NWOS Tribal and Public Cognitive Interview Session

_{Cognitive Interview Session Guide}

OMB # 0596-0078

Expiration date: to be updated

*NOTE: The format of this screener guide can be used with any question set in the packet for pretesting.

PREPARATION:

• Identify person to interview

• Send person envelope with a copy of the survey instrument that will be used during the interview, but instruct them not to open the envelope until the interview  Arrange a date and time for the interview (allot 1 hour per interview)

CALLING PERSON:

• Interviewer: <NAME>  Observer(s): <NAME(S)>

INTERVIEWER’S SEAT:

• Clock

• Survey Instrument

• Coffee

OBSERVER(S)’S SEAT:

• Survey instrument

• Notepad/pen to take detailed notes

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TABLE:

• Audio recorder

• Phone

A. OVERVIEW

WELCOME

Good [morning/afternoon/evening]. This is <INTERVIEWR’s NAME> and I will be the interviewer for today’s call. And over the next hour, we will be talking about your land/the land you manage in [state] and more precisely, the part of your land that is covered by trees.

AGENDA

During this call, you will be doing a few things:

• Going through the survey question by question; and

• Answering additional questions from me as you go through the survey.

There are no wrong answers. We want to hear your opinions.

MODERATOR INTRODUCTION

I am a researcher from the USDA Forest Service and I am here to interview you and listen to your answers.

I will apologize upfront that at times you may get frustrated with me. During our interview, you can ask me any questions that you want, but it is highly unlikely that I will be allowed to answer them. But after the interview is over, I will be happy to answer any questions that I can.

I have a series of questions that I need to cover, so at times I may need to ask you to wrap-up your thoughts and we’ll have to move on.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to say thank you for participating in this interview. We really appreciate you taking time out of your schedule to talk with us today.

DISCLOSURES

I also wanted to let you know that we will be using an audio recorder for today’s interview. I am sure you will say many interesting things and we want to make sure we can capture all of it.

These recordings are strictly for research purposes, they will not go beyond the research team. Individual statements will never be attributed to specific individuals, but we may say that landowners in [state] said x.

INTRODUCE OBSERVER(S)

Also on the phone call is <OBSERVERS>. S/he [they] will be observing today’s discussion.

GUIDELINES

To help facilitate today’s discussion, here are a few guidelines:

• Read each question and all of its answer choices aloud.

• Once you read the question, start to think aloud. Tell us any thoughts you might have about the question, the answer choices, or how you will answer the question.

• Talk in a loud, clear voice

• Remember, there are no wrong answers, we want your opinion

• Along the way, we will be asking you questions. For example, we might ask what a certain word means to you, or we might ask you to paraphrase a question in your own words. We might ask why you answered a question in a certain way. We might ask how you arrived at your answer, if the question was easy or hard, or ask you to elaborate on what you were thinking.

PRA

Paperwork Reduction Act Notice

A Federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with an information collection subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 unless the information collection has a currently valid OMB Control Number. The approved OMB Control Number for this information collection is 0596-0078. Without this approval, we could not conduct this survey. Public reporting for this information collection is estimated to be approximately 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the information collection. All responses to this information collection are voluntary. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this information collection, including suggestions for reducing this burden to the U.S.D.A. Forest Service email address [email protected] and include the OMB Control Number in the subject line.

[The rest of the cognitive interviewing time is allotted to going over sections of the public survey/tribal questions below to see how people respond. Choose a subset of the below topics or a subset of the other forms to go over in more detail during the cognitive interview. Interviews will not go beyond the allotted time.]

B. INTRODUCTION

Before we get started, it would be great if we could hear a little bit about you and the land that you own/manage. Can you tell me:

• Where you own/manage land?

• How many acres of land you own/manage?

• How many of these acres are covered by trees?

• Something special or memorable about the land to you.

[For each question, ask:] Was it difficult to answer?

[For each question, ask:] What on here was confusing?

[PUBLIC]

Instructions

• Please provide answers for all of the forested land that is under your agency’s jurisdiction, i.e., “owned” by your agency, in <STATE>.

• Please include land that is under your agency’s jurisdiction, but managed by others.

• Please do NOT include land that your agency manages, but the land is under the jurisdiction of another agency.

• The person who is most knowledgeable about the agency’s forested land in <STATE> should answer this questionnaire.

1. How many total acres of land are currently under your agency’s jurisdiction in <STATE>?

2. Forested land covers XX% of <STATE>.
   Forested land includes:

• Woods, woodlots, timberland, and forests

• Land at least 1 acre in size, 120 feet wide, and has at least 10% forest cover

• Land at least 1 acre in size, where trees were removed and trees will grow again

Forested land does not include:

• Christmas tree farms, orchards, or nurseries

• Land that is mowed for lawn or recreational fields

How many acres of forested land are currently under your agency’s jurisdiction in <STATE>?

3. Approximately what percentage of your agency’s forested land is reserved? Reserved includes land permanently reserved from wood products utilization through statute or administrative designation.

4. How important are the following reasons for why your agency currently has forested land in <STATE>?

5. Which of the following have occurred on your agency’s forested land in <STATE> in the past 5 years?

6. Which of the following will likely occur on your agency’s forested land in <STATE> in the next 5 years?

7. a. Who, with your agency’s permission, has hunted, hiked, or otherwise recreated on your agency’s forested land in <STATE> in the past 5 years?

b. How did they recreate?

8. Approximately what percentage of your agency’s forested land in <STATE> is posted to restrict trespassing?

9. Approximately what percentage of your agency’s forested land in <STATE> is posted to

10. Approximately what percentage of your agency’s forested land in <STATE> is posted to restrict motorized vehicles?

11. A management or stewardship plan may be written in order to help an agency meet its goals for its forested land. What percentage, if any, of your agency’s land is covered by a written management plan?

12. Development rights for land can be sold or voluntarily given away. This is usually in the form of a conservation easement. What percentage, if any, of your agency’s land is covered by a conservation easement?

13. In efforts to reduce the impacts of climate change, public programs and private markets have been created that pay owners of wooded land for capturing or sequestering carbon. What percentage, if any, of your agency’s land is enrolled in a carbon program?

14. To encourage good woodland management, groups have created green certification programs to recognize landowners who comply with the group’s standards. Examples include Tree Farm, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), and Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI).

1. How familiar are you with green certification?

2. What percentage, if any, of your agency’s forested land in <STATE> is currently green certified?

10. Please indicate your level of concern about each of the following topics for your agency’s forested land in <STATE>.

CLOSING

Thank you very much for your time. Before we hang up, do you have any other comments you would like to add?

Thank you and have a good [morning/afternoon/night]!

[TRIBAL]

Initial questions (potential probing questions as sub-bullets):

• What concepts do you use to describe Tribal legal control of land?

  • Ask about specific terminology/words

    • Ownership

    • Tribal

    • Forests/land

• What terms or words do you use to identify forests you are tied to/have rights to?

  • Is there a distinction between ‘tribal forest’ and ‘forest’?

  • Who owns/manages these lands?

  • Does it matter is they are inside or outside a reservation boundary?

• Please describe your relationship with Tribal forests.

  • Who did you directly work for?

  • When was this?

  • What was your role(s)?

  • What is your professional relationship with tribal forests?

  • What is your personal relationship with tribal forests?

  • Is there a distinction between professional and personal relationship?

• What work can we do together?

• Who can potentially benefit from this research and how?

  • How can we make this beneficial to the tribes?

  • Do tribes want this information to be public?

• What would you like us to know about Tribal forest holding, ownership, and relationships?

  • Would the SWOT and AHP concepts/methods work for tribal?

    • Is it appropriate/informative to ask about strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats?

  • What specific concepts are of interest to you?

    • Management, engagement, etc.

  • What timeframe should we focus on?

    • Historical

    • Present

• What concerns do you have about this process or our research?

• Who should we talk to and include in this process?

• What resources and research should we be sure to include as foundational to this work?

  • Non-academic?

  • Non-scientific?

CLOSING

Thank you very much for your time. Before we hang up, do you have any other comments you would like to add?

Thank you and have a good [morning/afternoon/night]!