Chattooga Wild and Scenic River Recreation Use Questionn

OMB Number: 0596-0236

Expires: 11/2017

RECREATION USE QUESTIONNAIRE

Chattooga Wild and Scenic River

LOCATION

Location (Circle):

Norton Mill/Green Creek Bull Pen Area Burrell’s Ford Area Lick Log Highway 28

Specific Facility (e.g. parking area, bridge, swimming hole, trailhead):

Date: Time: AM/PM Interviewer (initials):

Weather (Circle): Rain Cloudy Partly Cloudy Sunny Snow

INTRODUCTION

Hello, my name is __________________________ and I am conducting interviews today with visitors to the Upper Chattooga River on behalf of the U.S. Forest Service. For this survey, the Upper Chattooga River is defined as all sites on the Chattooga Wild and Scenic River upstream of the Highway 28 Bridge crossing and downstream of Green Creek confluence with the Chattooga. The information will be used as part of ongoing management for the Upper Chattooga River. I’d like to ask you some questions about your visit. Your participation is voluntary and your responses will be kept confidential. The survey will take approximately 10 minutes of your time.

SCREENING

1. Are you at least 18 years old? YES or NO (Circle)

If YES, continue to the next question. If no or refuse to answer, thank respondent for their time, terminate interview and complete the top portion of the interview form.

2. Where is your primary residence?

ZIP ___________ or Country (if not US) ____________

ACTIVITY INFORMATION

3. How many people are in your group on this visit? ______________ Number of people

4. How would you characterize the organization of your group? (Check one)

Private

Commercial

Educational

Other

5. How many vehicles are associated with your group? _______________

6. Which of the following best describes the purpose of your visit to this site? (Check one)

It was an incidental or spur of the moment stop on a trip taken for other purposes or to other destinations.

It was the primary purpose or sole destination of my trip.

It was one of multiple destinations for my trip to the Upper Chattooga River.

Please list other sites________________________________________________

7. Please estimate how often do you visit the Upper Chattooga River? (Check one)

­­___ No. of times per year

___ No. of years visiting

___ This is my first visit

8. What areas or sites have you visited or plan to visit throughout the Upper Chattooga River on this trip?

(Mark the following map using ‘V’ for ‘have visited’ and ‘P’ for ‘plan to visit’ If fishing was one of the activities they had listed have them mark ‘F’ for ‘fished/plan to fish’. If they camp have them mark a ‘C’ for campsite. Ask them to be as specific as possible.)

9. Is this visit a day trip from your home or are you staying overnight in the area? (Check one)

___	Day trip	No. of hours in WSR _______________ Distance to this site from home
OR
___	Campground on nearby Forest Service land ______________________________________________ (Campground name)	Distance to this site from campsite ______
___	Car camping at undeveloped campsite nearby _____________________________________________(Use map and mark ‘C’)	Distance traveled from campsite ______
___	Backcountry camping via hiking _____________________________________________(Use map and mark ‘C’)	Distance to this site from campsite ______
___	Nearby cabin, lodge, hotel, or non-National Forest campground _____________________________________________(Name)	Distance to this site from lodging ______
___	Other _____________________________________________(please describe)	Distance to this site ______

10. Which recreational activities have you participated or will you participate in during your visit and what percent of your time did you spend on the following activities? (Percent estimate should total 100%)

Swimming		Hiking/Walking/Running		Sightseeing
Picnicking		Fishing		Wildlife viewing
Whitewater boating		Backpacking		Hunting:
Photography		Other___________

11. Did you walk or hike in the Chattooga WSR backcountry (more than ¼ mile away from your vehicle)?

YES or NO (Circle) If no, continue to the next question.

Please estimate how far you traveled and how long were you away from your vehicle?

Distance________________ Time _______________

(Please identify on the map the locations where you hiked)

During your hike, did you encounter other people in the backcountry (beyond ¼ mile from the trailhead)?

YES or NO (Circle) If no, continue to the next question.

If yes, estimate how many people you saw?

What activities were they participating in?

Was your encounter with other people while hiking? Positive Neutral Negative (Circle)

12. Did you fish in the Chattooga WSR backcountry (more than ¼ mile away from your vehicle)?

YES or NO (Circle) If no, continue to the next question.

Please estimate how far you traveled and how long were you away from your vehicle?

Distance________________ Time _______________

(Please identify on the map the locations where they fished)

While fishing, did you encounter other people in the backcountry?

YES or NO (Circle) If no, continue to the next question.

If yes, estimate how many people you saw?

What activities were they participating in?

Was your encounter with other people while fishing? Positive Neutral Negative (Circle)

13. Did you boat in the Upper Chattooga River corridor today?

YES or NO (Circle) If no, continue to next question.

If yes, which section did you run:

___ From Green Creek or Norton Mill to Bull Pen Bridge (Chattooga Cliffs Reach)

___ From Bull Pen Bridge to Burrells Ford (Ellicott Rock Reach)

___ From Burrells Ford to Lick Log (Rock Gorge Reach)

___ Some other combination of reaches (list)

How long were you on the river?

Did you encounter other people while you were on the river?

YES or NO (Circle) If no, continue to the next question.

If yes, estimate how many people you saw?

What activities were they participating in?

Was your encounter with other people on the river? Positive Neutral Negative (Circle)

14. Did you camp at informal or non-designated campsites within the Upper Chattooga River?

YES or NO (Circle)

If yes, please identify the locations on the map where you camped. If no, continue to the next question.

1. How many other occupied campsites did you observe during your trip? _______

EVALUATION

15. Was solitude a significant factor for you in deciding to take a trip here?

YES or NO (Circle) If no, continue to the next question.

If yes, how was the amount of solitude you experienced compared to your expectation?

___ more solitude than I expected;

___ about what I expected;

___ less solitude than I expected.

16. During your visit to the Upper Chattooga River, did you experience any conflict with other

recreational activities or visitors?

YES or NO (Circle)

If yes, please describe the conflict?

17. During your visit to the Upper Chattooga River, were there any recreation activities that you observed or participated in that you feel may cause harm to the environment?

YES or NO (Circle)

If yes, what were they and what was their effect?

18. How would you rate the quality of each facility that you visited listed below throughout the Upper Chattooga River?

Facility	Very Poor	Poor	Fair	Good	Excellent	Did not use/observe
Parking areas	1	2	3	4	5	0
Backpack-in campsites	1	2	3	4	5	0
Informational signs	1	2	3	4	5	0
Trails	1	2	3	4	5	0
Toilets	1	2	3	4	5	0
Walk-in campsites	1	2	3	4	5	0

19. Are there any changes or improvements that you would like to see at this facility?

YES or NO (Circle)

If yes, please list what are they?

20. Are there any changes or improvements that you would like to see at recreation sites within the Upper Chattooga River?

YES or NO (Circle)

If yes, please list what are they?

21. During your visit, did you encounter any problems finding a parking space?

YES or NO (Circle)

If yes, how did you respond to the parking problems?

___ Waited until a parking spot opened near my intended destination

___ Parked some distance away from my intended destination and walked

___ At least once, went to an alternate destination

22. How crowded did you feel when using the following facilities on this trip?

Facility	Not crowded	Average crowding	Very crowded	Did not visit site or engage in activity
Parking areas	1	2	3	0
Hiking trails	1	2	3	0
Roads	1	2	3	0
Front country campsite	1	2	3	0
Backcountry campsite	1	2	3	0
Fishing within ¼ mile of your vehicle	1	2	3	0
Fishing beyond ¼ mile of your vehicle	1	2	3	0

CONCLUSION

Thank you for taking the time to talk with me today and enjoy the rest of your visit.

TO BE COMPLETED BY INTERVIEWER

Please note any comprehension difficulties with interpreting and responding to questions:

- 9 -