1024-0224 LARO Programmatic Approval Form

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: Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area visitor study

Abstract (not to exceed 150 words)

Encompassing 130 mile long lake with 27 developed campgrounds, 22 public boat launches and several historic landmarks, visitors came to Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area for a wide range of activities. Due to large volume, visitation experience may be affected by overcrowding, lack of facilities, programs and other issues. Lake Roosevelt NRA has never conducted a comprehensive visitor study in order to establish a baseline of visitation demographic and systematically categorize potential issues. The park management proposed a comprehensive visitor study conducted between mid-June when the water level is lower to mid-July when the water level is higher to capture all potential visitor uses of the park resources. The SESRC at Washington State University will collaborate with Lake Roosevelt NRA personnel to conduct a mail-back visitor survey. The data collected from the survey will help inform management decision to allocate resources and programs at the park and to address the potential issues related to visitor use.

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:

Dan Foster

Title:

Superintendent

Park:

Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area

Address:

1008 Crest Diver

Coulee Dam WA 99116

Phone:

509-754-7812

Email:

Dan_Foster@nps.gov

Project Information

Where will the collection take place? (Name of NPS Site)

Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area

Sampling Period

Start Date: June 18^th 2016

End Date: July 18^th 2016

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.

Lake Roosevelt NRA has never conducted a comprehensive visitor survey. With over a million visitors coming to utilize the park resources annually, the park is facing some resource issues, crowding, and multiple-use conflicts. The park is in the process of management planning for facilities/services and developing policies that would help reduce conflicts, enhance visitor experience while protecting the park resources. A comprehensive visitor survey is needed to:

• obtain visitor demographics

• measure the changes of the current visitor profile and

• obtain information related visitor experience and preferences at LARO

This information is crucial to the planning process to improve services and facilities that the park. The study findings 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

2. 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 18-July 18, 2016). A systematic sample of visitors will be contacted by trained interviewers at 11 different locations within the park: Crescent Bay, Spring Canyon, Keller Ferry, Fort Spokane, Porcupine Bay, Hunters Campground, Gifford Campground, Kettle Falls Camp Ground, Kettle River Campground, Marcus Island Campground, and Evan Campground.

3. Sampling Plan/Procedures:

Park visitors will be randomly selected to participate in the studies as they visit selected park locations during the survey period. The survey design and sampling plan for this collection visitor studies 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.

A systematic sampling procedure, based on the park’s visitation statistics from the previous year, will require intercepting every 10^th visitor to participate in the study. When each visitor group is stopped and asked to participate we will determine acceptance or refusal. If they accept the person with the nearest birthday from the group will be selected, a questionnaire and reply business mail envelop for returning the questionnaire will be distributed to the person. Contact information for follow up purpose and information used for non-response bias checking will be recorded using a script as described in the Instrument Administration section below. If the visitor refuses, information used for non-response bias testing will be recorded as described in the instrument administration section below.

Each interviewer will be instructed to contact every 10th visitor at each of the park locations. Since this interval was determined based on FY15 visitation statistics the interviewers are trained to adjust the interval to reflect the visitation on site on the day of the survey. The actual interval used will be recorded on the survey log by interviewers. The Interviewer will be trained on every aspect of on-site surveying including: using sampling intervals, avoiding sampling bias, and how to handle 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.

4. Instrument Administration:

The initial contact with visitors will be used to explain the study and determine if visitors are interested in participating. This should take approximately 1 minute. All individuals asked to participate in the study 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 to better understand your opinions about this park's programs and services. 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 ask, “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” (have not been previously asked to participate) then,

“Thank you for agreeing to participate. Who in your group is at least 16 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 non-response bias questions (listed below) and then 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, and phone number or email address on the survey tracking sheet – this information will only be used to follow-up with all non-respondents. Surveys in June and July are considered two separated survey periods. 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 the end of the survey period. A second reminder letter will be mailed to non-respondents after 35 working days with a stamped, addressed replacement questionnaire.

	June survey (June 18th to June 30th)	July survey (July 5th to July 17th)
Thank you postcard (send to everyone)	July 12th	August 1st
First replacement with reminder letter	July 26th	August 15th
Last reminder	August 10th	August 29th

5. Expected Response Rate/Confidence Levels:

The same methodology for this collection has been applied in similar studies at other NPS site with similar resources or in the same geographical area.

• Mount Rainier National Park at 63% (n=1,113) response rate (August 4-12, 2012)

• Niobrara National Scenic River 60% (n=526) response rate (July 30-August 7, 2010)

A total of 2,240 visitors will be contacted during the sampling periods. We estimate that 2060 (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 1,236 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 3 percentage points.

Location

Number of Initial Contacts

Expected Response

Rate

Expected Number of Responses

Confidence

Level

Crescent Bay

185

55%

102

95

Spring Canyon

364

55%

200

95

Keller Ferry

130

55%

72

95

Fort Spokane

196

55%

108

95

Porcupine Bay

332

55%

183

95

Hunter Campground

196

55%

108

95

Gifford Campground

152

55%

84

95

Kettle Falls Campground

190

55%

104

95

Kettle River Campground

152

55%

84

95

Marcus Island Campground

158

55%

87

95

Evans Campground

185

55%

102

95

TOTAL

2,240

55%

1,236

5. 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) What type of group are you traveling with today?

2) How many people are in your group?

3) How did this visit to fit into your travel plans? (primary destination, one of several destinations, not a planned destination).

4) How old is the person who will complete the questionnaire?

Responses will be recorded on a log for every survey contact. Results of the non-response bias check will be reported and any implications for planning and management will be discussed.

5. 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 (1024-0224). Some of the questions were used in similar survey at Niobrara National Scenic River (2010) 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 2240 individuals during the sampling periods. Among which, we plan to obtain verbal agreement to participate in the survey from 2,060 individuals. We expect to receive total of 1,236 completed surveys for this collection.

We expect that the initial contact time will be three minutes per person (2,240 x 3 minutes = 112 hours). We expect that 180 visitors will either decline onsite or will not return the questionnaire. For those individuals we expect an additional 3 minutes will be spent on follow up material (180x3 minutes= 9 hours)

We expect that 1,236 will complete and return the survey, with that, an additional 20 minutes will be required to complete and return the questionnaire (1,236 responses x 20 minutes = 412 hours). The total burden for this collection is estimated to be 533 annual hours.

Estimated Total Number

Estimation of Time (minutes)

Estimation of Burden (hours)

Initial Contacts

2,240

Initial Contact

3

Initial Contact

112

On-site Refusal/ nonresponse

180

On-site Refusal/ nonresponse

3

On-site Refusal/ nonresponse

9

Responses

1,236

To complete response

20

To complete response

412

Total

Total

533

Reporting Plan

The study results will be presented in an internal agency report for NPS managers. 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.