Project staff called each manager to make sure the 

 process was clear. 



At the same time, a letter was sent to river users who had 

 participated in the study. The users were sent a 



stamped, addressed postcard and asked to indicate which regional 

 list(s) of river reaches they would like to review. All who 

 responded were sent the same printout mailed to the managers. 

 In November, 1985, project staff compiled all of the additions 

 and corections made by managers and users onto a master file. 

 This data file, the current version of the Montana recreation 

 inventory, was sent to Bonneville Power Administration and the 

 Northwest Power Planning Council in May, 1986. 



The 779 river reaches identified were mapped on a second set of 

 BLM 1:100,000 maps and assigned segment codes from the Montana 

 Stream Database. These codes consisted of a one-digit DFWP region 

 code (seven in Montana), a two-digit drainage code (22 in 

 Montana), a four-digit code unique to each river, and a three- 

 digit reach code, used only when a river was divided into more 

 than one reach. Map colors used were described in the section on 

 Value Classes. 



The working and final maps, worksheets, all study correspondence, 

 and an alphabetical list of the river reaches identified are 

 available from DFWP. 



PROJECT EVALUATION AND USE CONSIDERATIONS 



This was the first comprehensive study of the recreational rivers 

 in Montana. The scope of this study was limited because the time 

 and budget constraints did not permit the complete field 

 inventory commonly used to conduct inventories of recreational 

 resources. While suitable for use as a planning document in the 

 initial stages of hydropower planning, this inventory is not 

 suitable for actually siting facilities. 



The initial inventory and assessment of recreational rivers is 

 better suited for broad regional planning activities than for 

 providing detailed, specific information on individual reaches. 

 However, the data provide an overall look at the relative 

 availability of river-related recreation opportunities in 

 Montana . 



The data base's utility will increase as it is expanded and 

 updated, a crucial component of the river recreaion inventory. 

 A number of tasks could be completed in the next phase of the 

 recreation portion of the Pacific Northwest Rivers Study. 



Following is a preliminary list of these tasks, which do not 

 include activities related to restructuring or manipulating the 

 existing data base. 



