NVUM Pre-work Help 11/27/06
Due dates & Funding
Q. What is the pre-work due date?
A. The pre-work is due May 15 of the year the forest will survey. For example, if the forest is
scheduled to begin surveys and interviews October 2008, the pre-work is due May 2008. Once
the NVUM team receives the pre-work information, it is checked for errors. Once all errors are
corrected a calendar of sample days is selected. The sooner the pre-work is completed, the
sooner the forest receives it schedule of sample days and can plan their field work. There is a lot
of preparation time needed to get the forest ready to conduct the field surveys. The sample
calendar should be reviewed carefully since some forests find sites listed on their sample
calendars that are actually closed or inaccessible on the scheduled survey day. To correct this,
the pre-work must be redone and the calendars rerun. Doing your pre-work thoroughly and
turning it in on time can avoid many problems.
Q. Who is paying for this pre-work? How much are we getting?
A. Each forest will receive $5,000 to complete the pre-work. The money comes from NFIM
(Forest Inventory & Monitoring) and is coordinated through the Regional Office and Forest
Supervisor’s Office. Check with your regional coordinator if you have trouble claiming the dollars.
PREWORK QUESTIONS
Day Use Developed Sites
Q. Do we list Forest Service Information offices in DUDS even if they are located on private
land (like in town)?
A. Generally Forest Service offices do not meet the definition of a recreation site. They are
information collection points but most of the time visitors are not recreating at the site itself. If the
FS Office has a major interpretive exhibit or other recreation facility AND it is ON FS land, you
can list it as a DUDS. In the past some forests did list these sites found that people are not really
recreating at ranger stations and the survey questions do not make much sense to the people
being interviewed. These types of sites should be made “inactive” in the pre-work database.
Overnight Use Developed Sites
Q. Will various site types (campgrounds, recreation cabins, resorts, etc) be disaggregated
within OUDS so that only campgrounds will be randomly selected among population of
campgrounds, only resorts be selected among resorts, etc.?
A. There is no distinction of facility types (cabins, campgrounds, resorts....) within the OUDS site
type. All have equal probability of sampling. The distinction that is made is with respect to the
volume of EXIT traffic by day (very high, high, medium, low, and no use). For OUDS proxy sites,
proxy codes can be used to group like sites. Each proxy code will have at least 8 sample days
assigned, thus ensuring each different type of facility appears in the sample.
Q. On the Appalachian trail (GFA) there are overnight cabins/shelters. Do we list the
cabins under OUDS or under the GFA?
A. List the larger cabins under OUDS. Don't list simple trail shelters that serve the same purpose
as a dispersed campsite. The trail exit points will be listed under the GFA.
Q. In Alaska Wildernesses there are many overnight cabins. Do we list the cabins under
OUDS or under Wilderness?
A. In Alaska only, list the Wilderness cabins as Wilderness exit points. Do not list in OUDS. Data
from Year 1 and 2 samples show we did not obtain any Wilderness cabin users in our interviews.
This is different than the Appalachian Trail situation because under the GFA and OUDS all use
gets added together to report total Recreation Use for the Forest. Under the Wilderness situation
we need to report Forest Wilderness use separately and if the Wilderness cabins were listed
under the OUDS category the use for the Wilderness would be double counted.
Q. We have some sample days for campgrounds that will be closed for repair (received
CIP funding after we did the pre-work). I assume we replace those from the alternative list?
A . YOU SHOULD MARK THE CLOSED SITE AS ZERO USE on the Daily Summary form and
turn it in. It also would not hurt to check the site out and make sure no use is occurring even
though normal access is closed. This solution is not intuitively obvious but it makes sense from a
forest and national perspective in the study. Here's why. First, we are not estimating use for a
specific site, only for types of sites. This site came to your attention because it was selected for
sampling. What about all the sites that were listed on your pre-work spreadsheet that did not get
selected for sampling? Are some of the closed for reconstruction? The point is you would not
mention this to us because your attention would not be drawn to it, and we would be attributing
use to this closed site. So unless forests constantly monitored their pre-work spreadsheet and
the open/closed status of specific sites we could never draw the perfect sample. We do think this
problem balances out both regionally and nationally. This is why we want you to just list the
selected sample site as Zero use, fill in the upper right corner about why the zero use and turn in
the Daily summary form. No substitutions needed.
General Forest Area Category
Q. Our forest has lots of homes adjacent to the forest boundary. We think these people
use the national forest but they access the forest from their backyard, not established
roads or trails. How can we capture this use?
A. Unfortunately, this is a weakness in the NVUM use estimates and this backyard use is not
accounted for. To protect visitor’s privacy we cannot go door-to-door to find out what people are
doing. Studies are under discussion with research scientists to investigate the scope of this type
of forest use.
Q Some high-speed roads that will be listed on the GFA or Viewing Corridor spreadsheet
and have no reasonable/ safe places to set up interview sites. Where do we put our sample
points?
A. In the pre-work under the “data entry” tab, select edit sites, then either GFA or View Corridor
from the top drop-down menu. On the middle right of the screen is a box labeled “unsafe
interview location”. Check this box if there is no safe interview location, otherwise leave it blank.
If this box is checked the site will most likely NOT be selected for sampling.
Q. We have a “safe” interview location on our GFA road, but people travel at very high speed and
most of them don’t stop. How are these sites handled?
A. The NVUM calendar selection program avoids high speed roads for sample selection unless
no other GFA travelways are available. In the “data entry” tab, select “edit sites” and the GFA
choice on the drop down menu. Near the bottom left of the screen is a “travelway” field. The
drop down menu offers two choices – low speed or high speed road. Choose one. Low speed
roads are 35 miles an hour or less, high speed roads are over 35 miles an hour.
Q. Our Forest has a lot of water- lakes and rivers owned by the state but the access (boat
launches, trails) is managed by the forest service. With the current rule about not listing
interior boat launches I am afraid we will miss the GFA use because the entrance/exit to
these sites is not on national forest land.
A. You should count the lake use if the land under the lake belongs to the forest service. If the
access point is on the interior of the forest, trace the forest service road that accesses it to its exit
point on the forest boundary. Put the GFA exit point here. Anyone using the lake access point
will have to exit at this point and will potentially be captured in the sample. If the access point is
along the forest boundary, but the GFA exit point here, even if it is not on forest service land. You
will need to get permission from the land manager to conduct interviews if this site is chosen, but
most forests have not problem getting this permission.
Q. Some of our GFA exit points are not FS owned roads. Should we still list them? Are we
supposed to interview on non-FS roads?
A. Yes you should list these points. However, before you interview at non- FS locations you must
get permission from the entity that is responsible for that road. In most cases they will allow you
to interview.
Wilderness
Q. We have a trailhead that starts in GFA and leads to a Wilderness. The first 2 miles of
the trail are in GFA. Is the trail listed as both General Forest and Wilderness exit points in
the database?
A. Yes, it's very possible to have one sample point be used for multiple strata. Let’s assume the
GFA trailhead is located at the Forest boundary or along a major highway. Therefore, the
trailhead is a GFA sample point. The location of the Wilderness exit point can either be 2 miles
up the trail at the Wilderness boundary or at the trailhead.
If the trailhead is an interior site (perhaps 20 miles from the forest boundary), then the Wilderness
exit point is at the trailhead, but the GFA exit point is on the forest road at the forest boundary.
Q. We have only a part of Wilderness on our forest. There are two other forests that also
have some of this Wilderness within their forest boundary. Which trailheads should we
list in our pre-work database?
A. Generally, each forest lists the trailheads or access points located on their proclaimed lands.
This study reports the amount of Wilderness use by Forest, not by Wilderness. If only one forest
has administrative responsibility for the entire Wilderness (and it is printed “administered by xxx
Forest” on the forest map, then only that forest should list ALL the Wilderness trailheads. This
rule is different than round 1. Be sure to check all Wilderness trailheads in round 2 and if some
trailheads are administered by another forest, make them “inactive” in the nvum pre-work
database.
Another example of when you might list a Wilderness access point located on another forest is
when Wilderness users from your forest EXIT on another forest. For example, river users on the
Bear River travel through Smokey Wilderness on your forest, but the takeout is on the adjacent
forest. To capture these river users you will need to list the takeout point on the adjacent forest in
YOUR pre-work. It is helpful to fill in the “comments” section for this exit point and explain why it
is listed in your database.
Viewing Corridors
Q. What roads (or travelways) can be listed as View Corridors in the pre-work?
A. Appendix A of the Pre-work handbook defines View Corridors and explains what travelways
qualify for this category. Essentially, travelways on non-forest service managed lands such as
state, interstate, or county highways, rivers, trails, trains, and boats qualify if they meet certain
criteria. These travelways are ALWAYS non-forest service owned. Airplane travel that does not
originate on NFS lands is not included in this category.
In the pre-work database, under the “data entry” tab, select the “edit sites” choice. Go to the View
Corridor category by choosing it in the drop down menu at the top of the screen. Near the middle
of the screen is a “scenic byways” item, click on the drop down menu. A list of national and state
scenic travelways appears. If any of these occur on or near your forest you may list them. If you
determine some qualifying travelways are not listed on the drop-down selection, you may add
them from the “data entry” tab, “edit scenic byways” choice. Once added, the choice will appear
in all drop down screens while editing sites.
In the edit sites tab for View Corridors you will also need to include the begin milepost of the
travelway as it relates to your forest and the segment length in miles. Potential interview
locations include rest areas, ferry terminals, train stations, etc. If a safe interview location is
available enter the latitude and longitude of this site. If a safe interview location is not available
enter the lat/ long of the begin milepost. Use the directions text box to describe the interview site
location. If proxy information is available (traffic counts, tickets sold, etc.) provide this information
in the data base. Use the comments text box to explain the location of the proxy count
(Department of Transportation, 517.566.7740 for traffic counts at milepost 54).
Q. Why aren't we counting everyone who travels the roads under the Viewing Corridor
category? It seems to us that everyone who travels the road is benefiting from viewing the
national forest scenery whether they are a commercial truck driver or a family on vacation.
Also, by interviewing only people who choose to stop at convenient interview locations
like rest stops along these high-speed roads we would be biasing the sample. Commuters
aren't likely to stop at a rest stop but would wait to get to their office to use the facilities.
A. The view scenery component of our recreation use number reporting has always been
debated. That's why it’s broken out as a separate category and use is reported separate from
national forest visits. A maximum of 8 sample days are dedicated to VC on a forest, therefore the
use estimate has a high coefficient of variation. A separate daily summary form and interview
form are used in VC sample days and different sample methods are also used. For details
consult the Interviewers Handbook.
Off-Forest Category
Q. In Round 1 we had some roads listed as Off-Forest. Is there an Off-Forest category in
Round 2?
A. No. The Off-Forest category was eliminated after several years of testing for several reasons.
First, it was not sampled because use does not occur on national forest lands. Second, it
overlaps with the View Corridor category.
Q. If we have sites listed in the Off-Forest category in our pre-work what should we do with
them?
A. Make the sites listed “inactive” by using the “edit sites” screen in the pre-work database. If any
of the travelways meet the new View Corridor definition, create new sites in the View Corridor
screen using the “edit sites” tab.
Proxy Data
Q. We have some OUDS that are fee sites but have no compliance data, or unreliable
information on compliance, even though fee envelopes are collected. Are these to be
included in the proxy or non-proxy sites?
A. Most likely these sites should be included in the proxy sites. If you think compliance is less
than 80% then do not include it as proxy. If you think it’s 80% or better include it.
Q. What should we put in the spreadsheet under the column for compliance rate? We
don’t know ours for most of our sites. We do have some sites that are concession and the
operator assures us no one gets to camp there without paying during the concession
season. Can we list these as 100% compliance rate?
A. Under the compliance field of the pre-work database only list KNOWN compliance rates from
actual field compliance checks. Do not enter any guesses or put in a blanket 80%. We don’t
want guesses. Leave this column blank if the compliance rate is unknown and we will calculate
one from the study data. If your concession is very certain they capture fees from everyone then
you could have 100% compliance while the operator is at the site.
Q. On proxy codes, if a campground is less than 100% reserved (let's say 50% or less), fee
envelopes are only collected for the non-reserved sites as the reserved sites have prepaid
confirmation.... what proxy code should be used?
A. An acceptable proxy code would be DUR4, number of site nights occupied. The reservation
system will be able to provide the total number of site nights reserved and you will need to add in
the number of sites reserved from fee envelope information. All this information should be
combined before reporting the proxy number upward. In the past, reservation records were not
allowed as proxy, however, the new reservation system is providing more detailed information
which will be more reliable than estimating use at these campgrounds with traffic counters.
Q. If a campground has a group site 100% reserved, but the rest of the family sites are only
partially reserved, what proxy should be used? At the end of the season the
concessionaire accounts for all sites regardless of reserve/non-reserve, so what is the
most practical for this study?
A. The group campground should be listed as a separate site from the family campground in the
pre-work database. The site name should also be distinct. For example, site names might be
Squirrel Family Campground and Squirrel Group Campground. Each site then has it’s own proxy
code: The family campground might be DUR4 and the group campground might be DUR5. The
number codes at the end of proxy codes indicate the unit being measured. In this case a 4
indicates that “a family site” is being measured and a 5 indicates a large group site is being
measured. For complete proxy code definitions check the help feature in the pre-work database.
Q. Why do group sites get different proxy codes than family style sites? When is
something defined as a group site?
A. Group sites are sites with a PAOT of over 15 people. If the proxy data counts “occupied sites”
the proxy code will be DUR5. If the proxy counts “number of groups” the proxy code will be FR5.
Recreation Events
Q. How are recreation special events accounted for?
A. The use at recreation special events will be reported on the Recreation Special Events and
Organizational Camp Use Form. This report is due to the NVUM field program manager every
quarter. See the Interviewer’s Handbook for more details.
Q. Our Forest puts on major events during National Fishing Week such as a fishing derby.
These events definitely increase the use for that particular day but the exact day is not
predictable a year ahead of time. The event would not get counted on the Recreation
Events report because it’s not a special use permit, since it’s sponsored and run by the
Forest Service. What should we do? How do we list this on the spreadsheet?
A. Although a special use permit is not required, it is still a special event. List this on the
Recreation Special Events form and give your best guess of the number of people who attended
the event. Do not use this as a regular scheduled interview day if it comes up, use the backup
calendar to pick a substitute day.
Recreation Residences
Q. Should we list all the recreation residences under the Overnight Developed Sites?
A. No. Recreation residence visitation will be sampled as part of GFA use. Just be sure to
include any special entrance/exit roads that are used by recreation residences in your GFA list.
Some forests have roads that only access recreation residences so remember to list them in the
pre-work database.
Database Questions
Editing, Sharing & Storing the Database
Q. Several people will be putting data into the pre-work database. Can we all work on the
same database, keeping all updates in one database?
A. Yes, but this must be done carefully. The NVUM pre-work database should only be worked
on in the C drive. You may store it in the J or K drive, but do not edit it there. Only one person at
a time can edit the database. They should edit in the C drive, store it in the J drive, and another
person can retrieve it from the J drive, put it in the C drive, edit it, then store it in J again.
Q. What does “upload” the database mean? How do I do it?
A. Uploading the database means transferring the data from your computer to the NVUM team.
Click on the “upload” tab and then click on the “start uploads” button. You will see a box with
information about the data being transferred to an ftp site. It may take several minutes for the
upload to complete and you will see an “upload successful” message in the box. If there is an
error message you will need to investigate further.
Q. My uploads won’t work, I keep getting an error message. What should I do?
A. First, be sure you are uploading from the C drive. You cannot upload from any other drive.
Next, make sure the network connections are operating. If you still cannot upload successfully,
contact the NRIS helpdesk.
Q. How often should we upload the pre-work database?
A. Every time edits are made the database should be uploaded. This will provide a convenient
backup copy.
Q. What should we do once we are completely finished editing the database?
A. Do a final upload and then send a note to Don English and Sue Kocis letting them know you
are all done.
Edit Sites Data Screen
Q. I have more than 50 sites in some of the categories. Can I copy rows of dates and paste
them into other sites?
A. Yes. You can copy and paste a set of calendar dates and use levels. On the “data entry” tab
select “edit calendar”. Go to the site from which you wish to COPY the calendar and use levels.
Near the middle right of the screen located “Default Calendar Entries” and click the COPY key. If
you have checked the “confirm” box a message will pop up asking if you want to copy this set of
dates. Click “yes”. If you wish to view the saved calendar click “View” under the Default
Calendar Entries area. Next, go to the site at which you wish to paste this calendar. Then click
PASTE. Again, a message will pop up asking if you wish to replace the current calendar for this
site with the saved calendar. Click “yes”. If you have many sites to do, you can de-activate the
confirm message by removing the check next to the “confirm” box.
You can only save one calendar at a time. Also you must save the entire calendar and cannot
just select one row of dates. Also, you can only paste the entire calendar and cannot just replace
one line.
Q. A campground listed in the pre-work database no longer exits – it was burnt in a fire.
Should I just show all the days as closed?
A. No. Go to the “data entry” tab and select “edit sites”. Navigate to the campground and make
the site “inactive” by selecting this choice from the drop down screen under “Status”. You cannot
delete sites from the database because data is connected to these sites in Round 1.
Q. My GFA site does not have an INFRA number. Can I leave this field empty?
A. Yes.
Q. My campground is part of a complex and has the same INFRA number as the picnic
site listed under DUDS. Can I list the same INFRA number more than once?
A. Yes, it can be listed multiple times under the INFRA data field. However, the INFRA number
can be used only once as a Site Number.
Q. There is no ROS data field for GFA exit points in the database. Is this an oversight?
A. No. Since GFA exit points often access multiple ROS classes this data field would not make
sense here.
Q. The Specially Designated Areas data field drop down list does not have the areas on
my forest listed correctly. Several are missing. Can they be added in?
A. Yes. Under the “data entry” tab select “edit designated areas”. Add the names of the
designated areas to the existing list. They will now appear in the drop down list under the “edit
sites” selection. Be sure to use the official names of the designated areas.
Q. The Ranger District drop down list on the “edit sites” screen is wrong. We have
consolidated ranger districts and given them new names. Can this be changed?
A. Yes. Under the “data entry” tab select “edit ranger districts”. Add the names of the new ranger
districts. They will now appear in the drop down list under the “edit sites” selection.
Q. The Scenic Byways data field drop down list does not have the correct scenic byways
listed for our forest. Can I change this?
A. Yes. Under the “data entry” tab select “edit scenic byways”. Add the names of scenic byways
for your forest. You cannot delete those already preloaded. The new entries will now appear in
the drop down list when in the “edit sites” screens.
Q. Do I have to fill in the Directions data field for all these sites and areas listed? Can I
wait to fill this field in when we get the sample calendar and only do the sites that get
selected? It would save a lot of time.
A. There are two reasons to fill in the Directions data field. First, as personnel come and go, the
exact location of these sites gets lost. The latitude and longitude information is only accurate to
¼ mile. Recording the exact location helps with future sampling. Second, providing directions
will make the interviewer’s job easier and reduce the error that they went to the wrong site. It is
especially helpful when contracting the sampling job. Some forests elected to wait and fill in the
Directions once at a future date, which never happened.
Q. What type of information should go in the “comments” data field?
A. Information that would be useful to future forest personnel or interviewers. Some examples
include: why the use levels were set as they are for this site – early elk season was Oct 30 to Nov
14 so I set this as very high; safety information such as “this site is a hot springs and has been
known for drug problems; exact site setup information such as the location of the interview site
pull out and the type of traffic counter that would work best at this location.
Q. I have a proxy site (ski resort) and my quarterly report required information says I need
the # of skier days. What is the difference between # of skier days, SV1 and # of tickets
sold, ST1?
A. SV1, # of skier days is the # of tickets sold adjusted for things like season passes, multi-day
passes, point tickets, etc. The only way to get this is if the ski area already makes the conversion
for you from information they collect. ST1, number of tickets sold is an unadjusted number and
needs to be calibrated for things like season passes.
Map Corrections
Q. How can I check whether the lat longs listed are correct for my sites? The lat longs are
not correct for my sites how do I change them? Can I get a map showing the lat longs?
A. Appendix B of the pre-work instructions gives detailed directions on exporting the mapping
information from NVUM pre-work to ArcView. Any changes to latitudes and longitudes should
then be done in the NVUM pre-work database. All sites and areas should have this information
filled in before returning the pre-work in round 2.
Q. The latitude and longitudes listed in the NVUM database are different than those listed
in INFRA. Which is correct?
A. INFRA latitudes and longitudes are considered to be the agency record for the site or area.
Therefore, if the INFRA latitudes and longitudes are correct, use those to update the NVUM
information. Use INFRA mapping standards for accuracy..
Edit Calendar Data Screen
Q. How does the database handle holidays?
A. The Holidays in the computer program are all the federal holidays circled on the government
calendar. Do not assume all holidays have higher use. Remember it has to be High EXITING
use. Often holidays fall midweek and may not get higher use that a regular midweek day. Use
the V, H, M or L to label exiting use on the “edit calendar” tab.
Q. Does it matter in what order I list dates for each site on the “edit calendar” screen?
A. No. It does not matter in what order you list the dates as long as the entire year is accounted
for.
METHODOLOGY QUESTIONS
Note: For detailed questions/ answers about the sample methodology and on-site survey
procedures go to the NVUM web site and read the methodology paper and Interviewer’s
Handbook. There are also Interviewer Q & As available at this site.
Q. Where can I get a copy of the study methodology? It might help me understand
everything better.
A. A report explaining the NVUM program methodology is posted on
http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/programs/nvum..
Q. What’s the difference between the Forest’s proclaimed, administrative, and
management boundaries? Which of these do we use for defining what belongs in our
forest sample? Our forest manages the entire Wilderness area for three other forests.
Why don’t we get to count the use? If we don’t we won’t be getting information useful to
us.
A. The proclaimed boundary is the official record of the National Forest area and is used to
determine things like allowable land exchanges, land acquisitions, etc. The administrative
boundary is what is drawn on the forest recreation maps and is usually similar to the proclaimed
boundary. The management boundary is not drawn, but something understood by the current
forest managers as the area they manage. The management boundary is not used in NVUM
because this could change over time. In most instances, the proclaimed boundary is used to
define which sites and areas to list in the pre-work because it is static and used by Congress for
many decisions. An exception is made when a particular area of the forest is administered by
another forest. The general rule is to assign the site or area to the national forest shown to
administer that site or area on the forest maps. For example on the Nez Perce National Forest
certain areas are shown as “administered by” the Wallowa National Forest. The Wallowa
National Forest would list these sites on the Nez Perce in the Wallowa pre-work.
Q. Why does everything have to be EXIT surveys? Why can't we just interview all people
leaving a site whether for the last time or not? It seems like we are wasting good potential
data.
A. Since the definition of a national forest visit is one person entering a national forest for
purposes of recreation with no time period attached the only way to truly know everything they did
during their visit is to catch them at the END of their visit. That way all the information they give
including how long they stayed, what sites they visited, how satisfied they were with their visit,
etc., is all based upon the entire visit.
The second reason for the EXIT interview is for statistical validity. Everyone has to enter the
forest for the first time on their trip and exit the forest for the last time on their trip. Therefore,
interviewing people exiting is a completely random variable without bias, which gives the study its
statistical reliability, and ensures a visitor isn’t double counted on the same national forest visit.
Let’s apply this concept to a campground. You're standing there all day at the exit of a 10 site
campground just hoping someone decides to exit. Instead 5 sites have people sitting in them all
day, and 5 of the sites are taken but the people are hiking elsewhere all day. Why can't you just
walk through the campground and interview everyone there and call it good? So, you interview
the 5 groups in the campground and find they are all retired and their primary activity was driving
for pleasure. Just to test the last exiting idea, you also wait for the 5 remaining groups to return.
Two of the groups are people in their twenties who went for mountain bike rides, another group
went rock climbing, and the remaining two groups went canoeing. All were younger than the 5
groups who were in their sites when you first arrived. Also while you were waiting, two different
groups had driven into the campground to picnic. If you had just stopped the interviews after
talking to the first 5 occupied sites your forest data would have shown that visitors to OUDS were
older and not physically active. Having stayed the full 6 hours, you learned that the younger
campers went out early, did lots of physical activities, and then returned to camp. By staying the
entire survey period you reduced bias in the forest data.
Q. We realize the need for a consistent sampling strategy, but somehow we should
capitalize on the quite accurate use data of our concessionaires; this is our best and most
reliable information.
A. This is done throughout the study in the categories called proxy. When a forest lists all their
Developed Overnight sites they also separate out those that have proxy data from non-proxy
sites. Proxy sites are sites that have use information already being collected, such as fee
envelopes, daily use records, ski lift ticket sales, etc. In order to be allowed as proxy all users of
the site must be accounted for in the proxy count. For example a Wilderness that required
overnight permits but not day-use permits would not have proxy data because ALL users did not
have to get the permit. Please check with your concessionaire or whomever you think has the
proxy data and confirm that this data is really available without extra work. The intent is to use
reliable information that is ALREADY collected.
Q. What time of day do the surveys occur? How are these times chosen?
A. Interviews are conducted during daylight hours which are assigned through a random
computer selection.
For non-proxy sites the sampling calendar you receive will include the start time for the 6 hours of
on-site interviews. You will either start at 0800 and go until 2pm or begin at 2pm and end at 8pm.
The general start time can be adjusted to accommodate shortened winter daylight hours. Also for
non-proxy campgrounds where the checkout time is 2pm an AM period should be used even if
the calendar shows PM, because that is the only time to catch last exiting traffic.
For proxy sites, interviews are conducted during the six hours that will yield the highest number of
last exiting recreation interviews.
The reason strategies are different between proxy and non-proxy sites is because in proxy sites
there is already a complete count of use from fee envelopes or another reliable data source.
Interviews are used to describe characteristics of the visitors. In non-proxy sites traffic counters
are used because no proxy information is available. To account for the full 24 hours of traffic at
the site and visitor characteristics during the daylight hours, the sample day is divided into AM
and PM periods. By conducting interviews during both AM and PM periods a more complete
picture of visitor use is obtained. The AM and PM periods also are used to capture hourly
fluctuations in traffic patterns. .
Q. Are we conducting interviews at every sample point or at a percentage of the sample
points?
A. At a percentage of the sample points. All recreation sites you entered on the spreadsheet are
put into the sampling buckets. Only some of those sites are picked (a percentage). Therefore you
will not be sampling every site on the Forest.