The New Hampshire Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (NH DNCR) engaged our firm to provide a comprehensive assessment of Mount Washington State Park’s natural resources and facilities as baseline for long term planning. The Mount Washington Summit is the highest mountain peak in the Northeast – notorious for its extreme weather and a destination to over 300,000 visitors every year.
The study area’s 58.8 acres of land consist of alpine tundra, buildings and maintenance facilities, hiking trails, and remnants of historic uses. The assessment included natural resources such as topography, soils, vegetation, and wildlife; areas of environmental concern; site infrastructure and visitor experience; and conditions and usage of the summit’s Visitor Center, historic Tip-Top House, and the Yankee Building. Our interdisciplinary team compiled and reviewed extensive prior records and performed field data collection in August and September, 2024, supplemented with interviews of State Park staff. We then prepared an assessment using established relevant methods for each discipline.
Public engagement was an important part of the study and included a visitor survey developed in collaboration with the University of New Hampshire’s Survey Center and DNCR, along with a wider public survey to collect opinions related to the future of the summit. The public process has also included the Mount Washington Commission – a prominent stakeholders group composed of representatives from the State, partner businesses and organizations, and the general public.
The study will provide recommendations for improvements or further study, providing DNCR and Mount Washington Commission with a foundation for future planning and investment. Recommendations will be developed and refined through a series of workshops, aiming to balance the environmental protection of the alpine environment with the summit’s continued public use.
Services Snapshot
Tighe & Bond assisted the New Hampshire Department of Natural and Cultural Resources with an environmental assessment of natural and built resources, field data collection, public engagement and survey design, GIS mapping, and the development of recommendations for the future preservation of Mount Washington.
