Beginning this fall, visitors to the Superior and Chippewa National Forests may see uniformed Forest Service employees wearing bright orange vests, near a sign that says “TrafficSurvey Ahead.” These trained interviewers want to know about your visit to the national forests. According to Forest Service spokesperson Kris Reichenbach, the information they are collecting is vital to the Forest Service goal of maintaining quality recreation services and meeting visitor needs, so please pull over for an interview. All information you give is confidential and the survey is voluntary.
This ongoing visitor use survey is conducted once every five years on each national forest. Surveys have already occurred at least twice on all of the national forests across the country. On the two national forests in Minnesota, the third round of the survey is beginning to add to information previously gathered.
The survey provides national forest managers with an estimate of how many people recreate on federal lands, what activities they engage in while there, and recreation trends over time. Another important piece of information for national forest managers and tourism planners is an indication of how satisfied people were with their visit and an indication of the impact of recreation visits on the local economy. This information is also used by state agencies and Congress.
The basic survey interview lasts about eight to 13 minutes. Visitors are asked where they recreated on the forest, how many people they traveled with, how long they were on the forest, what other sites they visited while on the forest, and how satisfied they were with the facilities and services provided. About a third of the visitors surveyed will be asked to take a few minutes more to complete a confidential survey on recreation spending during their trip.
Although the survey is entirely voluntary, it would be appreciated if visitors would pull up and answer a few questions. It is important for personnel to talk with local people using the forest as well as out-of-area visitors so that local usage is represented in the study. The visitor’s name is never recorded on the survey. The more that is known about visitor activities, satisfaction, and desires, the better managers can meet visitor needs. More information about this national survey is available at: www.fs.fed.us/ recreation/programs/nvum/
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