expedited form

National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
Social Science Program

Expedited Approval for NPS-Sponsored Public Surveys
1.

Project Title ⎢
Submission
Date:

2.

Abstract:

Acadia National Park Cadillac Mountain Visitor Survey

10/22/2008

The Acadia National Park Cadillac Mountain Visitor Survey will provide the National
Park Service with information about visitor attitudes toward management of the
Mount Desert Island (MDI) section of the park. The survey will be conducted as onsite questionnaires on the summit of Cadillac Mountain. This survey will be
conducted between July 1 and August 31, 2009. The survey will be used to gather
data about visitor attitudes toward park management issues, primarily about
standards of quality. A small amount of data on visitor characteristics will also be
gathered. These data will be incorporated into the General Management Plan that is
now being formulated for the park.
(not to exceed 150 words)

3.

Principal Investigator Contact Information
First Name:
Title:
Affiliation:
Street Address:
City:
Phone:
Email:

4.

Last Name:

Robert

Manning

Professor
University of Vermont
356 Aiken Center
Burlington
(802)656-3096

State:
Fax:

VT

Zip code:

05405

(802)656-2623

[email protected]

Park or Program Liaison Contact Information
First Name:
Title:

Recreation Specialist

Park:

Acadia National Park

Park
Office/Division:

Resource Management

Street Address:

P.O. Box 177

City:
Phone:
Email:

Last Name:

Charles

Bar Harbor
(207) 288-8727
[email protected]

State:
Fax:

ME

Jacobi

Zip code:

(207) 288-5507

04609

Project Information
5.

Park(s) Where Research
is to be Conducted:

Acadia National Park – Mount Desert Island

6.

Survey Dates:

07/01/2009

7.

Type of Information Collection Instrument (Check ALL that Apply)

8.

(mm/dd/yyyy)

to

‰

Mail-Back
Questionnaire

9

‰

Other (explain)

Questionnaires are self-administered

Survey Justification:
(Use as much space as
needed; if necessary
include additional
explanation on a
separate page.)

On-Site
Questionnaire

‰

8/31/2009

Face-to-Face ‰
Interview

Telephone
Survey

(mm/dd/yyyy)

‰

Focus
Groups

Legal Justification: The National Park Service Act of 1916, 38 Stat 535, 16
USC 1, et seq., requires that the National Park Service (NPS) preserve the
national parks for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.
At the field level, this means resource preservation, public education, facility
maintenance and operation, and physical developments that are necessary
for public use, health, and safety. Allocation of funding is to be roughly in
proportion to the seasonally adjusted volume of use (P. L. 88-578, Sect. 6)
and in consideration of visitor characteristics and activities for determining
carrying capacity (92 Stat. 3467; P. L. 95-625, Sect. 604 11/10/78). Other
federal rules (National Environmental Policy Act, 1969 and NPS guidelines)
require visitor use data in impact assessment of development on users and
resources as part of each park's general management plan.
Management Justification: Acadia National Park has experienced increases in
visitation over the past decade. Increasing use of the park may negatively
affect the quality of visitor experiences through crowding and resource
degradation. The park’s General Management Plan now being formulated
requires that managers establish a use capacity for the MDI (Mount Desert
Island) section of the park. The information collected in this study will
enhance current park planning and management efforts by providing visitor
use and user characteristics and potential indicators and standards of quality.
These will assist managers in determining use capacity for the MDI section of
the park.
A 1998 park-wide visitor survey (Visitor Services Project) found that 76% of
all Acadia visitors go to Cadillac Mountain. The proposed survey measures
visitor preferences at this heavily used attraction for both off-trail conditions
(question 5) and on-trail conditions (question 6). Because of the area’s heavy
visitation, each type of use is extremely common and must be planned for. In
particular, although some off-trail use occurs when people walking the
summit loop trail leave that trail, the great majority of off-trail walking is done
by who people park and wander over the summit area without ever being on
the trail. This is the use pattern depicted in question 5. No other survey at
Acadia National Park addresses this primary visitor activity at the summit; nor
has any other survey asked for opinions on the full range of off-trial and ontrail use conditions at the summit that are presented in this questionnaire.
NPS believes it is critical to have these data so that planners can make
informed decisions about managing both off-trail and on-trail use at Cadillac
Mountain.
The methods and questions to be used in the study are well-established in
the field. Numerous studies at many different National Park Service units
have used similar methods and questions (Manning, 2007). Similar methods
and questions were also used in different portions of Acadia National Park,
including the park loop road (Hallo & Manning, In Press), the Carriage Roads

(Jacobi, et al., 1999; Wang and Manning, 1999), Schoodic Peninsula
(Manning, et al., 2005) and Isle au Haut (Manning, 2007).
9.

Survey Methodology:
(Use as much space as
needed; if necessary
include additional
explanation on a
separate page.)

(a) Respondent universe:
The sample universe will be visitors to the summit of Cadillac Mountain, age
18 and over, between July 1 and August 31, 2009.
(b) Sampling plan/procedures:
The sampling period is designed to include the park's peak use period.
A survey will be administered to visitors to the summit of Cadillac Mountain at
Acadia National Park. Sampling will be conducted on ten randomly selected
days throughout the period of the study. The sampling days will be spread
out over the days of the week, with sampling occurring between 9:00 a.m.
and 6:00 p.m. There will be several trained surveyors on-site, so breaks will
be given to each surveyor every few hours. During each sampling day, a
trained surveyor will be stationed at the summit of Cadillac Mountain. When
the sampling period begins, the surveyor will approach the first visitor group
exiting the site and ask them to participate in the survey. If members of the
visitor group agree to participate, the eligible person in the group whose
birthday is closest to the sampling day will be asked to complete the
questionnaire. When the surveyor has completed his/her contact with the
group, the surveyor will ask the next visitor group exiting the site to
participate in the survey. This process will continue throughout the sampling
day. Visitors will complete the on-site questionnaire in the presence of the
surveyor, who will answer any questions that arise and collect the surveys
upon completion.
(c) Instrument administration:
Visitors to the Cadillac Mountain summit will be read the following script:
"Excuse me, sir/ma'am. We're conducting a study for Acadia National Park
to better understand visitor use in this area. Participation is voluntary and all
responses are anonymous.
If YES: "Thank you. Who in your group has the next birthday? Would you be
willing to fill out this survey?”
If NO:"I understand. I hope you enjoyed your visit".
(d) Expected response rate/confidence levels:

The survey sample size is expected to be approximately 188 visitors. Based
on previous experience in conducting similar surveys, it is expected that
about 80% of visitors (or about 150 individuals) will be willing to participate. In
a similar study at the Isle au Haut section of Acadia National Park in 2002, a
response rate of 87% was attained. More recent studies on the Mount Desert
Island portion of Acadia National Park yielded response rates of 83.6% at
Acadia Mountain, 78.5% at Hunter’s Beach, 83.5% at Seawall, 86.3% at
Valley Cove, and 77% at Little Hunter’s Beach. Study findings are estimated
to be accurate within 8 percentage points, based on a sample size of
approximately 150 using a 95% confidence level. This will be sufficient for
the park’s planning purposes. The number of people in each visitor party and
date and time of refusals will be recorded and reported on a refusal log.
The key estimates that will be derived from the data collected will be
measures of central tendency (mean and median), dispersion (standard
deviation), and frequency distributions. Some tests for differences in means
and proportions may be done. For example, the park is interested in whether
or not visitors’ personal preferences for the number of people walking the
Cadillac Mountain loop trail at one time (question 6b) differs substantially

from the number that visitors’ think the park should allow (question 6d).
Results will inform the development of standards for this indicator of visitor
experience quality. Study findings should be accurate within 8 percentage
points, based on the estimated final sample size of 150 using a 95%
confidence level. This level of precision strikes a workable balance between
the park’s needs for planning purposes and available funding.
(e) Strategies for dealing with potential non-response bias:
Non-response bias will be examined by comparing selected characteristics of
the sample population with characteristics observed and recorded in every
group contacted (e.g., group size). The results of the check for non-response
bias will be reported and implications for data interpretation discussed.
(f) Description of any pre-testing and peer review of the methods and/or
instrument (recommended):

The questions included in these surveys have been designed and reviewed
by the Principal Investigator, research staff and graduate students, and park
and regional staff, and are similar to questions used at several other national
park areas in previous studies.

10.

Total Number of
Initial Contacts |
Expected Respondents:

13.

Reporting Plan:

188

150

11.

Estimated Time to
Complete Initial
Contact | Instrument
(mins.):

1

10

12
.

Total
Burden
Hours:

28

The results of this information collection activity will be presented in an
internal agency report and will be available upon request. A copy of the
technical study report will be archived with the Social Science Program of the
National Park Service for inclusion in the Social Science Studies Collection.
The key estimates that will be derived from the data collected will be
descriptive in nature, primarily measures of central tendency (mean and
median), dispersion (standard deviation), and frequency distributions. Some
tests for differences in means and proportions may be done.

References
Hallo, J. and Manning, R. (In Press). Transportation and Recreation: A Case Study of Visitors Driving for Pleasure
at Acadia National Park. Journal of Transport Geography.
Jacobi, C. and Manning, R. (1999). Crowding and Conflict on the Carriage Roads of Acadia National Park: An
Application of the Visitor Experience and Resource Protection Framework. Park Science, 19(2):22-26.
Manning, R. (2007). Parks and Carrying Capacity: Commons Without Tragedy. Washington, D.C.: Island Press.
Manning, R. (2001). Visitor Experience and Resource Protection: A Framework for Managing the Carrying
Capacity of National Parks. Journal of Park and Recreation Administration, 19(1):93-108.
Manning, R., Lawson, S. and Morrissey, J. (2005). What's Behind the Numbers? Qualitative Insights Into
Normative Research in Outdoor Recreation. Leisure Sciences. 27: 205-224.
Wang, B. and Manning, R. (1999). Computer Simulation Modeling for Recreation Management: A Study on
Carriage Road Use in Acadia National Park, Maine, USA. Environmental Management, 23(2):193-203.