Projects

Summarized below are a few projects recently completed by Pinnacle Research, including visitor intercept studies, visitor volume studies, planning and facilitation services, site inventories and assessments, and database management. Clients include private industry corporations in partnership with Federal, State, and local agencies.

Please contact us to learn how our skills and experience can work for you.

RECREATION VISITOR VOLUME STUDIES

The volume of use at recreation sites has long since been a missing element of the big picture. To address the need for this key piece of information, Pinnacle Research has launched a number of studies in recent years to collect data regarding the volume of use at recreation sites, which providesmanagers with the information they need to make sound decisions, including daily, hourly, weekly, monthly, and seasonal use patterns, as well as comparing weekend use to weekday use, etc. Some of the studies

Since 2005, annual studies of visitor volume have been conducted at roughly 100 recreation sites along the Missouri and Madison rivers and 9 accompanying reservoirs contained on these river systems in Montana.
Since 2003, annual studies of visitor volume have been conducted at about 20 recreation sites on Noxon Rapids and Cabinet Gorge reservoirs in the Lower Clark Fork region of Montana and Idaho.
Periodic studies of visitor volumen have been conducted at recreation sites associated with the Thompson Falls and Mystic Lake Hydroelectric Projects in Montana, Lake Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and Lake Spokane, Washington, and along the Swan River near Bigfork, Montana.

RECREATION VISITOR SURVEYS

Recreation visitor surveys typically explore visitor and trip characteristics, satisfaction and opinions about site facilities and resources, and visitor demographics. Recent studies have been conducted at the Thompson Falls and Mystic Lake Hydroelectric Projects in Montana,Avista's Lake Spokane Hydroelectric Project and NorthWestern Energy's Missouri-Madison Projects, as well as Noxon Rapids and Cabinet Gorge reservoirs in the Lower Clark Fork region of Montana and Idaho. In addition, Pinnacle conducted fishing creel surveys to help assess the rainbow trout fishery in Lake Spokane, Washington.

RECREATION SITE INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT

Maintaining recreation sites, facilities, and resources in good condition is one key element of providing high quality opportunities to the recreating public. While various schools of thought exist on how best to monitor site conditions, all approaches work toward the goal of providing consistently high-quality facilities to the public, regardless of the level of development. Some recent inventory and assessment projects Pinnacle Research has been involved with include:

Coordination of annual online reporting of site conditions by managers of recreation sites along the Missouri and Madison rivers and the nine reservoirs associated with this river system in Montana.
2012 identification and assessment of recreation sites on Noxon Rapids and Cabinet Gorge reservoirs in the Lower Clark Fork region of Montana and Idaho.
2009 inventory and assessment of 68 recreation sites on the Spokane River and Lake Spokane, Washington, and 77 sites on Lake Coeur d'Alene and the Spokane, St. Maries, St. Joe, and Coeur d'Alene rivers in Idaho.

PLANNING AND FACILITATION SERVICES

Planning is a key element of successful recreation management, and may include a focused effort for a specific project or a large-scale plan that encompasses many developments and a variety of stakeholders. Pinnacle Research has been involved in a variety of planning and facilitation projects, including:

Updates of the Missouri-Madison Comprehensive Recreation Plan, the Recreation Resource Management Plan for the Lower Clark Fork Project, and updates of the Aesthetics Management Plan for the Lower Clark Fork Project.
Facilitation of the Sanders County Aquatic Invasive Plants Task Force in Sanders County, Montana, beginning in 2013.
Various project- or site-specific planning efforts, such as public safety planning and recreation site layout and upgrades.