Chattooga Justification Wild & Scenic River

Justification for Submission under Federal Lands Transportation Generic Clearance (OMB Control Number 0596-0236)

U.S. Department of Agriculture-Forest Service Office of Regulatory and Management Services

Forest Service Tracking Number: (for internal use only) 2016-5-FS

				Date Submitted to Forest Service/USDA:
1.	IC Title:	RECREATION USE QUESTIONNAIRE Chattooga Wild and Scenic River
2.	Bureau/Office:	USDA Forest Service
3.	Abstract: (not to exceed 150 words) This intercept survey is one component of a program to document impacts and use levels resulting from the January 31, 2012 Decision Notice and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the Upper Segment of the Chattooga Wild and Scenic River (Chattooga WSR) Corridor. The overriding goal of the decision and management directive is to ensure that use levels are not exceeding capacities and that experiential conditions for visitors to the Chattooga WSR are meeting standards defined in the environmental review. The qualitative survey data will be used to characterize quantitative use data collected from trail and traffic counters in order to establish estimates of total visitor use and characterize use by recreational activity. The intercept survey will support a deeper understanding of the quality of the recreational experience occurring in the Chattooga WSR and assist land managers in identifying potential conflicts and other capacity related issues.
4.	Bureau/Office Point of Contact Information
	First Name:	Joseph
	Last Name:	Robles
	Title:	Recreation Program Manager
	Bureau/Office:	USDA Forest Service (FS), Francis Marion & Sumter Forests
	Address:	4931 Broad River Roads
	City:	Columbia	State:		SC	Zip code:		29212
	Phone:	803-561-4067	Fax:		803-561-4004
	Email:	[email protected]
5.	Principal Investigator (PI) Information [If different from #4]
	First Name:	Benjamin
	Last Name:	Ellis
	Title:	Senior Project Manager
	Bureau/Office:	Louis Berger Group
	Address:	P.O. Box 6310
	City:	Jackson	State:		WY	Zip code:		83002
	Phone:	307-733-0222	Fax:
	Email:	[email protected]

6.

Lead Agency IC Clearance Officer Reviewing the IC:

First Name:

Kerri P.

Last Name:

Mills

Title:

Acting Information Collections Officer

Phone:

(202) 205-9967

Email:

[email protected]

7.

Description of Population/Potential Respondents

Surveys will be conducted with recreational visitors (18 years of age and older) who visit the Chattooga WSR during the study Period.

8.

IC Dates

2/1/2016

To

11/31/2017

9.

Type of Information Collection Instrument (Check ALL that Apply)

X Intercept

__ Telephone

__ Mail

__ Web-based

__ Focus Groups

__ Comment Cards

__ Other

Explain:

10. Instrument Development:

(Who assisted in content development? Statistics? Was the instrument pretested? How were improvements integrated?)

The survey instrument was developed using pre-approved questions from the Generic Compendium of Questions with minor modifications to align the questionnaire with the site conditions and visitor issues associated with the Chattooga WSR. Social scientists at Louis Berger, a professional land planning company, prepared the survey instrument. The survey instrument was revised based on input from Senior Staff of Louis Berger Group, and FS personnel. Once approved by OMB, Louis Berger’s Staff will conduct the fieldwork as one part of a broader transportation and visitor use study.

Pre-testing and consultation was conducted with 10 volunteer participants identified by the Louis Berger Group, FS contractor, and with no specific background or training in survey research methods or analysis (i.e., representative of the general public, rather than survey experts). In particular, the individuals were asked to complete the questionnaire, and asked a series of debriefing questions after to elicit their feedback on the practical utility of the study, questionnaire/respondent burden, quality and clarity of the questionnaires and instructions, and ways to minimize respondent burden.

11. Which of the five 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

X Topic Area #4: Assessment of Visitor Experiences and Transportation-Related Facilities, Conditions, and Services

• Topic Area #5: 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”.

Survey Question Number	Compendium Topic Area	Compendium Question Identifier
1	#1 – Respondent characteristics	AGE11
2	#1 – Respondent characteristics	RES1
3	#1 – Respondent characteristics	GROUP5
4	#1 – Respondent characteristics	GROUP1
5	#1 – Respondent characteristics	TRANUSE16
6	#3 – Trip Behaviors	TPURP1
7	#1 – Respondent characteristics	VHIS3
8	#3 – Trip Behaviors	TDUR8
9	#3 – Trip Behaviors	TDUR2
10	#3 – Trip Behaviors	TACT1/TACT5
11	#3 – Trip Behaviors	TRANS34/TRANS35
12	#3 – Trip Behaviors	TRANS34/TRANS35
13	#3 – Trip Behaviors	TRANUSE26
14	#3 – Trip Behaviors	TRANS34/TRANS35
15	#4 – Assessment of Visitor Experience	RESPRO1
16	#4 – Assessment of Visitor Experience	EVAL23
17	#4 – Assessment of Visitor Experience	EVAL19
18	#4 – Assessment of Visitor Experience	EVAL17
19	#4 – Assessment of Visitor Experience	OPIN6
20	#4 – Assessment of Visitor Experience	OPIN6
21	#4 – Assessment of Visitor Experience	EVAL23
22	#4 – Assessment of Visitor Experience	EVAL32

12. Methodology:

(Use as much space as needed; if necessary include additional explanation on separate page).

Respondent Universe

The respondent universe includes all areas in the Upper Chattooga WSR: primary public recreation sites, facilities, trailheads, and parking areas. The on-site questionnaire will be conducted on visitors between April 1, 2016, and March 31, 2017; this will represent the visitors for all seasons at the site.

Sampling Plan/Procedure

Field staff will follow a stratified random sampling method, including:

• interviews collected simultaneously with spot counts;

• a sampling day (8 hours) beginning either 1 hour after sunrise or end 1 hour before sunset and focused either on the AM or PM time period;

• start times weighted AM=0.33, PM=0.66 over the entire study;

• defined study zones to ensure each zone receives equal coverage during a single survey day;

• peak season sampling about 9 days a month with randomly selected 6 weekend days and 3 weekday;

• a minimum of one day of each peak season holiday weekend (Memorial Day, 4th of July [Monday in 2016], and Labor Day);

• survey only persons 18 years of age or older;

• select a single person randomly from a group (e.g., closest birthday to survey date).

To accurately capture winter recreational use of project area, intercept surveys will be conducted at a limited number of sites and times starting in April 2016 through March 2017. Sampling generally follows the same methods as the peak season sampling (e.g., start/stop times, trip direction, intercept survey methods). The number of off-season surveys/spot count visits will be reduced to two weekend days per month for October/November and April/May and one weekend day per month during December.

Instrument Administration

Visitors at the study sites will be read the following introduction script:

“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.”

If YES: "Thank you. Are you at least 18 years of age? Would you be willing to complete this questionnaire?”

Instrument Administration

(continued)

Staff from Louis Berger will administer the survey verbally and enter the answers into the questionnaire on iPads. Data will be uploaded at the end of each day to company servers and a backup copy will remain on each iPad until quality assurance of the uploaded data is completed.

If NO: “I understand and I hope you enjoy your visit.”

Expected Response Rate and Confidence Levels

From past intercept surveys conducted by Louis Berger staff at rural recreation sites, we estimate that response rates will be about 90 percent of all qualified respondents and 10 percent of qualified respondents (people over 18 years old) will decline to participate in the intercept survey. People decline to participate for a wide variety of reasons that may include limited time and lack of interest in participating in the survey. From past studies, we estimate that there are about 4,000 to 6,000 visitors at the four intercept survey locations during the six months when the primary survey effort will be conducted. The target intercept survey of 300 represents more than 5% of the total population.

Strategies for dealing with potential non-response bias

Overall, the study team expects a high level of participations. The primary strategy for reducing non-response bias is by having friendly professional staff administering the survey, reminding people that no personal data will be collected, and designing the survey to be short and clear. The survey has been reviewed by professional social scientists, FS District Rangers that work in the Upper Chattooga WSR, and senior Forest Service managers.

Description of any pre-testing and peer review of the methods and/or instrument (recommended)

The survey methods and instruments for this study were reviewed by Staff members of Louis Berger, Senior Social Science Researchers, and various levels of Forest Service employees for the Upper Chattooga WSR. Further, the questions in this survey are similar to those used in previous studies at several other National Forest Recreation Areas and National Parks that were reviewed and approved by the Office of Management and Budget as part of the Federal Land Management Agencies Compendium of Questions (OMB Control No. 0596-0236).

Pre-testing and consultation were conducted with 12 volunteer participants identified by Louis Berger, the individuals were representative of the general public. In particular, the individuals were asked to complete the questionnaire, then asked a series of debriefing questions after to elicit their feedback on the practical utility of the study, questionnaire/respondent burden, quality and clarity of the questionnaire, and ways to minimize respondent burden.

The feedback from the pre-test participants was positive. Participants indicated that the layout of the questionnaires and question wording were straightforward, which helps to minimize respondent burden. The time it took each respondent to complete the questionnaire was recorded by the pre-test administrators: 8-10 minutes was the typical response time; validating the burden estimates reported in the submission and suggests that participation in the study does not cause undue/excessive respondent burden.

Participants in the pre-test offered minor suggestions to improve the wording or format of specific questions in the survey instruments, and revisions to the questionnaires were made accordingly.

13.

Total Number of Initial Contacts and Expected Number of Respondents

Initial Contacts: 400

Expected Respondents: 300

14.

Estimated Time to Complete Initial Contact and Time to Complete Instrument

Initial contact: 1 minute

Instrument completion: 10 minutes

15.

Total Burden Hours

Contacts

Respondents

-------------------

Total

6.67 hours

50 hours

-------------------

56.67 hours

16. Reporting Plan: A draft and final report will be prepared that summarizes the methodology used to collect the intercept and other quantitative data.

17. Justification, Purpose, and Use:

IC Justification and Purpose

The intercept survey is one component of a program to document impacts and use levels resulting from the January 31, 2012 Decision Notice and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the Upper Segment of the Chattooga Wild and Scenic River corridor. The survey data will be used to characterize quantitative use data collected from direct observation counts, trail and traffic counters to establish estimates of total use, and characterize the use by recreational activity. The surveys will support a deeper understanding of the quality of the recreational experience occurring in the Upper Chattooga River WSR, and assist land managers in identifying conflicts and other capacity related issues.

IC Goals

Characterize baseline quantitative data collected from traffic and trail counters for front and backcountry visitors to the Upper Chattooga WSR.

Utility to Managers

Results from the study will provide FS with baseline travel and recreational use data and assist land managers in understanding how visitors experience the Upper Chattooga WSR. The study will also provide estimates of use as compared to capacity levels established in the FONSI for the Upper Chattooga WSR.

How will the results of the IC be analyzed and used?

The report will be used to establish baseline recreational and travel patterns within the Upper Chattooga WSR.

How will the data be tabulated? 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).

The qualitative and quantitate study will generate extensive data that will require analysis to establish estimates of use. Staff will analyze the visitor use data, survey data, trail counter, camera counters, and traffic count data to develop recreation use and capacity estimates for each site based on FS established use levels.

The data will be reported as descriptive statistics for all of the major variables collected (e.g., group size, perceptions of crowding, activities, etc.). For each question or variable in the survey, staff will present the overall percentages, averages, modes and ranges (where applicable) in a table and/or chart form.

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). No.