2017 Visitor User and Experience in Denali's Backcountry

OMB Control Number: 1024-0224
Expiration Date: 5-31-2019

 

National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior

 

Denali National Park and Preserve Backcountry [Day and Overnight] Hiker Experience Survey

Your perspective matters!

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: The National Park Service is authorized by the NPS Research Mandate (54 USC 100702) to collect this information. This information will be used by park managers to understand visitors’ perceptions of bison-safety at Yellowstone National Park. Responses to this request are voluntary and anonymous. Your name will never be associated with your answers, and all contact information will be destroyed when the data collection is concluded. 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 and expiration date.

BURDEN ESTIMATE: We estimate that it will take about 10 minutes to complete this questionnaire. You may send comments concerning the burden estimates or any aspect of this information collection to: Dr. Rose Keller, Denali National Park &Preserve Social Scientist; [email protected] (email).

Welcome to Denali National Park and Preserve! You have been selected to help park management to understanding more about the experiences of backcountry hikers here at Denali. Now that you are returning from your adventure, we would like to hear from you, because your feedback is critical and this survey is the only way we will know if we are meeting the recreation goals, opportunities to explore, learn, and wildlife experiences you expected while visiting Denali. Your responses will provide us with insight that we may use in our backcountry management strategies. Please take the time to complete the survey and return it before you leave the bus ride.

SECTION 1: Background Information

1a. How many visits have you made to Denali National Park backcountry?

1a. ____First visit , or _______visits (write in #)

1b. From the options given, what is your primary motivation for visiting Denali?

1b. (choose best option)

_____ to experience solitude and nature

_____ to experience a sense of adventure/challenge

_____ to view wildlife

_____ to view scenery

_____ to explore my sense of self

1c. What is your level of wilderness experience?

____Novice (0-2 wilderness trips)

____Somewhat experienced (3-5 trips)

____Very experienced (6 or more trips)

SECTION 2: Backcountry Information

2a. Did you spend any time hiking on [named (maintained)] trails?

2a. ____Yes ____No

2a. If Yes, which one(s)? ________________________________________

2b. Would you prefer fewer or more maintained trails in the backcountry?

2b. ___Fewer ____More ____Same ____Don’t know

2c. Did Denali National Park staff provide you with sufficient information to hike in the backcountry?

2c. ____Yes ____No

2d. Did you come to Denali specifically to hike off-trail?

 2d. ____Yes ____No

2e. Did you rely on social media to plan your hike in the backcountry?

2e. ___Yes ____No

2f. If YES, which sources?

 2f. Check all that apply

___Magazine/online (write) ______________________

___Online hiker/explorer forum

___Facebook

___Guide/Tour book (write)____________________

___Gaia GPS

___GPS product support

___ iNaturalist

___Geocaching Apps

___ Other (write) ______________________________

NOTE: This version of this question will only appear in the DAY HIKER survey

2g. Check the box according to your best approximation of the number of times today you heard or saw each of the following items in the table below Be sure to write in the Backcountry UNIT #(s) or trails you were on today. (If needed the Survey interviewer has a reference map to help you to identify the Unit Numbers).

Day Hike	Number of encounters during your day
Backcountry UNIT # (s)_____, ______ (write in)	0 times	1-2 times	3-5 times	5-10 times		Over 10 times
Motorized noise (Includes noise from construction, buses and other vehicles on park road. Excludes aircraft noise)
Aircraft noise (Includes fly-overs, landings, takeoffs)
Modern equipment (Includes bikes, equipment, chain saws, vehicles. Excludes backpacking equipment)
Landscape modifications (Includes trails, rock cairns, trampled vegetation. Excludes park road)
Other Park visitors (How often did you encounter other visitors, or groups smaller than 6 people?)
Large Groups of Park visitors (Encounters with groups larger than 6 people)
Rangers (How often did you encounter Park rangers?)
Researchers/Research Teams (how often did you come across researchers?)
Park Road (how much of your day did you see it?) CHECK one	 not at all	 some of the day	 most of the day		 all day
At any time during the day did you see: Litter or Human Waste?			 Yes  No

NOTE: The following two questions will be added and will only appear in the OVERNIGHT version of the survey. There will be three similar tables for the respondent to complete that account for at least three days in the backcountry.
Were you ABLE to Camp out of Sight of Others?	 Yes  No
Did you WANT to camp out of sight of others?	 Yes  No

SECTION 3: The Denali Wilderness

3a. Our goal is to maintain the wilderness character of Denali. We would like for your to first tell us how important each of the following wilderness experiences are when you are in the backcountry (Check the box corresponding to how importance of each experience). Then Check the box to rate the quality the experience you had here

Wilderness Experiences					Quality of the Experience
	Important	Somewhat Important	Not Important		High Quality	Decent Quality	Poor Quality
Feeling of Solitude							
Feeling of being in a pristine environment							
Viewing Wolves							
Viewing Bears							
Viewing Dall Sheep							
Being away from noise							
Having unconfined Recreation: being able to travel freely, no designated campsites							
Being spiritually connected with nature							
Fostering intimacy with close group							
Undeveloped quality of nature: without modern human occupation							
Being surrounded by natural sounds							
Feeling independent and self-reliant							
Challenging myself/Adventure							

3b. If you selected the feeling of solitude as important in the table above, then tell us what would be the maximum number of people you could encounter per day to an overall feeling of solitude that would still rate as important?

3b. Write in a maximum # of people/day : ________________

NOTE: This question will only appear in the DAY HIKER SURVEY

3c. If offered, would you use a commercial (tour) service for day hiking in the Denali backcountry?

____Yes ____No

NOTE: This question will only appear OVERNIGHT SURVEY

3c. Did you get your first choice of unit for the backcountry? ____Yes ____No

3d. Would you use an online reservation system for overnight stays in the Denali backcountry? (Check one) _____Yes ____No

 

3e. Based upon your answers in question #2 Please tell us how each item below affected your overall enjoyment during your trip. (Check one)

How much did each of the following you experienced impact your overall enjoyment?	V ery positively	P ositively	N ot at all	N egatively	V ery negatively
The amount of motorized noise					
The amount of aircraft noise					
Seeing modern equipment					
Seeing trampled vegetation or rock cairns					
Seeing the Park road					
Seeing other Park visitors (less than 6 per group)					
Seeing large groups of visitors (6 or more per group)					
Seeing/encountering Rangers					
Seeing/encountering Research Teams					
Camping out of sight of others					

3f. How acceptable to you is each of the following potential events on your trip? (Please check one response).

	Never Acceptable	Sometimes Acceptable	Always Acceptable	Don’t Know
Encounter more than 2 groups/day in wilderness				
Encounter more than 2 groups/ day on trails				
Experience between 2-5 times/day aircraft noise				
Experience more than 5-times /day aircraft noise				
See evidence of human impact in wilderness				
See evidence of human impact next to trails				

SECTION 4: Personal Perspective

4a. Please tell us the level of support you have for each of the following actions. Check one box for each statement to indicate if you strongly oppose or strongly support the action in the first column. (Please select one response)

	Strongly Oppose	Oppose	Neither Support/Oppose	Support	Strongly Support
More scientific research in Park					
More guided/tourist activities in Park					
Expanded Biking opportunities in the Park					
Limiting visitor numbers in Denali’s wilderness					
Mandatory wildlife safety and Leave No Trace talks for day hikers					
New trail systems in Wonder Lake/Kantishna area					
Improved relations with Subsistence users of the Park and Preserve					
Improve wildlife viewing opportunities. Check the most important animal you would like to view Bear, Caribou, Dall Sheep, Wolf, Moose Other ____________					
Cooperate more closely with State to regulate sport hunting and trapping around park boundaries.					
Cooperate more closely with other federal, state and private lands to conserve natural and cultural resources.					

4b Trust and Relevancy

	Not at all		A little	Some	A lot	Don’t know
How much do you trust the National Park Service?
Nationally						
At [NPS SITE]?						
In your opinion, how relevant is the National Park Service:
Locally (specifically in your local area)						
Nationally						
Internationally						
	Much worse	Worse		Stayed the same	Better	Much better
In the last decade, how has your level of trust in National Park Service Management changed?
At Denali?						
Locally (specifically in your local area)						
At the national level?						
In the last decade, has your level of trust in other federal agencies (such as EPA, BLM, etc.,) changed
Nationally						
Locally (specifically in your local area)						
In the last decade, has your level of trust in non-federal entities (such as NGOs, corporations etc.,) changed?
Nationally						
Locally (specifically in your local area)						

5. Demographic Questions

5a. What is your gender? (Please write in) _________

5b. In what year were you born? (Please write in) _________

5c. For you only, are you Hispanic or Latino

___ Yes ___ No

What is your race? (Check all that apply).

____Alaskan Native or American Indian

____Asian

____Black or African American

____Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander

____White  

5d. What is your primary occupation? (write in)

_____________________________________________________________________

5e. What was your household’s total income in the past 12 months? ____________ ($), or: what category fits best?

___under 25,000 ____70,000—99,999 ____200,000 or more

___26,000—39,999 ____100,000—150,000 ____prefer not to answer

___40,000– 69,999 ____150,000—200,000

5f. How many people are in your household? __________ (number of people)

5g. What is the total anticipated cost of this trip to Denali from when you left home to when you return? ($)__________________

5h. Where are you visiting from? (Check one, and write in)

 Alaska (provide zip code) ________________

are you a year-round or seasonal resident? _______Year-round /_______Seasonal

 Other U.S. State (provide State) ________

 International (provide Country) _______________________________

5i. What is your level of formal education? (Check one)

• Some high school

• High school graduate

• Vocational/trade school certificate

• Some college

• Two-year college degree

• Four-year college degree [or Bachelor’s degree]

• Master’s Degree [or Graduate degree]

• Ph.D., M.D., J.D., or equivalent

5j How many are in your group? (Write in) ___________________

5k. What kind of group are you travelling with this trip? (Check one)

 Family  N/A

 Friends  Family and Friends

 Guided tour (which one?) ___________________________________________________

(Please use the space on the back page to provide additional comments)

THANK YOU for your help and feedback. Your experience in Denali’s Backcountry truly matters!