NPS Bundle - Two On-site Visitor Experience Surveys: Grand Canyon (GRCA) and Acadia (ACAD) National Parks

NOTE TO REVIEWER:

For the purposes of this review and submission the justifications for each question or section of questions is highlighted in a shaded text box above each question. These text boxes will not be printed on the final version of the surveys. The Topic Areas noted are consistent with the currently approved pool questions for the NPS Programmatic Review Process (1024-0224 – Current Expiration Date: 8-31-2014). The questions that are slight variations are denoted as such. These questions have been carefully discussed and generally approved by the NPS Information Collection Review Coordinator for inclusion in the currently approved questionnaire with understanding that all questions will require further review and consideration by OMB before full determination and approval can be granted.

This questionnaire will be administered on-site by interviewers using paper questionnaires. Only one questionnaire per group will be collected. This is an effort to limit the individual respondent burden.

OMB Control Number: 1024-0224

Current Expiration Date: 8-31-2014

Grand Canyon National Park Visitor Survey

2013

Dear Grand Canyon National Park Visitor:

We are conducting this survey to learn more about visitors to Grand Canyon National Park so that we can improve our service to you. You have been chosen to participate in this survey, and your opinions are important to us. The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete and the information you provide will be anonymous. Please read each question carefully and respond to the best of your ability.

In this questionnaire, your personal group is defined as anyone that you are traveling with such as spouse, partner, family, or friends. This does not include the organized group that you might be traveling with such as school, church, boy or girl scouts, or tour group. Also, the inner canyon refers to the trail segments below Roaring Springs on the North Kaibab Trail, below Indian Garden on the Bright Angel Trail, and below Tipoff on the South Kaibab Trail.

Topic Area 1 – GR3

1. Including yourself, how many people are in your personal group during this visit to the inner canyon?

____ Number of people

Topic Area 1 – GR2

2. On this visit, were you with the following type of organized groups?

Commercial guided tour group	O Yes	O No
School/educational group	O Yes	O No
Other organized group (such as running club, scout group, etc.)	O Yes	O No

Topic Area 3 – TRIPC28

3. Was your trip to Grand Canyon part of a packaged tour (package tours commonly include transportation, meals, lodging, and activities sold as a pre-set itinerary from a single company?

O

Yes

O

No

Topic Area 3 – TRIPC29

4. If YES, what was the name of the company (not travel agency) that provided the package tour? ______________________________

Topic Area 1 – VISITHIST2

5. About how many times have you visited the inner canyon, including this visit?

______ Number of visits OR O Don’t know/Not sure

Topic Area 3 – ACT33

6. To the best of your recollection, in what year did you first visit the inner canyon?

Year: _______ OR O Don’t know/Not sure

Topic Area 3 – ACT1

7. This question lists activities available to visitors in the inner canyon

a) On past visits, in which activities did you participate? Please mark () all that apply in column A. If you did not participate in an activity in the past, please leave this column blank.

b) On this visit, in which activities did you participate? Please mark () all that apply in column B.

c) If you were to visit in the future, in which activities would you participate? Please mark () all that apply in column C.

	A Activities on past visits	B Activities on this visit	C Activities on future visit
Day hiking	O	O	O
Overnight backpacking	O	O	O
Overnight lodging at Phantom Ranch	O	O	O
Trail-running	O	O	O
Mule ride	O	O	O

d) On this visit, which one activity in column B that you participated in was the most important to your visit to this park? Please list only one or mark none.

__________________________________ O None

Topic Area 3 – ACT2

8. Which one of the above activities in which you participated was your primary reason for visiting the inner canyon? Please list only one.

__________________________________

Topic Area 3 – TBACK5

9. At which of the following trailheads did you start and end this trip?

Starting location (Mark one.)	Listings of Specific Trailheads	Ending location (Mark one.)
O	South Kaibab trailhead	O
O	Bright Angel trailhead	O
O	North Kaibab trailhead	O
O	Other: please specify	O

Topic Area 3 – TRIPC34

10. During this visit, did other visitors and their activities interfere with your visit to the inner canyon?

O

Yes

O

No

b) If Yes, how? Please explain. _________________________

Topic Area 4 – PREF2

11. The following is a list of characteristics commonly associated with backcountry and wilderness areas. Please indicate how important each of the items listed below was to you as a reason to use the trails in the inner canyon today. (Circle one number for each item.)

	Not at all Important	Slightly Important	Moderately Important	Very Important	Extremely Important	Don’t Know/ Not Sure
Solitude	1	2	3	4	5	DK/NS
Primitive recreation/few facilities	1	2	3	4	5	DK/NS
Pristine natural environment	1	2	3	4	5	DK/NS
Physically challenging/ demanding	1	2	3	4	5	DK/NS
Unconfined recreation/free from rules and regulations	1	2	3	4	5	DK/NS

Topic Area 5 – CROWD2

12. For the places you visited in the inner canyon, please rate how crowded you felt by the number of people present at the following locations. Please mark (●) only one answer for each place.

Visit on this trip? (●)	Not at all crowded	Slightly crowded	Moderately crowded	Very crowded	Extremely crowded
O South Kaibab trail	O	O	O	O	O
O Bright Angel trail	O	O	O	O	O
O North Kaibab trail	O	O	O	O	O
O Phantom Ranch	O	O	O	O	O
O Ribbon Falls	O	O	O	O	O
O Cottonwood campground	O	O	O	O	O
O River trail	O	O	O	O	O
O Other (Specify):	O	O	O	O	O
Topic Area 5 – CROWD3

13. On this visit to the inner canyon, compared to what you expected, how crowded did you feel? Please mark (●) only one.

O I didn’t know what to expect

O Less crowded than expected

O About the same as expected

O More crowded than expected

Topic Area 5 – CROWD14

14. Please indicate the degree to which you experienced solitude while in the inner canyon today? Please mark only one answer.

Not at all	Slightly	Somewhat	Moderately	Very Much
O	O	O	O	O

Topic Area 5 – CROWD15

15. About how many other visitors did you see per day while you were traveling on the inner canyon trails during your backcountry trip? (Enter a question mark “?” if you don’t remember)

# of visitors per day:______ OR O Did not see any other visitors

Please estimate the number of other visitors you saw at each of the following locations.

Location	Number of other visitors	I can’t remember
South Kaibab trail (from Tipoff to Phantom Ranch)	_____________	O
Bright Angel trail (from Indian Garden to Phantom Ranch)	_____________	O
North Kaibab (from Roaring Springs to Phantom Ranch)	_____________	O

Topic Area 5 – VERP1 (Variation)

16. We would like to know how many other visitors you think you could encounter along trails in the inner canyon* without feeling too crowded. To help judge this, a series of scenarios is described below. These scenarios describe different numbers of visitor encounters.

Scenario 1	While traveling between Phantom Ranch and Roaring Springs on the North Kaibab trail I encounter 0 other visitors.
Scenario 2	While traveling between Phantom Ranch and Roaring Springs on the North Kaibab trail I encounter 15 other visitors.
Scenario 3	While traveling between Phantom Ranch and Roaring Springs on the North Kaibab trail I encounter 30 other visitors.
Scenario 4	While traveling between Phantom Ranch and Roaring Springs on the North Kaibab trail I encounter 45 other visitors.
Scenario 5	While traveling between Phantom Ranch and Roaring Springs on the North Kaibab trail I encounter 60 other visitors.

*Specific trail segments will vary based on sampling site

17. Please rate each scenario described above by indicating how acceptable you find each one based on the number of visitor encounters described. A rating of “-3” means the number of visitors is “very unacceptable”, and a rating of “+3” means the number of visitors is “very acceptable”. (Circle one number for each scenario.)

	Very unacceptable	Unacceptable	Slightly unacceptable	Neutral	Slightly acceptable	Acceptable	Very Acceptable
Scenario 1	-3	-2	-1	0	+1	+2	+3
Scenario 2	-3	-2	-1	0	+1	+2	+3
Scenario 3	-3	-2	-1	0	+1	+2	+3
Scenario 4	-3	-2	-1	0	+1	+2	+3
Scenario 5	-3	-2	-1	0	+1	+2	+3
Topic Area 5 – VERP2

1. Which scenario describes the level of use that you would prefer to experience in the inner canyon?

Scenario number:

Topic Area 5 – VERP3

2. Which scenario describes the highest level of use that the National Park Service should allow in the inner canyon? In other words, at what point should visitors be restricted from touring the inner canyon? If use should not be restricted at any point represented in the scenarios, or not restricted at all, you may indicate that by checking one of the boxes below.

Scenario number:

O None of the scenarios describe a level of use high enough to restrict the number of visitors in the inner canyon

O The number of visitors in the inner canyon should not be restricted

Topic Area 5 – CROWDATT1

18. Please indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with each of the following statements concerning management of recreational travel in the inner canyon. (Circle one number for each item.)

	Strongly Agree	Agree	Neutral	Disagree	Strongly Disagree	Don’t Know / Not Sure
If people feel crowded, access should be reduced	1	2	3	4	5	DK/NS
If visitor-caused resource impacts are high, access should be reduced	1	2	3	4	5	DK/NS
Access should never be reduced, even if use is high	1	2	3	4	5	DK/NS
If solitude is lost, access should be reduced	1	2	3	4	5	DK/NS

Topic Area 6 – OPMGMT7

19. How much of a problem do you think the following issues are in the inner canyon? Please circle one number for each item.

	Not a Problem	Small Problem	Big Problem	Don’t Know/ No Opinion
Too many other visitors	1	2	3	DK
Rude and inconsiderate visitors	1	2	3	DK
Too many day hikers	1	2	3	DK
Too many trail-runners	1	2	3	DK
Poorly maintained facilities/bathrooms	1	2	3	DK
Unacceptable impacts to park resources (litter/human waste)	1	2	3	DK

Topic Area 6 – OPMGMT6

20. Please indicate the extent to which you would support or oppose each of the following potential management actions in the inner canyon. (Please mark (•) one number for each item.)

	Strongly Support	Support	Neither Support nor Oppose	Oppose	Strongly Oppose	Don’t Know/ Not Sure
More education regarding trail etiquette/appropriate behavior	O	O	O	O	O	DK
Permits required for day use (no limits and no fees)	O	O	O	O	O	DK
Permits required for day use (no limits and includes an $8 fee)	O	O	O	O	O	DK
Permits required for day use (limits and no fees)	O	O	O	O	O	DK
Permits required for day use (limits and an $8 fee)	O	O	O	O	O	DK
Permits required for day use (limits except for 2 weekends/year)	O	O	O	O	O	DK
Limit group sizes for day use to 11 people or less	O	O	O	O	O	DK

Topic Area 1 – GEND1

21. Are you …?

• Male

• Female

Topic Area 1 – AGE3

22. What is your age? __________

Topic Area 1 – RES3

23. Do you live in the United States?

• Yes

What is your Zip Code? __________________

• No

What country do you live in? ______________

Topic Area 1 – ED2

24. Please indicate the highest level of education that you have attained. (Select one)

• Less than high school

• High School Diploma/GED

• Technical school or Associates Degree

• Bachelor’s Degree

• Master’s Degree

• Ph.D., M.D., J.D., or equivalent

Topic Area 1 – RACE/ETH2

25. For you only, are you Hispanic or Latino? (Select one)

• Yes, Hispanic or Latino

• No, not Hispanic or Latino

Topic Area 1 – RACE/ETH4

26. For you only, which of these categories best describes your race? (Select one or more)

• American Indian or Alaska Native

• Asian

• Black or African American

• Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander

• White

Thank you for helping us with this important study. If there is anything else you would like to tell us? Please do so in the space below.

PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT STATEMENT: The National Park Service is authorized by 16 U.S.C. 1a-7 to collect this information. This information will be used by park managers to understand visitor needs and expectations to provide for quality visitor experiences at the Grand Canyon National Park. Your response to this request is voluntary and anonymous. No action may be taken against you for refusing to supply the information requested. 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 burden for this collection is estimated to be 10 minutes per response. Direct comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection to Peter Pettengill, Outdoor Recreation Planner; Division of Science & Resource Management, [email protected] (email), Grand Canyon National Park, PO Box 129, Grand Canyon, AZ 86023-0129.

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