Expedited Review Form

National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
Social Science Program
Expedited Approval for NPS-Sponsored Public Surveys
1.

2.

3.

Project Titles ⎢ Visitor Services Project (VSP) Bundle for Spring/Summer 2010:
Ninety Six National Historic Site (NHS)
Submission Date:
Kalaupapa National Historical Park (NHP)
Little River Canyon National Preserve (NPRES)
George Washington Carver National Monument (NM)
Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (NRA)
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (NP) regular and
backcountry
Fort Union National Historic Site (NHS)
Curecanti National Recreation Area (NRA)
Richmond National Battlefield Park (NBP)
Rocky Mountain National Park (NP)

Abstract:

The above 10 parks need to conduct 11 visitor studies to obtain data on visitors and to gather
visitor opinions about park services and facilities. The data will be used to prepare or update
planning documents, such as General Management Plans, Resource Management Plans,
Wilderness Plans, and Long-Range and Comprehensive Interpretive Plans. The information
from these visitor studies will inform decisions about park operations. In addition to being
used by park managers, the information is shared with park partners and gateway
communities to assist in mutual planning efforts. The mail-back questionnaires are designed to
systematically collect data from visitors, including individual characteristics, trip/visit
characteristics, individual activities, individual evaluation of park services/facilities, individual
perceptions of their park experiences, and individual opinions on park management.

Principal Investigator Contact Information
First Name:
Title:
Affiliation:

Street Address:
City:

4.

February 8, 2010

Margaret

Last Name:

NPS Visitor Services Project (VSP) Director
NPS Visitor Services Project, PSU,
College of Natural Resources,
University of Idaho
6th & Line Streets, Room 17B
Moscow

Phone:

208-885-7863

Email:

[email protected]

State:
Fax:

ID

Zip code:

208-885-4261

Park or Program Liaison Contact Information
First Name:
Title:

Littlejohn

See attached list

Last Name:

83844-1139

Park:
Park
Office/Division:
Street Address:
City:

State:

Phone:

Fax:

Zip code:

Email:

Project Information
5.

Park Where
Research is to be
Conducted:

6.

Survey Dates:

7.

Type of Information Collection Instrument (Check ALL that Apply)
X Mail-Back
Questionnair
e
‰

8.

Ninety Six NHS, Kalaupapa NHP, Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP, Little River
Canyon NPRES, George Washington Carver NM, Chattahoochee River NRA, Fort Union
NHS, Curecanti NRA, Richmond NBP, Rocky Mountain NP
See attached list

‰

On-Site
Questionnaire

(mm/dd/yyyy)

‰

to

Face-to-Face
Interview

(mm/dd/yyyy)

‰

Telephone
Survey

‰

Focus Groups

Other
(explain)

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

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.
Managerial Justification.
Study findings will be used as follows, depending upon the specific park:
• As input into planning (e.g., General Management Plan, Comprehensive Interpretive Plan,
Long Range Interpretive, Plan, Wilderness Plan, Resource Management Plan, Backcountry
Management Plan).
• To design interpretive and educational programs to match visitor interests and needs.
Interpretive media at some parks are outdated, and wayside exhibits need to be replaced or
added in many areas.
• For designing future visitor facilities or renovating existing facilities.
• To evaluate visitor behavior for potential impacts on natural and cultural resources.
• To determine if concession services in parks are meeting visitor needs.
• For local businesses and governments to use to better understand how visitors are
contributing economically to the area.
The mail-back questionnaires used in these visitor studies are designed to systematically
collect data from visitors, including individual characteristics, trip/visit characteristics,
individual activities, individual evaluation of park services/facilities, individual perceptions
of their park experiences and individual opinions on park management. Park visitors will be
randomly selected to participate in the studies as they visit selected park locations during a 7to 14-day period.
Background.
Parks that participate in the VSP program are selected by a national committee made up of
park, regional office, and Washington office members. Selections are made from a slate of
nominations put forward by each of the 7 administrative regions of the NPS. The VSP
committee selects parks from this slate based on 3 criteria:. These are: 1) Need--has the park
ever had a visitor study done and/or is it preparing a plan for which such information is

needed; 2) Funding ability--does the park have a demonstrated ability to pay for the visitor
survey; and 3) Balance--by park size, type, and administrative region. Parks that are not
selected may be added to a list of alternates and could receive a VSP survey if any of the
parks first selected must withdraw.
9.

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

(a) Respondent universe:
At all 10 parks, the respondent universe will be all recreational visitors, age 16 and older,
who visit the parks during the study period. The one exception is the backcountry survey at
Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP, where the respondent universe will only be
backcountry users who are at least 16 years of age. An online option added to the paper
questionnaire will provide results about the effectiveness of providing an online response for
backcountry users. Comparison of visitor groups who complete the questionnaire online
versus the paper option will be conducted, to help evaluate the effectiveness of an online
option for future VSP backcountry user surveys. A systematic sample of visitors to each
park will be contacted by VSP-trained interviewers at selected park locations in each park.
(b) Sampling plan/procedures:
The survey design and sampling plan for each of these 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. The methodology has been used in 214
previous surveys conducted by the VSP. Most questions have been included in other VSP
questionnaires or appear in the NPS Known Pool of Questions. A systematic sampling
procedure, based on the park’s visitation statistics from the previous year, will require
intercepting every nth visitor group to participate in the study. Each interviewer will be
trained in the interview procedure. A supervisor will be on-site during the survey to ensure
that interview procedures are followed.
(c) Instrument administration:
The initial contact with visitors to explain the study and determine if visitors are interested
in participating (see attached script) takes approximately 1 minute. The number of visitor
groups who refuse are recorded and used in calculating response rates. Visitors who
voluntarily agree to participate in the study are verbally given a short front-end interview (1
additional minute) to collect information used in a non-response bias check. They are also
asked to record their name, address, and phone number/email address. If a group agrees to
participate, the researcher will give the survey to the individual within the group who has
the next birthday. Participants will be given a stamped, addressed questionnaire to complete
and mail back to the Visitor Services Project.
On-site visitors will be intercepted at locations shown on the accompanying spreadsheet. At
Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP, the backcountry survey will be conducted at the
backcountry registration desk.
In all parks, participants will be mailed a thank you/reminder post card 11 working days
after completion of the survey. A reminder letter with a stamped, addressed replacement
questionnaire will be sent to nonrespondents 21 working days after completion of on-site
contacts. A second reminder letter will be mailed after 35 working days with a stamped,
addressed replacement questionnaire.
(d) Expected response rate/confidence levels:
The number of questionnaires to be distributed is based on each park’s visitation data and
the number of days of surveying. See the attached list for the expected sample sizes, response
rates, and associated confidence intervals and confidence levels for each park.
For dichotomous response variables, estimates will be accurate within the margins of error
and levels of confidence described in the attached list. The confidence intervals will be

somewhat larger for questions with more than two response categories.
(e) Strategies for dealing with potential non-response bias:
During the front-end interview, questions are asked for use in a non-response bias analysis.
Answers are recorded on a log of every survey contact. Results of the non-response bias
check are described in the report and the implications for park planning and management are
discussed.
(f) Description of any pre-testing and peer review of the methods and/or instrument
(recommended):
The questionnaire format and many of the questions have been used in 214 previous VSP
survey instruments. Questionnaires are peer reviewed by NPS managers and university
professors.
10.

13.

See
Total Number of
Initial Contacts attached
list
Accept Instrument |
Expected Respondents:

Reporting Plan:

11. Estimated Time 1
(mins.) to Complete
Initial Contact |
(refusals only)
Accept Instrument
Return Instrument:

1

20

12. Total See
Burden attached
Hours: list

The results of the studies will be presented in internal agency reports for NPS managers.
Response frequencies will be tabulated and measures of central tendency computed (e.g.,
mean, median, mode, as appropriate).The reports will be archived with the NPS Social
Science Division for inclusion in the Social Science Studies Collection. They will also be
posted on the Park Studies Unit VSP website at: http:/psu.uidaho.edu/vsp.reports.htm.
Hard copies will be available upon request. The economic data will be used to produce
special reports for the NPS covering overall use estimates and local economic impacts.