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National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
Social Science Program
Expedited Approval for NPS‐Sponsored Public Surveys
Visitor Capacity and Use Monitoring Research at Snake River
1.
May 20, 2011
Project Title ⎢
Headwaters in Grand Teton National Park
Submission
Date:
2.
Abstract: The study is instrumental in addressing the user capacity mandate of the Wild and
Scenic Rivers Act to document kinds and amounts of visitor use in the Snake River
headwaters corridor. The study fills an identified data gap in understanding of river
use. Methods include observational research on use types and use levels, as well
as rapid assessment of visitors’ perceptions of their experience recreating along the
Snake Headwaters. The protocols are scheduled to be implemented May –
September 2011, and serve as monitoring protocols that similar National Park
Service (NPS) units and wild and scenic rivers could adapt and implement. Further,
this implementation at the Snake River is a replication of similar work at Ozark
National Scenic Riverways and other locations as previously approved by the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB). Results from this survey will be used to
support current and active development of the Snake Headwaters Comprehensive
River Management Plan (RMP).
(not to exceed 150 words)
3. Principal Investigator Contact Information
4.
First Name:
Title:
Affiliation:
Street Address:
City:
Phone:
Email:
Logan
Last Name: Park
Assistant Professor
Department of Forestry, College of Agricultural Sciences
University of Southern Illinois ‐Carbondale
Carbondale
State: IL
Zip code: 62901
618‐453‐7476
Fax: 618‐453‐2505
logan.park@siu.edu
Park or Program Liaison Contact Information
First Name:
Title:
Jim
Project Manager
Last Name: Bacon
Park:
Park
Office/Division:
Street Address:
City:
Phone:
Email:
National Park Service
Yosemite National Park, in conjunction with the National Park Service’s
Denver Service Center
5083 Foresta Road
El Portal
State: CA
95318
209‐379‐1375
Fax: 209‐379‐1256
Jim_Bacon@nps.gov
Project Information
Grand Teton National Park
5. Park(s) For Which
Research is to be
Conducted:
6. Survey Dates:
05/15/2011 (mm/dd/yyyy)
to 09/15/2011
7. Type of Information Collection Instrument (Check ALL that Apply)
Mail‐Back
Questionnaire
9 On‐Site
Questionnaire
Other (explain)
9 Face‐to‐
Face
Interview
Telephone
Survey
(mm/dd/yyyy)
Focus
Groups
8.
Survey Justification:
(Use as much space as
needed; if necessary
include additional
explanation on a
separate page.)
The National Park Service initiated this survey effort to collect river use data
required for its upcoming Snake River management plan. The river’s
headwaters flow through Grand Teton National Park and are managed
under a 1997 plan. These plans typically have a 10 – 15 year lifespan.
An updated river management plan being developed to address the
evolving use and management onsite. However, the plan requires accurate
and current data on the types, amounts, and distributions of river use. Since
the 1997 plan’s completion, the National Park Service has not gathered the
needed river user capacity data. This survey directly assists in fulfilling that
need, as mandated in the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (WSRA).
WSRA requires comprehensive planning of designated rivers to address
“resource protection, development of lands and facilities, user capacities,
and other management practices necessary or desirable to achieve the
purposes of this Act.” As required by the act, the Snake Headwaters
Comprehensive River Management Plan will
•
clearly describe the rivers “outstandingly remarkable values,” which are
the river‐related or river dependent, and unique, rare, or exemplary
characteristics that make a river eligible for inclusion in the national
wild and scenic rivers system;
•
establish a management program in the river corridors that protects the
rivers’ outstandingly remarkable values, free flowing condition and
water quality; and
•
address user capacity, establishing the types and levels of visitor use
appropriate in the river corridor.
This survey will be a key tool used to measure user capacity requirements of
the WSRA.
Legal and Policy Requirements for Research
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.
The RMP planning process will comply with the National Environmental
Policy Act and assess a range of alternative visitor use management
strategies. The information gathered in this project will inform those
alternatives by assessing the current amount and type of use in the park
and evaluating visitors’ perceptions of their park experience. The results of
this study are a needed source of information (also including public and
stakeholder comments, staff recommendations, other research, etc.) that
management will require for evaluating alternatives.
The specific objectives for this research include:
1. Document current uses and use patterns. This element of the study
will provide park managers with descriptions of the type of use and
the number of visitors currently using the Snake River headwaters
within the park boundary.
2. Describe visitors’ perceptions of river use densities. This element of
the study will be used to assess if visitors encounter the amount of
people they expected and if they have conflicts with other river
users.
3. Describe visitors’ perceptions of change on the rivers. This element
of the study will measure visitor’s perceptions of how use and use
levels have changed over time along the Snake River headwaters.
Understanding existing use levels and visitor perceptions will be a
significant contribution to supporting development of the new
9.
Survey Methodology:
(Use as much space as
needed; if necessary
include additional
explanation on a
separate page.)
comprehensive river management plan for the Snake Headwaters. This is
the most basic and relevant type of information needed to inform
important decisions about management alternatives and user capacity
within the river corridor. This study will use a rapid assessment approach,
piloted by Dr. Ken Chilman and applied more recently by Dr. Logan Park of
Southern Illinois University at Ozark National Scenic Riverways (Marnell et
al. 1978, Chilman et al., 1996, Brown and Chilman 2001). This approach is
both efficient and effective for collecting the needed data in a timely
manner to support the planning effort. In addition to supporting
development of the plan, it is anticipated that this rapid assessment tool
will be replicated in the future to support on‐going monitoring and
management efforts on the Snake Headwaters. Finally, testing these
methods on another river will support further refinement of this type of
data collection and monitoring protocol, which can support other planning
and management efforts for wild and scenic rivers in the NPS.
(a) Respondent universe:
All adults, 18 years of age or older, visiting the Snake River Headwaters
in Grand Teton National Park from 5/15/2011 to 9/20/2011.
(b) Sampling plan/procedures:
Surveys will be administered along the Snake River headwaters at six
river access sites. The sampling schedule will target: canoeists, rafters,
tubers, boater, and other river users. Sampling days will be stratified by
weekdays vs. weekend days and holidays, and months. The sampling
schedule will be composed of the weeks, weather permitting, from
5/15/2011 to 9/20/2011, and will be repeated after each of the three
sets of four weeks are completed. Surveys will be administered onsite
to visitor groups as they exit the riverways, from 12:00 p.m. to 7:00
p.m. The survey staff will wear NPS volunteer uniforms or Southern
Illinois University logo clothing, to promote easy identification of staff
by visitor groups.
At the start of each sampling period, the surveyors will approach the
first group of visitors to exit the river at the intercept location. The
group will be asked if they are willing to participate in the survey.
Refusals will be logged along with group size, craft type, the number of
children under 18 in the group, the apparent language spoken, and field
staff comments on the reason for refusal. These data will be used to
assist in non‐response bias analyses. If the visitors are willing to
participate, the surveyors will ask the adult group member with the
most recent birthday to the sampling day to serve as the individual
respondent. The survey will be conducted as a face‐to‐face interview,
with all responses recorded on the questionnaires by survey staff. At
the conclusion of the interview, the group will be thanked for their
participation and staff will approach the next group for participation, to
complete a census of river users debarking at survey sites.
Experience from past replications of this procedure suggests that the
arrival rate of groups is infrequent enough that all groups arriving at
study locations can be contacted for participation (Personal
communication to Dr. Ken Chilman). This process will continue
throughout the day, and a series of short rest breaks for survey staff will
be included in the schedule.
(c) Instrument administration:
The questionnaire used in this study is based on past replications’
instruments previously approved by OMB, and has been updated to
include standardized instrument language. The basis on past
replications is being done to facilitate comparisons with previous
research and sampling protocols.
Trained survey staff will be stationed at river user access/take out sites
such that they can conduct continuous counts of visitor use levels at the
sites. Where access/take‐out sites are not conducive to accurate
counts of river use, nearby locations providing better count vantage
points have been determined (e.g., a bridge crossing overlooking a take‐
out). Where this approach is necessary, “count‐only days” have been
developed using the same stratification approach as survey sampling,
described earlier.
Groups will be read the following script:
Hello, I am ________________ and am working for the
University of Southern Illinois in cooperation with Grand
Teton National Park. We are doing a survey of visitors to
the Snake River headwaters this year. It takes about 10
minutes to complete and your answers are completely
voluntary and anonymous. Would you be willing to
answer some questions?
If YES: We would like to talk to the person in your group
18 years or older who had the most recent birthday.
If NO: I understand. I hope you enjoy your visit.
(d) Expected response rate/confidence levels:
Onsite survey response rates have reduced dramatically in the past 10
years. Additional research is needed to address the problems associated
with declining response rates for on‐site surveys. According to Dr. Jim
Gramann (personal communication) a conservative estimate of 60% will
yield the responses necessary to provide a reasonable assessment of
recreation on the Snake River for the purposes addressed in item 8
above.
Past rapid assessment river use surveys conducted under similar
conditions and practices have yielded sample sizes of approximately
100‐150 visitors per survey site per year. Therefore, we expect to
contact approximately 800 visitor groups across 6 survey stations
located along the river, stratified by weekend and weekday periods and
expect 480 or 60%, to agree to respond. With these anticipated sample
sizes, we will be 95% confident that the true population parameters are
+/‐ 4 percentage points of the sample statistic. This degree of accuracy
reflects current peer reviewed scholarly publications dealing with river
use data.
10.
(e) Strategies for dealing with potential non‐response bias:
An interview log (attached) will be filled out by each survey
administrator to record the disposition of each contact, including the
characteristics of respondent groups and non‐respondents groups. Non‐
response bias will be tested by comparing groups on these
characteristics (e.g., group size, time of visit). Results of the analysis will
be reported and any implications for interpretation of the results will be
discussed in the final report.
(f) Description of any pre‐testing and peer review of the methods and/or
instrument (recommended):
The instrument for this study has been used in the field five times, and
we will be using the same instrument to compare past results across
multiple locations against current results. The content of the survey has
been reviewed by the principal investigator, additional faculty at
Southern Illinois University‐ Carbondale, and NPS officials. In addition,
this revision of the survey incorporates question content and formatting
that has been used at other OMB‐approved projects for the NPS.
With a response rate of 60%, we plan to approach 800 individuals. We
expect that the initial contact time will be at least one minute per person
(800 x 1 minutes = 13 hours). For those who agree to participate (480), an
additional 10 minutes will be required to complete the questionnaire (480
response x 10 minutes = 80 hours). The burden for this collection is
estimated to be 93 hours.
Total Number of
Initial Contacts
Expected Respondents:
800
480
11.
13.
Estimated Time to
Complete Initial Contact
Instrument (mins.):
1 min
10 min
12 Total
Burden
Hours:
93
Reporting Plan: A technical report will be submitted to GRTE. We will also conduct a
debriefing workshop for park staff in the fall of 2011. A copy of the
technical report will be submitted to the NPS Social Science Program for
inclusion in the Social Science Studies Collection.
Frequencies means, modes, and standard deviations will be used to
describe visitor characteristics. Cross‐tabulations, t‐tests, or analyses of
variance will be used to compare perceptions between motorized and non‐
motorized river users.
References
Brown, G. and Chilman, K. (2001). 2001 River use monitoring report for lower Current River. Ozark National Scenic
Riverways. USDI National Park Service, Van Buren, MO.
Marnell, L., Foster, D., & Chilman, K. (1978). River recreation research conducted at Ozark National Scenic Riverways, 1970‐
1977: a summary of research projects and findings. National Park Service, Van Buren, Missouri. 139 pp.
SNAKE RIVER HEADWATERS SURVEY LOG
Date:
Sampling Site: _____________________
Hello, I am ________________ and am working for
the University of Southern Illinois in cooperation
with Grand Teton National Park. We are doing a
survey of visitors to the park this year. It takes
about 10 minutes to complete and your answers
are completely voluntary and anonymous. Would
you be willing to answer some questions?
Interviewer
initials, start
& stop
times,
Sampling
breaks
Interval
Weather:
Already
interviewed Refuse
√
Time √
ID
Group
number size
If YES: We would like to talk to the
person in your group 18 years or older
who had the most recent birthday.
If NO: I understand. I hope you enjoy
your visit.
#
children
Craft type < 18
Language
COMMENTS:
explain reason for
refusal
OMB Control Number 1024 0224
Expiration Date: 6/30/2012
SNAKE RIVER HEADWATERS RIVER USE SURVEY
Interviewer: Name:___________________ Date:_____
Time:_____
Place:_____
1a. On this visit, what activities did you or your personal group participate in while visiting the Snake River in
Grand Teton National Park? Please mark (•) all that apply. [Topic Area 3 – ACT 22]
O Rafting
O Kayaking / boating
O Fishing / angling
O Picnicking
O Photography
O Nature study
O Other (Please specify)
1b. Which one of the above activities was the primary activity that you and your personal group participated in
while visiting the Snake River Headwaters area? [Topic Area 3 – ACT 23]
Primary Activity:
1c. At what location did you begin your activity today? ________________________________________
[Topic Area 3 – Variation of ACT 22 used to describe specific location within the park]
2. For this trip, how long did you and your group recreate on the Snake River at Grand Teton National Park?
[Topic Area 3 – ININ1]
Number of hours, if less than 24 hours ________
OR
Number of days, if 24 hours or more _______
3. How many times have you recreated on the Snake River inside Grand Teton National Park? Please mark (•)
one. [Topic Area 1 – VISITHIS1]
O
This is my first time here
O
2 – 5 times
O
6 – 10 times
O
11 – 25 times
O
More than 25 times
4. Year of first visit________ (enter 2011 if this is your first visit) [Topic Area 4 – Variation of VISITHIS1 used to
determine number of years based on exact year versus estimation of number of years.]
•
5. What kind of group are you a part of today? Please mark ( ) one. [Topic Area 1 – GR5]
O Solo
O Personal group
O Commercial group
O Other group, please explain________________________.
6. Why did you choose to recreate at the Snake River in Grand Teton National Park today?
[Topic Area 3 – TPLAN 22]
_____________________________________________________________________________
7. Have you recreated on other sections or tributaries of the Snake River? Please mark (•) one.
[Topic Area 3 – Variation of ACT22 – specific to this area in the park]
O Yes Æ Please specify the location___________________________________________
O No
8. Did you have a particular reason for choosing this section of the Snake River in Grand Teton National Park
•
today? Please mark ( ) one. [Topic Area 2 –TPLAN22]
O Yes Æ What were your reason(s)?_____________________________________________
O No
9. If this is not your first visit to the Snake River in Grand Teton National Park, what changes in conditions have
you noticed since your first visit? [Topic Area 6 – Variation of OPMGMT 5 – requesting information based on previous
visits and experiences]
_________________________________________________________________________________
OR
____This is my first visit to Snake River in Grand Teton National Park
10. When you were on the river today, about how many other groups of people did you encounter? Please
mark (•) one. [Topic Area 5 – Variation of CROWD17 – this question provides a range of responses versus relying on the
respondent to provide specific the number of groups]
O
zero other groups
O
1 – 5 other groups
O
6 – 10 other groups
O
11 – 15 other groups
O
more than 15 other groups
11. Did you feel crowded on the river today? Please circle a single number. [Topic Area 5 – CROWD1]
Not at all
Slightly
Moderately
Extremely
Crowded
Crowded
Crowded
Crowded
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
OR O Not sure
12. On a scale of 1 to 9 (with 1 being “not at all important” and 9 being “extremely important”), how important
would it be to you to encounter fewer people during your trip? Please circle a single number. [Topic Area 5 –
Variation of CRWDATT5 – the variation to this question provides a single response versus multiple responses provide in
the current pool of known questions.]
Not at all
Important
1
2
OR O Not sure
3
Slightly
Important
4
5
Moderately
Important
6
7
Extremely
Important
8
9
13. Were other river users a problem for you during your visit? Please mark (•) one.
[Topic Area 6 – EVALSERV 19]
O Yes Æ Mark all that apply:
O No
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
Offensive behavior
Noise
Unsafe behavior
Littering
Too many others / congestion
Incompatible activitiesÆ Please specify: ______________
Other: _________________________________________
14. Please evaluate the quality of the facilities and services along the Snake River that you may have used today.
Please circle one number for each facility or service that you used today. If you did not use a particular listed
facility or service, or are unsure about an answer, please circle the appropriate response.
[Topic Area 6 – EVALSERV21]
Raft Put‐ins / Take‐outs
Trails
Restrooms
Wayside exhibits
Informational signs
Picnic areas
Trash receptacles
Parking spaces
Disabled persons
access
Very poor
Very high
quality
Neutral
quality
‐3 ‐2 ‐1 0 1 2 3 Didn’t use Not Sure
‐3 ‐2 ‐1 0 1 2 3 Didn’t use Not Sure
‐3 ‐2 ‐1 0 1 2 3 Didn’t use Not Sure
‐3 ‐2 ‐1 0 1 2 3 Didn’t use Not Sure
‐3 ‐2 ‐1 0 1 2 3 Didn’t use Not Sure
‐3 ‐2 ‐1 0 1 2 3 Didn’t use Not Sure
‐3 ‐2 ‐1 0 1 2 3 Didn’t use Not Sure
‐3 ‐2 ‐1 0 1 2 3 Didn’t use Not Sure
‐3 ‐2 ‐1 0 1 2 3 Didn’t use Not Sure
15a. What did you like most about your visit to the Snake River Headwaters today?
[Topic Area 6 – EVALSERV25]
_____________________________________________________________________________________
15b. What did you like least about your visit to the Snake River Headwaters today?
[Topic Area 6 – EVALSERV24]
_____________________________________________________________________________________
16 What year were you born? _______ [Topic Area 1 – AGE1]
17. Do you live in the United States? Mark (•) one. [Topic Area 1 – RES3]
O
O
Yes Æ What is your Zip Code? ______________________
No Æ What country do you live in? __________________
The questions below will not be verbalized but will be recorded as observational data in the survey log. These
observations will be recorded for both respondents and non‐respondents
Observer Record:
How many people are in the group, including respondent? ___________ [Topic Area 1 – GR3]
•
Is respondent Mark ( ) one. [Topic Area 1 – GEND1]
O
Male
O
Female
Surveyor river location: _______________________ [Topic Area 3 – ACT19]
•
Is a commercial guide present? Mark ( ) one. [Topic Area 1 – GR6]
O
O
Yes, guided
No, not guided
PRIVACY ACT and PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT STATEMENT: 16 U.S.C. 1a‐7 authorizes collection of this information. This
information will be used by park managers to better serve the public. Response to this request is voluntary. No action may be
taken against you for refusing to supply the information requested. Your responses will be anonymous. An agency may not
conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB number.
BURDEN ESTIMATE STATEMENT: Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 10 minutes per response. Direct
comment regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this form to:
| File Type | application/pdf |
| File Title | Microsoft Word - GTRE Snake River 1024-0224 - 5-23-2011.doc |
| Author | pondsp |
| File Modified | 2011-05-23 |
| File Created | 2011-05-23 |