1024-0224 Programmatic Form - HALE

OMB Control Number: 1024-0224 Current Expiration Date: 8-31-XXXX

National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

Programmatic Review and Clearance Process

for NPS-Sponsored Public Surveys

The scope of the Programmatic Review and Clearance Process for NPS-Sponsored Public Surveys is limited and will only include individual surveys of park visitors, potential park visitors, and residents of communities near parks. Use of the programmatic review will be limited to non-controversial surveys of park visitors, potential park visitors, and/or residents of communities near parks that are not likely to include topics of significant interest in the review process. Additionally, this process is limited to non-controversial information collections that do not attract attention to significant, sensitive, or political issues. Examples of significant, sensitive, or political issues include: seeking opinions regarding political figures; obtaining citizen feedback related to high-visibility or high-impact issues like the reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone National Park, the delisting of specific Endangered Species, or drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

							Submission Date:
Project Title: Haleakala National Park visitor experience study
Abstract (not to exceed 150 words)
Watching sunrise and sunset are the most popular activities among visitors to Haelakala National Park. Due to the large volume of visitors, overcrowding and lack of parking contribute to a variety of negative experiences. Since either activity occurs during the times when limited staff is available to rove at sunrise and sunset. A mail-back visitor experience survey will be used to provide park managers with information needed to plan for enhancing visitor experience.
Principal Investigator Contact Information
Name:			Lena Le
Title:			Director
Affiliation:			Social & Economic Sciences Research Center- Washington State University
Address:			Wilson – Short Hall #133 PO Box 644014 Pullman, WA 99164-4014
Phone:			509-335-1511
Email:			Lena.le@wsu.edu
Park or Program Liaison Contact Information
Name:		Pauline Angelakis
Title:		Chief of Interpretation & Education
Park:		Haleakala National Park
Address:		Makawao, HI 96768
Phone:		808-572-4450
Email:		Polly_Angelakis@nps.gov
	Project Information
	Where will the collection take place? (Name of NPS Site)					Haleakala National Park
	Sampling Period			Start Date: June 19, 2015		End Date: June 25, 2015
	Type of Information Collection Instrument (Check ALL that Apply)
	x Mail-Back Questionnaire				 Face-to-Face Interview			 Focus Groups
	 On-Site Questionnaire				 Telephone Survey
	 Other (list)
	Will an electronic device be used to collect information? x No  Yes - type of device
	Survey Justification:
	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 and development. The most recent visitor survey at Haleakala National Park was conducted in 2000. Since then the park visitation has changed and they are faced with new challenges. Visitor demographics include an increasing number of international tourists from Asian countries. The park is facing crowding and traffic congestion problems especially in areas used to view sunrises and sunsets. The park is in the process of planning for facilities and services that will help reduce conflicts and enhance visitor experience in areas of increased crowding and congestion. A comprehensive visitor survey to obtain visitor experiences will be used to: Provide inputs into transportation planning to reduce crowding and congestion in the park Design interpretive and education programs to match with visitor interests and needs Design future visitor facilities or renovate existing facilities Evaluate visitor behavior and potential impacts on natural and cultural resources at the park

Survey Methodology
Respondent Universe: The respondent universe for this collection will be all recreational visitors, age 18 and older, who visit the park during the study period June 19 – June 25, 2015). A random sample of visitors will be contacted by trained interviewers at five locations within the park: Red Hill, Haleakala Visitor Center, Kalahaku Lookout, Halemauu Overlook, and Leleiwi Lookout. Sampling Plan/Procedures: The survey design and sampling plan for this collection is based upon Dillman's Tailored Design Method (TDM). The TDM has been shown to increase response rates, improve accuracy, and reduce cost and burden hours. The same methodology has been applied in similar study at other NPS site with similar resources or in the same geographical area. For example: Haleakala National Park (2000) at 76% response rate Hawaii Volcano National Park (2007) at 69% response rate Kaluapapa National Historical Park (2010) at 76% response rate A systematic sampling procedure, will be based on the park’s visitation statistics from 2014. We will intercept every 10th visitor to participate in the study. Each interviewer will be instructed on how to contact and solicit participation for the study each visitor at each of the park locations. The Interviewer will be trained on every aspect of on-site surveying including how to: use sampling intervals, avoid sampling bias, and handling all types of interviewing situations, especially safety of the visitors and the interviewers. Quality control will be ensured by monitoring interviewers in the field, and by checking their paperwork at the end of each survey day. Instrument Administration: The initial contact with visitors will be used to explain the purpose of the study and determine if visitors are interested in participating. This should take approximately 1 minute. If a group is encountered, the survey interviewer will ask the individual within the group who has the next birthday to serve as the respondent. At this point, all individuals asked to participate will be asked the non-response bias questions to collect information that will be used in the final analysis (see item 9e below). Visitors that refuse to participate will be asked if they would be willing to take two minutes to respond to the non-response bias questions. The number of refusals will be recorded and used to calculate the overall response rate for the collection. Visitors selected for participation in the survey will be read the following script: “Hello, my name is _________. I am conducting a survey for the National Park Service that obtain visitor opinions about this park's programs and services. The information will be used to determine the needs for additional or improvement of existing facilities and services. Has any member of your group been asked to participate in this survey before? [If “YES” (already asked to participate) then, “Thank you for agreeing to participate in this study we hope that you will return the questionnaire soon. Have a great day.” If No then continue] Your participation is voluntary and all responses will be kept anonymous. Would you be willing to take a questionnaire and mail it back to us using the self-addressed envelope?” If “Yes then, “Thank you for agreeing to participate. Who in your group is at least 18 years old and has the next birthday? [The surveyor will ask them to start the process by answering the non-response bias questions (listed below). The responses will be recorded in spaces provided on the tracking sheet. The surveyor will hand them a survey packet including the questionnaire and a self-addressed stamp envelope]. If NO– (soft refusal) - ask them if they would be willing to answer the following non-response bias questions: 1) Did you drive into the park today? (yes, on private or rental vehicle OR no, on a tour bus/van) 3) What is the main purpose of your visit to HALE? (watch sunrise/sunset, OR other recreational activities) 3) How old is the person who will complete the questionnaire? 2) Zip code information (which is recorded on address form) will be used to compare between respondent and non-respondent Afterwards, thank them for their time. [The surveyor will record responses in spaces provided on the tracking sheet]. If NO– (hard refusal) - end the contact and thank them for their time. Once the visitor has agreed to participate in the study, we will ask them to provide or personally record their name, address, or email address on the survey tracking sheet – this information will only be used to follow-up with all non-respondents. At the end of the survey sampling period, all visitors accepting a survey packet on-site will be mailed a thank you/reminder postcard within 11 working days. A reminder letter with a stamped, addressed replacement questionnaire will be sent to non-respondents 21 working days after completion of on-site contacts. A second reminder letter and replacement questionnaire will be mailed to non-respondents after 35 working days. Expected Response Rate/Confidence Levels: A total of 840 visitors will be contacted during the sampling periods. We estimate that 800 (92%) visitors will agree to participate in the survey. The number of refusals will be recorded and reported in a survey log, and will be used in calculating the response rate. Among which 480 visitors (60%) are expected to complete and return the survey by mail. This response rate was estimated based on surveys result of similar NPS units in the area as cited in section b. Based on the survey sample size, there will be 95% confidence that the day-use survey findings will be accurate to within 5 percentage points.
		Location		Number of Initial Contacts			Expected Response Rate		Expected Number of Responses			Margin of Error +/- %	Confidence Level
		Haleakala Visitor Center		280			57%		160			5	95
		Kalahaku Overlook		185			57%		105			4.5	95
		Halemauu Overlook		185			57%		105			4.7	95
		Leleiwi Overlook		190			57%		110			5	95
		TOTAL		840
Strategies for dealing with potential non-response bias: During the initial contact, the interviewer will ask each visitor four questions taken from the survey. These questions will be used in a non-response bias analysis. 1) Did you drive into the park today? (yes, on private or rental vehicle OR no, on a tour bus/van) 3) What is the main purpose of your visit to HALE? (watch sunrise/sunset, OR other recreational activities) 3) How old is the person who will complete the questionnaire? 2) Zip code information (which is recorded on address form) will be used to compare between respondent and non-respondent Responses will be recorded for every survey contact. Results of the non-response bias check will be reported and any implications for planning and management will be discussed. Description of any pre-testing and peer review of the methods and/or instrument (recommended): Most questions included in this survey questionnaire appear in the NPS Known Pool of Questions (OMB Control Number: 1024-0224).Some of the questions remain the same as the questions used in 2000 visitor survey at Haleakala National Park.. Variations of the questions have been reviewed by Management team at the park and SESRC researchers.
Burden Estimates
Overall, we plan to approach at least 840 individuals during the sampling periods. We expect that the initial contact time will be two minutes per person (840 x 2 minutes = 28 hours). We expect that 40 individuals will refused to participate in the survey and refuse to answer the non-response bias question. We estimate that 800 individuals will agree to participate and/or agree to answer the nonresponse bias questions. Additional 3 minutes will be needed to answer the non-response question (800x3 minutes=40 hours. We expect that 480 will complete and return the survey, with that, an additional 20 minutes will be required to complete and return the questionnaire (480 responses x 20 minutes = 160 hours). The total burden for this collection is estimated to be 228 annual hours.
	Estimated Total Number					Estimation of Time (minutes)					Estimation of Burden (hours)
	Initial Contacts		840			Initial Contact		2			Initial Contact			28
	On-site Refusal/ nonresponse		800			On-site Refusal/ nonresponse		3			On-site Refusal/ nonresponse			40
	Responses		480			To complete response		20			To complete response			160
											Total			228

Reporting Plan

The study results will be presented in an internal agency report for NPS managers approximately 4 months after the last day of survey fieldwork. Response frequencies will be tabulated and measures of central tendency computed (e.g., mean, median, mode, as appropriate). The report will be archived with the NPS Social Science Program for inclusion in the Social Science Studies Collection as required by the NSP Programmatic Approval Process. Hard copies and electronic copy of the final report will be submitted to the park.