Two Recreation Monitoring Surveys

Acadia National Park
2009 Carriage Road Monitoring Survey
OMB Number:

Expires:

NPS Number:

1. What was your route on the carriage roads today? [SHOW CARRIAGE ROAD SYSTEM MAP
WITH NUMBERED INTERSECTIONS] Please list intersection numbers in order.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
2. Please indicate the number of times you experienced the following behaviors on your visit to the
carriage roads today. If you did not experience a particular behavior today, please enter zero. Please enter
a number in each blank.
Bicycles startling you by passing from behind without warning.
Bicycles traveling at excessive speeds.
Dogs off leash.
Visitors obstructing or blocking carriage roads.

______
______
______
______

3. How long (hours and minutes) was your trip on the carriage roads today?

_______

4. Which of the following was your primary activity on the carriage roads today? Circle one.
Biking

Walking

Running

Horseback riding

5. Which of the following best describes your residency on Mount Desert Island? Check one.
Permanent Resident___ Summer Resident (returning annually for 1-6 months)___ Not a Resident___
6. Did you use the Island Explorer Bus to reach the carriage roads today? Circle one.
Yes

No

Thank you for your help.
PRIVACY ACT and PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT statement:
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. No action may be taken against you for refusing to supply the information
requested. Permanent data will be anonymous. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond
to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.
Burden estimate statement: Public reporting for this form is estimated to average 3 minutes per response. Direct comments
regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this form to: Charlie Jacobi, Acadia National Park, PO Box 177, Bar
Harbor, ME 04609, [email protected].

Number_____________

Date/Time_________________

Site_________________

Interviewer________________

(The above information will be entered by the interviewer.)

Data Analysis and Topic Areas. Because this is a monitoring activity, it is important to
maintain consistency in question wording between this survey and previous monitoring surveys
on the carriage roads at Acadia. Data from these questions will be analyzed as follows.
Answers to Question 1 will allow us to sort visitors into either the high use zone or the low use
zone established for the carriage roads. Different standards exist for the number of behaviors in
each zone. Topic Area 3: Visitor Activities and Uses of Park Resources.
From question 2, the average number of occurrences for each behavior in each zone will be
calculated and compared with the standards. Topic Area 6: Visitor Perceptions of their Park
Experiences.
From question 3, the average length of a carriage road visit will be calculated for the entire
sample to verify it is still about two hours. Topic Area 2: Trip/Visit Characteristics.
Question 4 allows a comparison of the percentages of various user types to previous research and
monitoring to show whether user populations are changing. The ratio of hikers to bikers is
important to know and can help interpret results of monitoring. Topic Area 3: Visitor Activities
and Uses of Park Resources.
Question 5 is important because visitors and residents were found to have very different
standards for the number of acceptable behaviors. Topic Area 1: Visitor Characteristics.
Question 6 will let us know how many carriage road visitors are using the new Island Explorer
bus to access the carriage roads. This is important because use of the bus may change the
locations used to access the carriage roads or the way carriage roads are used (for example, more
one-way trips may take place). Topic Area 2: Trip/Visit Characteristics.

ACADIA CARRIAGE ROADS REFUSAL LOG
Site:____________________________
Interviewer:_____________________
Date

Time

Primary activity (walk,
run, bike, equestrian)

Residency (permanent,
summer, not a resident)

Reason for refusal (if known)