Wrangell-St. Elias Backcountry Monitoring Study

OMB Control Number: XXXX-XXXX

Expiration Date: XX/XX/XXXX

Wrangell – St. Elias National Park and Preserve

Backcountry Visitor Survey

INSTRUCTIONS FOR VISITORS:

1. Please identify one person from your group to complete the survey. In order to ensure a random sample, that should be…

1. …the person in your group who most recently celebrated a birthday; and

2. …at least 18 years old.

2. Please have that person complete the survey on the last day of your trip.

3. The survey has two pages of questions that’s should take no more than 7 minutes to complete.

4. The questions are about your trip in the park, the conditions you saw. There are no “right” or “wrong” answers; the best responses reflect your own opinions and beliefs.

5. Please try to answer every question.

6. If you have additional comments about your trip or the park, please write them below.

7. Please mail the completed survey back to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve by folding it in half and sealing the edges with the stickers provided. The survey is stamped and self-addressed, so you just need to place it in a mailbox.

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’ backcountry use in Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve. 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 STATEMENT: Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 7 minutes per response. Direct comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this form to: Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve P.O. Box 439. Copper Center, AK 99573.

Thanks for participating in the survey!

TOPIC AREA 3: TRANSMODE2 and TOPIC AREA 2: BACCOM8

1. For this trip, what were your backcountry entry / exit locations and dates? (Please list backcountry airstrips, not airports, such as McCarthy or Gulkana.)

	Name of trailhead, launch, or backcountry airstrip	Month	Day
Your entry / drop-off location…
Your exit / pick-up location…

TOPIC AREA 3: TRANSMODE2, and TOPIC AREA 2: BACCOM8

2. For this trip, please indicate the way(s) you traveled in the backcountry. (Check all that apply)

 On foot  Horse  Raft/kayak  Packraft  Motorized boat  ATV  Ski  Snowmachine

TOPIC AREA 2: ACCOM2, RECBACK4, and TOPIC AREA 4: LOCALSERV3,

3. Did you use commercial services on this trip? (Check all that apply)

 Air taxi  Accompanied by a guide  Stayed in a base camp / lodge  Did not use commercial services

4. Please list backcountry locations you visited on this trip (up to three):

1. ___________________________ 2. ___________________________ 3. ______________________________

TOPIC AREA 2: BACCOM8

5. How many nights did you spend in the backcountry on this trip? _____ nights

TOPIC AREA 1: GROUP5

6. How many people were in your group on this trip (include yourself and guides)? _____ people

TOPIC AREA 5: HUNTFISH14

7. Did you hunt on this trip? (Please circle one number)

1. No 2. Yes  If yes, list names of species ___________________________________________

TOPIC AREA 1: RES3, RES9, RES10

8. Prior to this trip, how many trips have you taken in this Park / Preserve? _____ # of trips

9. Where are you from? (Circle one number or fill in the blank)

1. Copper River Valley

2. Other Alaska location

3. Other state or country ______________________________

TOPIC AREA 6: CROWD19, CROWD23

10. How crowded did you feel on this trip? (Please circle one number for row).

	Not at all crowded		Slightly crowded		Moderately crowded			Extremely crowded
At the trailhead or backcountry airstrip where you started your trip	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
While camping	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
While traveling during the day	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
While hunting (if you hunted – otherwise leave this row blank)	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
At the trailhead or backcountry airstrip where you ended your trip	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
Overall for your entire trip	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9

TOPIC AREA 8: ATT1 and TOPIC AREA 9: LNT20

11. Please circle the percent of camps where you saw each impact (left side of table) and then circle the percent of camps where it is acceptable to see this impact (right side of table) or check “this doesn’t matter to me.”

	Percent of camps where you saw this impact	Percent of camps where it is acceptable to see this impact	OR…”this doesn’t matter to me”
Litter	None 10% 25% 50% 75% All	None 10% 25% 50% 75% All		
A web of user-created trails	None 10% 25% 50% 75% All	None 10% 25% 50% 75% All		

TOPIC AREA 6: CROWD5, CROWD20

12. Please report encounters with other groups that you saw and consider acceptable (or check “this doesn’t matter”).

	Number you saw	Number you consider acceptable	OR… “this doesn’t matter to me”
Groups per day at my drop-off location	_____ groups per day	_____ groups per day		
Groups per day at my pick-up location	_____ groups per day	_____ groups per day		
Average groups per day on other days	_____ groups per day	_____ groups per day		
On the “busiest day,” how many groups did you encounter?	_____ groups	_____ groups		

TOPIC AREA 6: CROWD5, CROWD20

13. How many nights did you camp within sight or sound of another group on this trip? _____ nights

14. On a trip of this length, how many nights is it acceptable to camp within sight or sound of others? _____ nights …OR  “this doesn’t matter to me”

TOPIC AREA 9: OPMGMT13

15. Please indicate whether you support or oppose the following management actions. (Circle one number per row)

	Strongly oppose	Slightly oppose	Neutral	Slightly support	Strongly support
Re-design trail segments with poor trail conditions	1	2	3	4	5
Add facilities at airstrips or high use camps (e.g., bear-proof storage, harden trails, improve campsites)	1	2	3	4	5
Start a human waste carry-out program (e.g., education, provide waste bags, airstrip collection)	1	2	3	4	5
Voluntary trip registration (to help visitors plan trips to avoid crowded places / times)	1	2	3	4	5
Require trip registration (same as above, but registration is required)	1	2	3	4	5
Group size limits	1	2	3	4	5
If you support group size limits, the maximum group size should be ______ people

MAIL TO:

Backcountry Visitor Study

Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve

P.O. Box 439

Copper Center, AK 99573