Yellowstone Summer Visitor Use Survey: Geofencing and On-site Surveys

OMB Control Number 1024-0224

Yellowstone Visitor Survey

(On-Site SURVEY)

On-Site Survey Script

“Hello, I am working with Yellowstone National Park conducting a 6-minute survey to improve visitor experiences in the park. May I ask you questions about your Yellowstone experience?

 If the visitor says YES: [continue by reading the following statement regarding the Paperwork Reduction and Privacy Act.]

Before we begin, I would like to let you know that this survey has been approved by the Office of Management and Budget. It is important to note that a Federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and you are not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it has a valid OMB control number. The control number for this collection is 1024-0224 and this number is valid through 05/31/19. Secondly, your participation is voluntary and your name will never be connected with your individual responses. This survey will only take 6 minutes of your time today.

Can we begin? (Go to Question #1 below)

 If NO - interviewer will thank the visitor and ask non-response bias question. [The surveyor will ask the four non-response bias questions below and record observable characteristics (gender, age category, children in group) on the log sheet]

1. “What language would you prefer to use in the park?”

2. “How many adults, 18 years and older, are in your group?”

3. “How many children (under 18 years) are in your group?”

4. “Over the past three years, how many visits have you made to Yellowstone National Park?”

PAPERWORK REDUCTION and PRIVACY ACT STATEMENT: The Paperwork Reduction Act requires us to tell you why we are collecting this information, how we will use it, and whether or not you have to respond. We are authorized by the National Park Service Protection Interpretation and research in System (54 USC §100702) to collect this information. The routine uses of this information will be for the benefit of NPS Managers and Planning staff in Yellowstone National Park (YELL) in future initiatives related to the visitor use and resource management within the site. The data collected will be summarized to evaluate visitor uses and expectations during their visit at YELL. Your responses to this collection are completely voluntary and will remain anonymous. You can end the process at any time and will not be penalized in any way for choosing to do so. All contact information collected for the purpose of the follow-up survey will be destroyed at the end of the collection period and no personal identifiable records will be maintained or stored for any purposes. Data collected will only be reported in aggregates and no individually identifiable responses will be reported. A Federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and you are not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB Control Number (1024-0224). We estimate that it will take about 6 minutes to complete the initial contact and this on-site questionnaire. You may send comments concerning the burden estimates or any aspect of this information collection to: Dr. Jake Jorgenson, Senior Research Analyst, RRC Associates, 4770 Baseline Road, Ste 360, Boulder, CO 80303; 303-396-1625 (phone) jake@rrcassociates.com(email); or Phadrea Ponds NPS Information Collection Coordinator at pponds@nps.gov (email).

Yellowstone Visitor Survey – On-site Survey

*Note: The ‘[YELLOWSTONE LOCATION]’ will be replaced by the on-site survey location the surveyor is currently collecting data. This survey will be given verbally to individuals as they are leaving the site.

Topic Area 1: LANG1 (Variation), ECON10, RES2

1. What language would you prefer to use in the park?

	English		German
	Mandarin		Another language
	Spanish

2. How many adults, 18 years and older, are in your group? ___________________

3. How many children (under 18 years) are in your group? ____________________

4. What is the country of your residence or what is the zip code of your home address (U.S. visitors)?

   1. Country: __________________________

   2. Zip Code: _________________________

Topic Area 4: DEST15

5. On this visit to Yellowstone National Park, which was the most recent entrance you used to enter the park?

1. West Entrance (nearest to West Yellowstone, MT)

2. North Entrance (nearest to Gardiner, MT)

3. South Entrance (nearest to Jackson, WY)

4. East Entrance (nearest to Cody, WY)

5. Northeast Entrance (nearest to Cooke City, MT)

Topic Area 4: DEST7 (variation)

6. Prior to today, how many days have you spent visiting Yellowstone National Park on this trip?

   1. ____________________Number of days

Topic Area 2: ACCOM4

7. Please list the number of additional days you and your personal group plan to stay in Yellowstone National Park and in the area (away from your home if local resident).

Number of additional days inside the park

Number of additional days in the area within 60 miles (100 km) outside the park

Topic Area 4: VISHIS1 and VISHIS3

8. Are you a first time visitor to Yellowstone National Park?

1. Yes

2. No

9. If no, over the past three years how many visits have you made to Yellowstone National Park?

________Number of visits (including this one)

Topic Area 3: TRANSMODE6, TRANSMODE3 (Variation)

10. Which of the following forms of transportation did you personally use to enter Yellowstone National Park today? (Select only one response)

Car, truck, or SUV Recreational vehicle or motorhome Tour bus or tour van

Motorcycle Bicycle Walk/hike

11. Did you fly on any part of your trip to reach Yellowstone National Park?

1. Yes (Which airport did you fly into? _____________)

2. No

Topic Area 9: RECEXP12

12. For each item below, please indicate how important the experience is to you on your visit to the park.

	Not at all important	Somewhat important	Moderately important	Very Important	Extremely Important
To experience solitude	1	2	3	4	5
To be close to nature	1	2	3	4	5
To be near considerate people	1	2	3	4	5
To see wildlife	1	2	3	4	5
To get away from noise/ experience natural sounds	1	2	3	4	5
To get away from crowds of people	1	2	3	4	5
To view scenery	1	2	3	4	5
To see geysers and thermal features	1	2	3	4	5
To experience a wild place	1	2	3	4	5
To be where things are fairly safe	1	2	3	4	5

Topic Area 3: TRAFFIC4, PARKING3 (variation)

13. Overall, compared to what you expected, how much traffic congestion did you experience in Yellowstone on your way to [YELLOWSTONE SITE]?

1. I didn’t know what to expect.

2. Less traffic congestion than I expected

3. About the same as I expected

4. More traffic congestion than I expected.

14. How acceptable was it to spend the amount of time you did in traffic within Yellowstone NP on your way to [YELLOWSTONE SITE]?

    1. Not at all acceptable

    2. Slightly acceptable

    3. Moderately acceptable

    4. Very acceptable

    5. Completely acceptable

Topic Area 3: TRAFFIC9, PARKING3

15. Approximately how many minutes did you spend in traffic looking for parking at [YELLOWSTONE SITE]?

    1. Less than 5 minutes

    2. 5-10 minutes

    3. 11-20 minutes

    4. 21-30 minutes

    5. 31-44 minutes

    6. 45-60 minutes

    7. More than 1 hour

16. How acceptable was the amount of time you spent looking for parking at [YELLOWSTONE SITE]?

1. Not at all acceptable

2. Slightly acceptable

3. Moderately acceptable

4. Very acceptable

5. Completely acceptable

Topic Area 6: CROWD19, CROWD3

17. How crowded do you feel while at [YELLOWSTONE SITE] today? (Select one response)

1. Not at all crowded

2. Slightly crowded

3. Moderatly crowded

4. Very crowded

5. Extremely crowded

18. How did/does the number of people you encountered during your visit to [YELLOWSTONE SITE] compare to what you expected?

    1. A lot less than what I expected

    2. A little less than what I expected

    3. About what I expected

    4. A little more than what I expected

    5. A lot more than I expected

    6. I did not have any expectations

Topic Area 3 and 9: LNT20 and TRAFFIC3

19. Please select one number for each statement that best describes how problematic each of the following issues was for you at this site.

	Not a problem	Small problem	Moderate problem	Big problem	N/A
Availability of parking	1	2	3	4	5
People walking on, across, or along the road	1	2	3	4	5
Too many people	1	2	3	4	5
Traffic congestion	1	2	3	4	5
Other people acting unsafe around thermal features	1	2	3	4	5
Other people acting unsafe around wildlife	1	2	3	4	5
Feeling safe on boardwalks around other people	1	2	3	4	5
Availability of restrooms	1	2	3	4	5
Cleanliness of restrooms	1	2	3	4	5

Topic Area 4: DEST3, DEST4, DEST4 (variation)

20. So far on this trip, were you able to visit all of the locations in Yellowstone NP that you planned to visit?

    1. Yes (Skip to Q21)

    2. No (Answer Q20) (Please specify location: ___________________)

21. If you were unable to visit a location that you had planned to visit, what prevented you from visiting it? (Check all that apply).

1. Not enough time

2. Could not find a place to park

3. Travel times inside the park greater than expected

4. Travel times outside the park greater than expected

5. Trail closure

6. Road closure

7. Traffic at entrance gates

8. Traffic inside park

9. Bad weather

10. Inadequate display of road/map signs

11. Inadequate display of safety information

12. Unsafe road

13. Other (please specify) ________________________

22. If you were unable to visit your planned location, what location did you visit instead? (If you did not visit another location, please enter “N/A”)

______________________________________________________________________________

Topic Area 7: EVALSERV, EVALSERV14

23. Other than the weather conditions, how would you rate your Yellowstone experience on this current trip?

1. Very poor

2. Poor

3. Fair

4. Good

5. Excellent

24. Please share any reasons why you provided the above rating for your Yellowstone experience:

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Topic Area 1: AGE1, EDUC1, GEND1, GROUP4, RACE/ETH2, RES3

25. What year were you born? _________________

26. What is the highest level of formal education you have completed? (Select only one response)

    Less than high school High school graduate Vocational/trade school certificate Some college

    Two-year college degree Bachelor’s degree Advanced Degree (M.S., Ph.D., M.D., J.D., or equivalent

27. What is your gender?

1. Female

2. Male

28. Which of the following best describes the group you are traveling with? (Select one response)

1. Myself (alone)

2. Myself with family (including spouse/partner and/or other family members)

3. Myself with family and friends

4. Myself with friends

5. Commercial guided tour group

6. Outfitter/guide

7. Club/organization/school

8. Other organized group (e.g. business group, scout group, etc.)

9. Other

29. Which of these categories best indicates your race? Answer only for yourself. (Check all that apply)

1. American Indian or Alaska Native

2. Asian

3. Black or African American

4. Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

5. White

30. Do you live or have a second home in the local area within 60 miles of Yellowstone National Park?

1. Yes

2. No

Topic Area 10: ECON12

31. Which category best represents your annual household income? (Select one response)

Less than $25,000 $25,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $74,999

$75,000 to $99,999 $100,000 - $149,999 $200,000 or more

“Thank you so much for your time. Your feedback will be used to improve the visitor experience at the park. We hope you enjoyed your stay at Yellowstone National Park.” Thank you.