About
Outdoor recreation demand is growing, but many agencies and communities still lack timely, defensible, and scalable tools for understanding capacity challenges. The RECAP Platform helps close that gap by integrating multiple data streams with advanced analytical methods to produce credible, actionable intelligence for planning, management, and investment.
RECAP is designed to help partners better understand when, where, and why recreation capacity challenges occur, and what actions may be most effective in response.
We develop and test methods in real recreation management settings, with tools designed to inform on-the-ground decisions.
We turn complex data into useful indicators, forecasts, and planning tools for operations, infrastructure, and long-term management.
We combine diverse data sources with analytical workflows to support repeatable applications across sites and regions.
What the RECAP Platform Does
The RECAP Platform combines diverse data sources and advanced analytical workflows to help partners measure, interpret, and manage recreation use in high-demand settings. By integrating social, spatial, environmental, and observational data, the platform supports practical tools for monitoring conditions, identifying pressure points, evaluating management options, and improving recreation planning and operations. RECAP supports practical applications that help partners:
- Estimate parking and access capacity
- Monitor visitor volume and temporal use patterns
- Identify congestion and density hotspots
- Support thresholds and management triggers
- Develop dashboards and planning tools
- Evaluate infrastructure and management scenarios
Featured Projects
RECAP is building and testing these tools in active management settings where crowding, parking pressure, environmental conditions, and infrastructure constraints shape visitor experience and operational decisions.
Support the Platform
Recent gifts to Utah State University secure PhD-level research talent for this work. External support helps turn that capacity into field-ready research, pilot projects, data systems, and decision tools. We welcome conversations with foundations, nonprofits, public-sector partners, and industry organizations interested in becoming early supporters of this work.Director, Institute of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism; Professor, Environment and Society; Andrew J. Senti Chair of Environment and Society
Phone: (435) 830-6294
Email: jordan.smith@usu.edu