Berkshire East Mountain Resort, Zoar Outdoor and others attract hundreds of visitors each year who shop at local stores and eat at local restaurants, in turn creating jobs for locals, Healy said. Every so often these tourists require help from the town’s public safety departments, but Healy believes it’s not so often that it outweighs the benefits of attracting tourists to town.

Charlemont Ambulance Director Dana Johnson agreed that tourism does impact his budget and call volume, but the issue is less that tourists come and more that he doesn’t have sufficient staffing to support all the calls. The ambulance service is part-time and staffed by volunteers, so during winter ski season or summer boating, hiking and biking season when people flock to the area, there is not always enough first responders.

“When it hits us, it hits us hard, and it can be an issue because we don’t have enough people,” Johnson said. “There is an impact on us.”

The study will examine the impacts of tourism on the partnership’s 20 member towns: Ashfield, Adams, Buckland, Charlemont, Cheshire, Clarksburg, Colrain, Conway, Florida, Hawley, Heath, Leyden, Monroe, North Adams, New Ashford, Peru, Rowe, Shelburne, Williamstown, and Windsor, as well as one non-member town, Savoy.

Although Savoy voted against joining the Woodlands Partnership and thus will not be included in the partnership’s future projects, it is being factored into the study because of its location in the middle of the partnership’s area, Conlin explained.

The study is beginning the data collection phase. The partnership expects the study will be wrapped up and a final report ready in June 2025.

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or [email protected].