Justification

Justification for Submission under Federal Lands Transportation Generic Clearance (OMB
Control Number 0596-0236)
U.S. Department of Agriculture-Forest Service

Forest Service Tracking Number: (for internal
use only)

Office of Regulatory and Management Services
Date Submitted to
Forest Service/USDA:
1.

IC Title:

2.

Bureau/Office:

3.

Abstract: (not to exceed 150 words)

Green Point Area Community Needs Assessment - Saginaw Community
Member Questionnaire
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge

This project is designed to engage the Saginaw, Michigan community to provide the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service input on the needs of the community in relation to the restoration and
development of the Green Point Area of Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge. The goal of this
project is to obtain input from the community about their needs and preferences for wildlife,
outdoor recreation, and associated transportation as well as any concerns they may have
regarding the future management of this area. Also, the survey will ask respondents about
their current experiences at the refuge and their level of satisfaction and sense of safety.
Survey information will help to inform the short and long term restoration and management of
the refuge. Through this process the Service hopes to meet community needs related to
outdoor recreation opportunities that are compatible with refuge purposes and ecological
restoration goals of the Service.

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4. Bureau/Office Point of Contact Information
First Name: Lelaina
Last Name: Muth
Title: Deputy Refuge Manager
Bureau/Office:
Street Address:
City:
Phone:
Email:

US Fish and Wildlife Service/Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge
6975 Mower Road
Saginaw
(989)607-6056
[email protected]

State: MI
Zip code: 48601
Fax: (989) 777-9200

5. Principal Investigator (PI) Information [If different from #4]
First Name: Charles
Last Name: Nelson
Title: Associate Professor
Bureau/Office:
Address:
City:
Phone:
Email:
6.

Michigan State University/Department of Community Sustainability
480 Wilson Road
East Lansing
State: MI
Zip code: 48824
Fax:
(517) 432-0272
[email protected]

Lead agency IC Clearance Officer Reviewing the IC:
First Name Madonna
Last Name Baucum
Title USFWS Information Collections Clearance Officer
Phone (703) 358-2503
Email [email protected]

7.

(mm/dd/yyyy)
IC Dates

8.

to

07/01/2018

(mm/dd/yyyy)
12/31/2018

Type of Information Collection Instrument (Check ALL that Apply)

__Intercept __Telephone
__Other

Explain:

X
__Mail

__Electronic __Interviews __Focus Groups

__Comment Cards

9. Instrument and Method Development:
Who assisted in development of the methodology, questionnaire and/or statistics? Describe any pre-testing
and/or peer review that was conducted. How were improvements integrated?
The survey instrument was designed by Dr. Charles Nelson of Michigan State University. Michigan State University and
Dr. Nelson in particular have conducted numerous community needs assessments at the township, city, county and state
level over the past 25 years across Michigan including two Michigan State Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation (SCORP)
Plans (2003, 2008). Dr. Nelson has completed surveys of outdoor recreation participants for the US Forest Service,
Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and the MI Department of Transportation. The survey was reviewed by the
Chief of Visitor Services for the Midwest Region, the Service's Human Dimensions Division, and refuge staff. Survey
questions were edited and/or added to address all reviewer concerns. For example, two questions regarding visitor sense
of safety was added to address reviewers' comments regarding potential reasons for not visiting the site.

10. Which of the six areas from the Compendium of Questions will be addressed in your IC? (Check
all that apply). .
X Topic Area #1: Respondent Characteristics
Topic Area #2: Traveler Information
X Topic Area #3: Trip Behaviors
Topic Area #4: Transportation Use and Travel Related Conditions
X
Topic Area #5: Assessment of Visitor Experience
Topic Area #6: Economic Impact and Visitor Spending/Costs
In addition, for each question in your survey instrument (or discussion guide, comment card, etc),
please indicate the Compendium Topic Area and the unique question identifier from the
Compendium. If the question is not taken from the Compendium, indicate “NEW”. See the
instructions for a sample table.
11. Methodology:
(Use as much space as needed; if necessary include additional explanation on separate page).
a. Population (i.e.,
Respondent
Universe)
b. Sampling
Plan/Procedure

c. Instrument
Administration

The respondent universe for the proposed information collection will be registered
voters in Saginaw County, Michigan. Registered voters will be selected with the
assistance of the Saginaw City and County Clerks.
The sample of registered voters will include a substantial sub-sample within the area served by the
Southwest Saginaw Neighborhood Association (close to the Green Point Area). 500 registered voters
in the Southwest Saginaw Neighborhood Association and 1,000 registered voters from elsewhere in
the county will be randomly selected and receive the survey. This will ensure those within walking
distance of the Green Point Area are engaged as well as the broader community of Saginaw.
The survey will be mailed to all 1500 selected registered voters. Participants will be asked to mail
back the survey in a pre-paid envelope. A reminder post card will be mailed three weeks later and
then a second mailing of the entire questionnaire will be mailed three weeks after the post card to
those who have still not responded.

d. Expected Response
Rate and Confidence
Levels

27% response rate
95% confidence interval

e. Strategies for dealing
with potential nonresponse bias

Non response will be dealt with by phone contact with a subsample of 50 non-respondents
asking a shortened version of the questionnaire. This is becoming more challenging as fewer
people have land lines and those only with cell phones are increasingly less likely to respond to a
phone call from an unknown phone number based on general trends in social science. We will
also compare the demographics of the respondents with Census data from Saginaw County as a
whole and specifically from those originating within the Southwest Saginaw Neighborhood
Association per the Census data within the limitations of the survey data. Should a portion of the
population of Saginaw County appear to be under represented it will be discussed in the
limitations section of the report.

12.
13.

1500
Total Number of Initial Contacts and
405
Expected Number of Respondents
Initial
contact will be in the form of a cover letter that is sent out with
Estimated Time to Complete Initial Contact
the survey instrument. It should take 20 minutes to review this letter
and Time to Complete Instrument
and complete the survey.

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14.

Total Burden Hours
Contacts
Respondents
----------------Total

1095 non-respondents X 2 min (to read cover letter) = 36.5
405 respondents X 20 min = 135
171.5 hours

15. Reporting Plan:
The results of the survey will be summarized by Michigan State University and provided to the Service in the form of a presentation and
report. We also plan to hold a public meeting to discuss what we learned from the survey.

16. Justification, Purpose, and Use:
IC Justification and Purpose

IC Goals

How will the results be used
(e.g., utility to Managers)?

Refuge staff has been striving to increase awareness of the refuge within the local
community. The Green Point Area is located right within the City of Saginaw, but refuge
staff often hear that the public is not aware of its location or the recreation and activities
it provides. The refuge would like to make the Green Point Area a popular and important
asset for the community and by connecting with 1,500 members of Saginaw County and
understanding their outdoor recreation needs, this community needs assessment will
greatly help us in reaching that goal.

The goal of this project is for the Service (through working with Michigan State University to conduct
the survey) to obtain input from the community about their needs and preferences for wildlife, outdoor
recreation and associated transportation as well as any concerns they may have regarding the future
management of this area. Additionally, our goal is to ensure public engagement and involvement
throughout the decision making process for the Green Point Area. We truly want this area to be a
community resource that the public feels ownership of.

Overall, the survey information will help to inform the short and long term restoration
and management of the Green Point Area by the Service. Through this process the
Service hopes to meet community needs related to outdoor recreation opportunities that
are compatible with refuge purposes and ecological restoration goals of the Service.

How will the data be tabulated and analyzed? What statistical techniques will be used to generalize
the results to the entire customer population? How will limitations on use of data be handled? If the
survey results in a lower than anticipated response rate, how will you address this when reporting
the results? (Use as much space as needed; if necessary include additional explanation on separate page).
Excel and the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) will be used for data analysis. Data is entered in Excel, transported to SPSS and
analyzed with SPSS. Probability statistics including simple descriptive statistics (median, mean) will be used, as will interval scales and ordinal
scales to illustrate preferences of respondents and preferences of respondents about significant issues (e.g. trails, sense of security). Open-ended
responses will be read and categorized/grouped per the professional judgment of the researchers. Responses will be presented in aggregate
across the Saginaw County voter sample, as well as responses in aggregate for the sub-sample of registered voters residing within the bounds of
the Southwest Saginaw Neighborhood Association. Tables will be used to provide understandable quantitative data. All this will be provided in the
written report. No citizen will be identified in this report and all respondents will be confidential. Any open ended additional comments will be
reported verbatim, except that any person’s name mentioned will be removed, spelling errors will be corrected as well as possible and any vulgar
language will also be struck.
The goal of this analysis is to understand public preferences and perceptions of suggested management options (proposed by both the public and
the Service) for the future restoration and management of the Green Point area. Limitations of the data will be stated within the report. If response
rates are lower than the 27% anticipated, this will be reported. However, there will not be additional sampling conducted.

Is this survey intended to measure a Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) performance
measure? If so, please include an excerpt from the appropriate document. (Use as much space as
needed; if necessary include additional explanation on separate page).

This project would help meet the following goals from GPRA: (1) Improve protection of lives, property and
assets, advance the use of scientific knowledge, and improve the quality of life for the communities we
serve (2) Improve recreation opportunities for America

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Certification Form for Submission Under OMB Control Number 0596-0236
This form should only be used if you are submitting a collection of information for approval
under the USDA-Forest Service Federal Lands Transportation Generic Clearance.
If the collection does not satisfy the requirements of the Generic Clearance, you should follow
the regular PRA clearance procedures described in 5 CFR 1320.

Bureau/Office
US Fish and Wildlife Service/Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge

IC Title (Please be specific)
Green Point Area Community Needs Assessment - Saginaw Community Member Questionnaire

Estimated Number
Contacts
Respondents

1500
405

Time per Response
Contacts
Respondents
Total Burden Hours
Contacts
Respondents
----------------Total

1095 (2 min)
405 (20 min)
1095 X 2 min
405 X 20 min
171.5 hours

Bureau/Office Contact (who can best answer questions about content of the submission):

Name

Lelaina Muth

Phone

(989) 607-6056

Certification: The collection of information requested by this submission meets the
requirements of OMB control number 0596-0236
Bureau/Office Qualified Statistician

DATE

Bureau/Office Information Collection Clearance Officer

DATE

Forest Service, Office of Regulatory and Management Services

DATE

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