River and landing preferences among St Croix National Scenic Riverway visitors

OMB Control Number: 1024-XXXX

Expiration Date: 12/31/2019

St Croix National Scenic Riverway

2018 Visitor Survey

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Thank you for agreeing to help the St Croix National Scenic Riverway!

PAPERWORK REDUCTION and PRIVACY ACT STATEMENT: The Paperwork Reduction Act requires us to tell you why we are collecting this information, how we will use it, and whether or not you have to respond. We are authorized by the National Park Service Protection Interpretation and research in System (54 USC §100702) to collect this information. The routine uses of this information will be for the benefit of NPS Managers and Planning staff St Croix National Scenic Riverway (SACN) in future initiatives related to the visitor use and resource management within the site. The data collected will be summarized to evaluate visitor uses and expectations during their visit at SACN. Your responses to this collection are completely voluntary and will remain anonymous.  You can end the process at any time and will not be penalized in any way for choosing to do so. All contact information collected for the purpose of the follow-up survey will be destroyed at the end of the collection period and no personal identifiable records will be maintained or stored for any purposes. Data collected will only be reported in aggregates and no individually identifiable responses will be reported.  A Federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and you are not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB Control Number (1024-0224). We estimate that it will take about 10 minutes to complete and return this on-site questionnaire. You may send comments concerning the burden estimates or any aspect of this information collection to: Byron Karns, St Croix National Scenic Riverway, 401 North Hamilton Street, St. Croix Falls, WI; [email protected] (email); or Phadrea Ponds NPS Information Collection Coordinator at [email protected] (email).

SECTION 1

Past and current visits

1. Over the past twelve months, how many visits have you made down the St Croix National Scenic Riverway (including today)?

______ Number of visits down the River (Including today) O Don’t know/Not sure

Of these, how many included

______Areas south of Stillwater O Don’t know/Not sure

______Stillwater and/or areas north of Stillwater O Don’t know/Not sure

2. In which year did you make your first visit to the St Croix National Scenic Riverway?

______ Year O Don’t know/Not sure

3. Over the past twelve months, how many visits have you made to this landing?

______ Number of visits (Including today) O Don’t know/Not sure

4. Please select the choice below that best describes your travel party today. (Please select only one)

O Individual O Family only O Friends only O Family plus friend’s O Other (Please specify) ____________________________

5. How many people are in your group, including you?

____Number of people

6. Where did you begin today’s visit down the river?

___ Wisconsin Interstate Park ___ Franconia __Landing specific locale

___ Minnesota Interstate Park ___ Other (where?______________________)

7. On this visit, how long did you stay on St Croix National Scenic Riverway? Please list partial hours as 1/4, 1/2, or 3/4.

____ 1 day or less ____Number of hours ______Unsure

OR

____ Overnight ____Number of days

8. Why did you and your personal group choose to visit this landing? (Select all that apply)

O Convenient with traffic flow	O Suggested by outfitter/rental organization
O Easy to access river	O Was only place I could get picked up
O Saw signs on highway	O Have visited before and enjoyed it
O Suggested by friends/relatives	O Other landings too crowded Which landings
O Suggested by visitor center	__ Franconia ___WI Interstate __MN Interstate

9. On your visit to this landing, which activities did you participate? (Select all that apply)

___ Taking part in a commercial boat trip:

Which kind of boat? __Canoe __Kayak __Tube ___ Other (Explain: ___________)

___ Bringing in/landing a boat:

Which kind of boat? __Canoe __Kayak __Motorboat ___ Other (Explain: ___________)

___ Launching a boat:

Which kind of boat? __Canoe __Kayak __Motorboat ___ Other (Explain: ___________)

___ Picnicking ___ Relaxing ___Fishing

___ Wildlife viewing ___ Swimming ___ Other (Explain: ___________)

Q10 & Q11 - COMMERCIAL VISITOR SURVEY ONLY

10. In your opinion, at what point is the wait time for a shuttle bus no longer acceptable?

_____ Number of minutes OR ___ The wait time doesn’t matter to me

11. What would you be interested in doing while you wait for the shuttle bus? (Select all that apply)

___Listening to a short educational program on my phone (i.e. call a ranger)

___Watching a short educational video on a kiosk

___Talking to Park Service staff onsite

___Relaxing

___Self-guided exploration

___Swimming

___Fishing

___Other (Please explain ________________)

12. Below is a list of possible experiences you may want to have while visiting St Croix National Scenic Riverway. For each item please indicate how important the experience is to you on your visit to this Riverway.

	Not at all Important	Slightly Important	Moderately Important	Very Important	Extremely Important
To experience solitude	O	O	O	O	O
To view scenic beauty	O	O	O	O	O
To be with family or friends	O	O	O	O	O
To be physically active	O	O	O	O	O
To hear natural sounds	O	O	O	O	O

SECTION 2

Social conditions at and on the St Croix National Scenic Riverway

Next, we have a series of questions about your opinions on social conditions at St Croix National Scenic Riverway.

13. The number of other people I saw during my river visit today interfered with my experience. (Select one response, even if you did not see other groups).

Strongly agree	Agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Disagree	Strongly disagree
1	2	3	4	5

13a. IF you agree or strongly agree, please check which experiences it interfered with (choose all that apply):

__to view scenic beauty	__to be with family or friends	__to hear natural sounds
__to be physically active	__to experience solitude

14. The behavior of other people I saw during my river visit today interfered with my experience. (Select one response, even if you did not see other groups).

Strongly agree	Agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Disagree	Strongly disagree
1	2	3	4	5

14a. IF you agree or strongly agree, please check which experiences it interfered with (select all that apply):

__to view scenic beauty	__to be with family or friends	__to hear natural sounds
__to be physically active	__to experience solitude

15. What would you do if during your next visit to the St Croix National Scenic Riverway you discovered that your most preferred area had more people than you normally find acceptable? 

I would still participate in my primary activity in the same area

I would still participate in my primary activity, but elsewhere on the St Croix

I would temporarily participate in a different activity on the St Croix

I would temporarily participate in a different activity, but outside the St Croix

16. How crowded did you feel while at the following locations on the River and at this landing? (fill in one circle for each location.) If you did not visit an area, simply mark that ‘did not visit’ column.

	Not Crowded	Slightly crowded	A little crowded	Somewhat crowded	Moderately crowded	Very crowded	Extremely crowded	Did not visit
Launching area (where you got on the river)	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O
On the river	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O
Landing beach area	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O
Boat landing	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O
Landing parking lot	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O

16a. If any items are marked ‘moderately crowded’ or higher: Please share details of the crowding experience: _______________________________________________________

17. The size of groups using the St Croix Riverway can vary. We would like to know how you feel about different group sizes. Please rate the acceptability of seeing the following number of motorized boats at one time on the river. (Select one number for each group size.)

# of non-motorized boats at one time	Very unacceptable	Moderately unacceptable	Slightly unacceptable	Neutral	Slightly acceptable	Moderately acceptable	Very acceptable
1	-3	-2	-1	0	1	2	3
2	-3	-2	-1	0	1	2	3
3	-3	-2	-1	0	1	2	3
4	-3	-2	-1	0	1	2	3
5 +	-3	-2	-1	0	1	2	3

18. Please rate the acceptability of seeing the following number of non-motorized boats at one time on the river (such as kayaks or canoes). (Select one number for each group size.)

# of non-motorized boats at one time	Very unacceptable	Moderately unacceptable	Slightly unacceptable	Neutral	Slightly acceptable	Moderately acceptable	Very acceptable
1	-3	-2	-1	0	1	2	3
2	-3	-2	-1	0	1	2	3
3	-3	-2	-1	0	1	2	3
4	-3	-2	-1	0	1	2	3
5 +	-3	-2	-1	0	1	2	3

19. Did you feel like the number of people increased your risk or other people’s risk of being injured at any point during your river visit today? (Select all that apply.)

YES, the number of people increased the risk of injuries when we launched the boat

YES, the number of people increased the risk of injuries on the river

YES, the number of people increased the risk of injuries at the boat landing when we exited the river

NO

20. Did you experience or see any unsafe conditions while boating on the St Croix National Scenic Riverway?

NO

YES Please explain those conditions: _________________________________________________

SECTION 3

Perception of management at St. Croix National Scenic Riverway

21. Please indicate the extent to which you would support or oppose each of the following potential management actions at this landing. The list of items are not necessarily actions that are going to occur in the area but we are interested in your opinions about these potential actions. (Please select one for each item.)

	Strongly Oppose	Oppose	Neither Support nor Oppose	Support	Strongly Support
Create a designated waiting area for commercial users	O	O	O	O	O
Reduce the number of people on the landing	O	O	O	O	O
Increase parking capacity	O	O	O	O	O
Provide information to users about preferred behaviors	O	O	O	O	O
Provide information to users about crowded times	O	O	O	O	O
Create educational information accessible via phone	O	O	O	O	O
Create interactive educational kiosks	O	O	O	O	O
Increase enforcement of rules	O	O	O	O	O

Section 4:

Information Sources and Options

22. Prior to your visit, how prepared did you feel for the expected river activity and environment? Please select only one.

Not At All Prepared	Not Very Prepared	Moderately Prepared	Very Prepared	Extremely Prepared
				

23. During your visit, did you receive any river safety information?

NO

YES - how was the information provided? Please mark all that apply. Please specify the online source(s):

Openly available printed material/Self-guided material

Shuttle stop

Outfitter

Campground

Park staff /Safety volunteers

Ranger-led tours/programs

Assistance from Information Desk / Visitor Center

Education signs

Radio message

Other (please specify):_________________________________

24. For future visits, what would be the best way for you to obtain information about the Riverway?

	NPS.gov websites		Call the Riverway
	Online Source(s) / Social Media		Commercial outfitters
	Park Brochure/ Newspaper		Signs
	Visitor Center		Not sure
	Rangers/onsite personnel		No additional ways are necessary
	Guidebook		Other _____________

25. National Park Service staff are interested in social media's potential as a tool to communicate with visitors. How often do you use the following social media platforms?

	Daily	Every other day	Weekly	Monthly	Less often than monthly	Never
Facebook						
Twitter						
YouTube						
Snapchat						
Instagram						
Pinterest						
Other (what……)						

SECTION 5

Demographic questions

26. Would you or any member of your personal group prefer to receive information about St Croix programs, services, etc. in languages other than English?

O Yes - which language(s)? _________________________

O No

27. In what year where you born?

_______ Year

28. Are you Hispanic or Latino?

O Yes O No

29. Which of these categories best indicates your race? Please select one or more.

O American Indian or Alaska Native	O Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander
O Asian	O White
O Black or African American

30. What is your postal code and state of residence?

O Postal code: _____________ | State: ________)

O Reside outside the U.S: what country do you live in? __________________________)

Thank you for taking the time to complete this questionnaire! Enjoy your day!

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