Expedited Form

National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
Social Science Program

  Expedited Approval for NPS­Sponsored Public Surveys 
1. 

2. 

Project Title ⎢ 
Submission Date: 

Abstract: 

Understanding and Managing Soundscapes in National Parks: Sequoia
and Kings Canyon National Park Visitor Use Survey

The purpose of this project is to conduct onsite surveys of day use visitors to the Giant Forest
and Crabtree areas of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, and to collect information
concerning their perceptions, experiences, and attitudes toward natural and human-caused
sounds in the park. The onsite survey will be conducted to represent weekdays and weekends
between July 1 and August 30, 2009. The survey results will be used to inform managers of
valued visitor experiences pertaining to soundscapes.
  (not to exceed 150 words) 

3.  Principal Investigator Contact Information 

First Name: 

Title: 

Affiliation: 

Peter

Associate Professor

Colorado State University

Last Name:

Newman

Street Address: 

City: 

Phone: 

Email: 

233 Forestry Building

State:
Fort Collins

Fax:
(970) 491-2839

peter.newman@colostate.edu

Zip code:  80523

CO

(970) 491-2255

Park or Program Liaison Contact Information 

4.  

First Name: 

Title: 

Park: 

Park 
Office/Division: 

Street Address: 

City: 

Phone: 

Email: 

Last Name: Esperanza
Annie

Air Resource Specialist

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

Division of Resources Management and

Science

47050 Generals Highway

 Zip code:  93271
State:  CA
Three Rivers

Fax: (559) 565-4253
(559) 565-3777

annie_esperanza@nps.gov

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Project  Information 

5.  Park(s) For Which Research 
is to be Conducted: 

6.  Survey Dates: 

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

07/01/09

(mm/dd/yyyy) 

to 

(mm/dd/yyyy) 

08/30/09

7.  Type of Information Collection Instrument (Check ALL that Apply) 
   Mail­Back Questionnaire 

  ‰ Other (explain) 

™ On­Site 

Questionnaire 

Face­to­Face 
Interview 

Telephone Survey 

Focus Groups 

8. 

Survey Justification: 
(Use as much space as 
needed; if necessary include 
additional explanation on a 
separate page.) 

Social science research in support of park planning and management is mandated
in the NPS Management Policies 2006 (Section 8.11.1, “Social Science Studies”).
The NPS pursues a policy that facilitates social science studies in support of the
NPS mission to protect resources and enhance the enjoyment of present and future
generations (National Park Service Act of 1916, 38 Stat 535, 16 USC 1, et seq.).
NPS policy mandates that social science research will be used to provide an
understanding of park visitors, the non-visiting public, gateway communities and
regions, and human interactions with park resources. Such studies are needed to
provide a scientific basis for park planning, development, operations,
management, education, and interpretive activities.
Protecting natural sounds is an important goal set by the National Park Service in
management policy 4.9:
Park natural soundscape resources encompass all the natural sounds that
occur in parks, including the physical capacity for transmitting those natural
sounds and the interrelationships among park natural sounds of different
frequencies and volumes. Natural sounds occur within and beyond the range
of sounds that humans can perceive, and they can be transmitted through air,
water, or solid materials. The National Park Service will preserve, to the
greatest extent possible, the natural soundscapes of parks. The Service will
restore to the natural condition wherever possible those park soundscapes that
have become degraded by unnatural sounds (noise), and will protect natural
soundscapes from any unacceptable impacts (National Park Service
Management Policies, 2006).
Although the NPS has been measuring natural ambient and human-caused sound
levels in parks for over 20 years, fewer studies have examined visitors’ responses
and evaluations of natural sounds (Krog & Engdahl, 2005). Research to date has
shown that some visitors seek out natural soundscapes as a part of their
experience, while anecdotal evidence indicates that other visitors accustomed to
urban acoustical environments are uncomfortable in the absence of familiar
human-caused sounds. Gramman (1999) suggests that noise interferes with
benefits, such as the reduction of stress, that people seek from an experience in
nature. Similarly, Anderson, Mulligan, Goodman, and Regan (1983) showed that
evaluations of sounds influence the evaluations of their respective settings.
Finally, Ouis (2001) states that noise is “more than just a nuisance”, but rather it
represents “a danger that is real to people’s health by producing both physical and
psychological stress”. While this brief review of important literature shows the
relationship between sound and visitor enjoyment, more work is warranted in this
area in order build a tool that can measure acoustical data and assess impacts to
visitor use and enjoyment. This study begins to address these issues.
The information from this research will enhance park planning and soundscape
management efforts by assessing visitor responses to both natural and humancaused sound and identifying potential indicators and standards of quality for

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9.  Survey Methodology: (Use as 
much space as needed; if 
necessary include additional 
explanation on a 
separate page.) 

soundscape conditions in parks that can be applied within a Visitor Experience
and Resource Protection framework (VERP).

(a) Respondent universe:  
The respondent universe for the visitor survey will be all individuals 18 years of
age and older who take a day hike on the trails in the Giant Forest and Crabtree
areas of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks during the period July 1 to
August 30, 2009. The visitor survey is included as an attachment to this Expedited
Approval form (see Attachment 1 – “Understanding and Managing Soundscapes
in National Parks: Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Visitor Use
Survey.”
(b) Sampling plan/procedures:  
The visitor survey sampling period will occur on a total of 10 randomly selected
days between July 1 and August 30, 2009. Sampling days will be stratified by day
of the week and location. Furthermore, each trailhead will be sampled an equal
number of times. On each sampling day, trained surveyors will be stationed at
each selected point from 8am to 4pm. The surveyors will recruit study
participants by contacting a random sample of visitor groups as they are walking
past the study area and ask them to participate in a listening exercise.
Only one individual from each intercepted group will be asked to participate at a
time. Therefore, the surveyor will not distract listeners by talking to people
passing by. When the visitor is relaxed and ready to listen, the surveyors will
instruct them to close their eyes and listen to the sounds around them, including
both human and natural sounds. They will be instructed to open their eyes when
they have heard all of the sounds they thought they could hear, and then complete
the visitor survey. Instructions for the visitor survey will be posted on the front
page; however the surveyors will also explain these instructions before passing
out the survey. When the individual finishes the survey, the surveyor will then
randomly select another individual to participate in the visitor survey.
(c) Instrument administration:  
Visitors selected for the study will be read the following script:
”Hello, my name is ______. I am conducting a survey for the National Park
Service to better understand visitor’s attitudes towards sounds at Sequoia and
Kings Canyon National Parks. Participation is voluntary and anonymous. Would
you be willing to spend a few minutes to answer some important questions
regarding your visit here?”
If “NO” then, “Thank you, I hope you enjoy your visit.”
If “YES” then, “Thank you, has any member of your group participated in this
survey before?”
If “YES” then, “Thank you for participating in this study but you have already
provided us with the information we need. Have a great day.”
If “NO” then, “Thank you for agreeing to participate in this study. The results
from this survey will help the National Park Service better understand the
relationship between visitor use and soundscapes in Sequoia and Kings Canyon
National Parks, as well as protect resources and meet the needs of visitors. This
survey will take about10 minutes to complete.”
A randomly selected member that agrees to participate will be administered the
visitor survey. Study participants will be instructed to complete the questionnaire

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onsite and address any questions to the surveyor.
The group size and type of activity (i.e., day hiking, backpacking) of all groups
who choose not to participate in the survey will be recorded for the purposes of
testing for non-response bias within the survey data (see Attachment 2 – “Sequoia
and Kings Canyon National Parks Visitor Survey Log”).
(d) Expected response rate/confidence levels: 

A total of 375 day-use visitor groups will be contacted during the sampling
period. Out of an estimated 375 initial contacts with visitor groups, based on
previous and nearly identical studies in Yosemite National Park (Newman 2006)
and Grand Teton National Park (Newman 2006), it is expected that 300 (80%)
will agree to participate in the survey. The number of refusals will be recorded
and reported (see Attachment 2 – “Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
Visitor Survey Log”). Based on the day-use survey sample size, there will be
95% confidence that the day-use survey findings will be accurate to within 5.7
percentage points, as well as a power level greater than .80 for any number of
statistical test (two-tailed independent samples t-test, multivariate regression), at
the .05 alpha-level. Thus, the proposed sample size will certainly be adequate for
bivariate comparisons and will also allow for comparisons between study sites
and more sophisticated multivariate analysis if deemed necessary.
(e) Strategies for dealing with potential non­response bias: 
The number of refusals will be recorded, reported, and analyzed for non-response
bias (see Attachment 2 – “Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park Visitor
Survey Log”). This will be done by comparing participating groups’
characteristics (group size, activity type – i.e., day hiking, backpacking) to nonparticipating groups’ characteristics gathered on the corresponding survey refusal
log sheets. Results of the non-response analyses will be reported and implications
for interpretation of the results discussed.
(f) Description of any pre­testing and peer review of the methods and/or 
instrument (recommended):

10. 

The questions included in this survey were initially designed and reviewed by the
principal investigator, research staff and graduate students, scientists from other
universities with expertise in survey research methods, and NPS staff. Nearly
identical survey instruments were tested in 2006 and 2007 in Yosemite National
Park and Grand Teton National Park (OMB #: 1024-0224 NPS #06-043), and in
Haleakala National Park (OMB #: 1024-0224 NPS #07-014). Results from these
studies are currently under second revisions in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

Total Number of   375 300
11. 
Estimated Time to  0.25
Total  52
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12. 

Initial Contacts | 
Expected Respondents: 

13. 

Complete Initial 
Contact | Instrument 
(mins.):

Burden 
Hours:

Reporting Plan:  A technical study report will summarize results and management

recommendations. Data will be analyzed using Statistical Package for Social
Sciences (SPSS) version 17.0 to compare and quantify acceptability and personal
interpretation of sounds heard at survey sites. These results will also be compared
using demographic variables to look for statistical differences between groups.
Journal manuscripts and academic papers will also be prepared. Copies of all
reports and papers will be archived with the National Park Service Social Science
Program for inclusion in the Social Science Studies Collection.
References

Ambrose, S., & Burson, S. (2004 ). Soundscape studies in National Parks. The George Wright Forum, 21(1), 29-38.

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Anderson, T.W., Mulligan, B.E., Goodman, L.S., & Regan, H. Z. (1983). Effects of sound preference for outdoor settings.
Environment and Behavior, 15(5), 539-565.
Jensen, M., & Thompson, H. (2004). Natural Sounds: An endangered species. The George Wright Forum 21(1), 10-13.
Krog, N. H., & Engdahl, B. (2005). Annoyance with aircraft noise in local recreational areas and the recreationists' noise
situation at home. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 117(1), 221-231.
Lawson, S., Kiser, B., Hockett, K., Reigner, N., Howard, J., Ingram, A., Dymond, S., (2007. Social science research to
inform soundscapes in Haleakala National Park. Final study report. Virginia Polytechnic and State University.
Newman P., Pilcher, E., & Stack, D. (2006). Yosemite National Park acoustic study: Development of indicators of quality
related to soundscapes. Final study report. Colorado State University.
Newman P., Pilcher, E., & Stack, D. (2006). Grand Teton National Park acoustic study: Development of indicators of quality
related to soundscapes. Final study report. Colorado State University.
NPS. (2006). Park Soundscapes. Retrieved April 14, 2006, from http://www.nature.nps.gov/naturalsounds/.
NPS (2006) Management Policies 2006.
Ouis, D. (2001). Annoyance from road traffic noise: A review. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 21(1), 101-120.

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