Soundscape Survey

Appendix B: Soundscape Survey

Introductory Script for Soundscape Survey

Hello. I am __________ (name) and am working for the University of Montana in cooperation with Yellowstone National Park. We are doing a survey of visitors stopping at Old Faithful Geyser and Snow Lodge. Would you be willing to answer some questions?

The Paperwork Reduction Act requires approval of all federal government surveys by the Office of Management and Budget. This survey has been approved under this Act. The Office of Management and Budget control number and expiration date is available at your request. Additional information about this survey and its approval is available at your request.* The questions on this survey will take about 15 minutes to complete. All of your answers are voluntary and anonymous.

Thank you.

*Additional Information Provided upon Request.

OMB Approval number:

Expiration Date:

Person Collecting and Analyzing Information: Dr. Wayne Freimund

Department of Society and Conservation

College of Forestry and Conservation

University of Montana

Missoula, MT 59812

(406) 243-5184

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 and anonymous. No action may be taken against you for refusing to supply the information requested. No personal data will be recorded.

You may direct comments on the number of minutes required to respond, or on any other aspect of this survey to:

John Sacklin

Yellowstone National Park

307-344-2020

[email protected]

About Your Trip

1. What type of group were you with on the trip when you were interviewed? (check all that apply).

 alone

 family

 friends

 outfitter/guide group

 organization or club (name of organization/club)___________________________________

2. During your visit to the Yellowstone area, how many days will you recreate within Yellowstone National Park? ________________

3. Will you engage in the following activities during your visit to Yellowstone National Park? (please circle yes or no for each activity)

a. snowmobiling YES NO

b. cross-country skiing YES NO

c. snowshoeing YES NO

d. snowcoach touring YES NO

4. Which of the following best describes your primary activity while in Yellowstone national Park?

 cross-country skiing

 snowshoeing

 snowmobiling

 other: ______________________________________________________

5. While on your trip to the Yellowstone area, please state the number of days you will also do the following activities in other areas (such as nearby National Forest lands or National Parks)? If none, please put “0” (zero):

Activity Number of days

snowmobile _____

cross-country ski _____

down-hill ski _____

snowshoe _____

Role of Yellowstone National Park

6. We are interested in your opinions about the value of Yellowstone. Please indicate for each of the following, how much you agree or disagree that they are important to the overall value of Yellowstone National Park (1 being strongly disagree, and 5 being strongly agree):

Yellowstone National Park is particularly important as:	Strongly Disagree	Somewhat Disagree	Neither Agree nor Disagree	Somewhat Agree	Strongly Agree		Don’t Know
a wildlife sanctuary	1	2	3	4	5		DK
a place for education about nature	1	2	3	4	5		DK
a place to develop my skills and abilities	1	2	3	4	5		DK
a place for natural quiet	1	2	3	4	5		DK
a protector of threatened and endangered species	1	2	3	4	5		DK
a sacred place	1	2	3	4	5		DK
an economic resource	1	2	3	4	5		DK
a family or individual tradition	1	2	3	4	5		DK
a place free of motorized noise	1	2	3	4	5		DK
a place everyone should see at least once in their lives	1	2	3	4	5		DK
a place without most types of commercial development	1	2	3	4	5		DK
a display of natural curiosities	1	2	3	4	5		DK
an historical resource	1	2	3	4	5		DK
a symbol of America's identity	1	2	3	4	5		DK
a place for the use and enjoyment of the people	1	2	3	4	5		DK
a social place	1	2	3	4	5		DK
a site to renew your sense of personal well-being	1	2	3	4	5		DK
a place of scenic beauty	1	2	3	4	5		DK
a place to be free from society and its regulations	1	2	3	4	5		DK
a reserve of natural resources for future use	1	2	3	4	5		DK
a place to hear natural sounds	1	2	3	4	5		DK
a tourist destination	1	2	3	4	5		DK
a place for scientific research and monitoring	1	2	3	4	5		DK
a place for recreational activities	1	2	3	4	5		DK
a place for wildness	1	2	3	4	5		DK
a place for all living things to exist	1	2	3	4	5		DK
a quiet place	1	2	3	4	5		DK
a protected place for fish and wildlife habitat	1	2	3	4	5		DK

Natural Sounds and Your Experience of Yellowstone National Park

Natural sounds include natural quiet and all sounds that occur in the park and are produced by animals, weather, and other natural park features.

7. Please rate how important the opportunity to experience natural sounds in Yellowstone National Park is to the overall value of the park:

 Extremely Important

 Very Important

 Moderately Important

 Slightly Important

 Not at all important

8. Please rate how important it is to your experience today to have the opportunity to experience natural sounds in Yellowstone National Park:

 Extremely Important

 Very Important

 Moderately Important

 Slightly Important

 Not at all important

9. Please rate how natural sounds affected your visit to Yellowstone National Park:

 They had a positive effect

 They had no effect

 They had a negative effect

10. To what extent were you able to find the experience of natural sounds that you were looking for in Yellowstone National Park? (Check one only.)

 All of the time

 More than half of the time

 About half of the time

 Less than half of the time

• I was unable to find the experience of natural sounds I was looking for.

• I was not looking for any experience of natural sounds.

11. How satisfied are you with your experience of the park’s natural sounds?

 Very satisfied

 Somewhat satisfied

 Neither

 Somewhat dissatisfied

 Very dissatisfied

12. How satisfied are you with your overall experience of Yellowstone National Park?

 Very satisfied

 Somewhat satisfied

 Neither

 Somewhat dissatisfied

 Very dissatisfied

13. For each of the word pairs below, please check the box that best represents your impression of the winter setting at Yellowstone National Park.

	Very	Somewhat	Neither	Somewhat	Very
Pristine						Polluted
Loud						Quiet
Appropriate						Inappropriate
Acceptable						Unacceptable
Dissatisfying						Satisfying

Support for Potential Management Actions

14. We are interested in your willingness to support the following management actions to protect opportunities to experience natural sounds. Please indicate for each of the following management actions the extent to which you support or oppose them.

Management Action:	Strongly Oppose	Somewhat Oppose	Neither Support nor Oppose	Somewhat Support	Strongly Support
Continue to require the best available technology (cleanest and quietest) for all snowmobiles entering the park	1	2	3	4	5
Continue to require all snowmobiles and snow coaches entering the park to be part of guided tours	1	2	3	4	5
Continue to limit the total number of snowmobiles and snowcoaches entering the park per day	1	2	3	4	5
Continue to limit snowmobile group sizes to a maximum of 11 with 1 guide	1	2	3	4	5
Close roads to all oversnow vehicles (snowcoaches and snowmobiles)	1	2	3	4	5
Close roads to snowmobiles, and allow snowcoach tours	1	2	3	4	5
Plow all roads and allow automobile access to YNP in winter (no oversnow vehicles)	1	2	3	4	5

About You

15. What is your gender? (check one)  Female  Male

16. What is your age? _________________

17. What is the highest level of education you have completed? (check one box)

• 8^th grade or less

• Some high school

• High school graduate or GED

• Some college, business or trade school

• College graduate

• Some graduate school

• Master's, doctoral or professional degree

18. In which of the following kinds of places did you spend the most time while growing up (to age 18)? (check one box)

• On a farm or ranch

• Rural or small town [under 1,000 population]

• Town [1,000 - 5,000 population]

• Small city [5,000 - 50,000 population]

• Medium city [50,000 - 1 million population]

• Major city or metropolitan area [over 1 million population]

19. In what type of community do you now live? (check one box)

• On a farm or ranch

• Rural or small town [under 1,000 population]

• Town [1,000 - 5,000 population]

• Small city [5,000 - 50,000 population]

• Medium city [50,000 - 1 million population]

• Major city or metropolitan area [over 1 million population]

20. Do you live in the United States? (Check one box and fill in the appropriate blank.)

• Yes (What is your zip code? __________)

• No (What country do you live in? ______________________________)