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Environmental Impact of W ind Projects 259

lighting, foundation area; meteorological towers; substation;
access roads; transmission lines, and others.
2. Project visibility, appearance, and landscape context. Photo-
montages and 3-D simulation of walk-through of an area that
is within 10 miles of the project area can provide an objective
view of the visual impact on the landscape. In this step, the
following facets are included: Detailed topographical maps
with digital elevation; all features in the modeled area like
trees, buildings, roads, and water bodies, etc.; digital pictures
of views of interest. 3-D simulation walk-through software
can take all this information along with visual information
from the project description and create a simulation in which
a user can walk-through or fly-through the areas of interest.
A run-time copy of the 3-D simulation can be provided to
residents and other stakeholders. This provides concerned
citizens a means to learn about the visual impact of the project
from different vantage points.
3. Scenic resource values and sensitivity levels. The US Forestry
Service and the US Bureau of Land Management have devel-
oped methods to determine scenic resource values for visu-
ally sensitive landscapes. In most cases, the scenic resource
values have already been determined and recorded in pub-
lic planning documents pertaining to previously proposed
transmission, power plants, or other projects. Scenic values
are determined based on distinctive features that are char-
acterized by unique combinations of land form, patterns of
vegetation, water bodies, and others.
4. Assessment of visual impacts. Visual impact is assessed based
on visual context and project characteristics. Visual context is
determined based on the following factors: Distance of view-
ers from the project, view duration, angle of view, panoramic
versus narrow view, scenic quality of view, focal point within
view, number of observers, viewer expectations, documented
scenic resources, visibility, and weather conditions. Project
characteristics that have visual impact are: Scale of the project
relative to the surroundings, number of turbines in view and
visual clutter, visibility of project infrastructure, noise, and
lighting.
5. Mitigation techniques. Some of the mitigation techniques that
may be applied to wind projects are:
a. Appropriate siting so as not to overwhelm sensitive scenic
resources
b. Downsizing, relocation, or adjusting turbine layout pattern
to minimize impact