Most visitors to Tongue River Reservoir State Park return home feeling good about their overall experience at the park, according to research recently released by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Tongue River Reservoir State Park, north of Decker in southeastern Montana, is popular with water sports enthusiasts and anglers. The study, conducted the summer of 2000 by Montana State Parks, a division of FWP, asked visitors to rate their overall park "experience" as well as the park conditions that contribute to that experience. "We conducted this study to help keep our day-to-day and long-range decisions in line with what park users want," said Bob Peterson, park manager. "We ended up with statistically accurate information that is very practical and useful." Fifty-nine percent of the over 360 visitors interviewed at the park later returned a questionnaire mailed to them following their visit. Of those surveyed, park users on average rated their overall trip at 7.2 on a scale of one (very bad) to nine (very good), indicating a high level of satisfaction. "Last summer was a great time for us to survey visitors since the park just reopened with new facilities and new staff," Peterson said. Improvements to the dam raised the lake level making it necessary to relocate and rebuild some park facilities. Many park conditions such as the number of people, the cleanliness of park facilities and the type and quality of facilities provided at the park received very high marks. While most of the people responding to the survey enjoyed their experience at the park, there is still work to do. Three park conditions were rated as unacceptable or very unacceptable by approximately 20 percent of the respondents:
- the number of personal watercraft users (e.g. jet skiers) boating too close to other reservoir users;
- the number of personal watercraft users violating the no-wake zone regulations on the reservoir; and
- the number of camper groups camping too close to one another.
Survey respondents were also asked to rate their awareness of and their support for new boating regulations adopted just before the 2000 boating season. Seventy-four percent of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, "Overall, I think the new boating regulations are a good thing." A strong majority said the new boating regulations will decrease the number of conflicts and increase safety. Only 16 percent of those responding said they may visit the reservoir less often due to the new boating regulations. "As we enter a new season, our goal is continuing satisfaction for visitors. Their views and interests are at the core of how we manage Tongue River Reservoir State Park," said Doug Monger, Montana State Parks division administrator. "In turn, the vast majority of our visitors are respectful of the park and have a genuine appreciation of this resource." For more information on the Tongue River Reservoir State Park survey, call the Miles City FWP office at 232-0900.
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