Bureau of Land Management 2013 and 2014 Visitor Satisfaction Surveys
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20240
http://www.blm.gov/
November 6, 2013
In Reply Refer To:
8300 (WO-250/OC-570) P
EMS TRANSMISSION 11/07/2013
Information Bulletin No. 2014-012
To: All State Directors and Director - National Landscape Conservation System
Attn: Recreation and National Landscape Conservation System Program Leads
From: Division Chief, Recreation and Visitor Services
Subject: Bureau of Land Management 2013 and 2014 Visitor Satisfaction Surveys
DD: 12/06/2013; 02/28/2014
This Information Bulletin (IB) documents the decision to continue the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Visitor Satisfaction Survey through calendar year 2014. This IB requests that each state director in collaboration with their state recreation program and national landscape conservation system (NLCS) program leads, select two sites in their respective area of jurisdiction for visitor satisfaction surveying. The Eastern States Office may also participate at their discretion.
The annual visitor survey provides the BLM with both data for reporting results using national performance measures required under the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993 and information regarding visitors’ satisfaction with value for fees paid. This survey also gives BLM site managers vital information on visitor satisfaction with facilities, interpretation/education programs and materials, road/trail maintenance, staff service, and general recreation management.
Each state is asked to complete the following steps:
- Review the Visitor Survey Instrument (Attachment 1) and the BLM Visitor Survey - Instructions for On-Site Visitor Survey Administration (Attachment 2).
- Select two sites/areas that can be sampled in 2014 within a two-month time period during January 15, 2014 – August 31, 2014, in accordance with survey instructions developed by the University of Idaho. Selected sites can be either fee or non-fee, and may be a NLCS unit. In choosing these two sites/areas, please consider the following requirements:
- Select sites that have adequate visitation during the two-month survey time period. It is necessary to distribute approximately 350-400 survey instruments per site to potential respondents, depending upon annual visitation. Therefore, each state must select an appropriate timeframe and sites with adequate visitation to meet this requirement.
- Select sites that either have adequate on-site staffing or can otherwise provide staff to distribute the surveys in accordance with directions from the University of Idaho. Volunteers may be used in this process.
- Select sites where the BLM has made an investment to provide recreation opportunities and benefits, since the BLM is asking for survey respondents to report on their satisfaction with the BLM’s recreation management activities. Surveying these types of sites will best allow the BLM to understand how effectively its recreation management is meeting the public’s needs.
- Select one site/area, if possible, that provides interpretive programming and/or facilities. It is strongly recommended to choose such a site so that the BLM can meet the Departmental requirement in reporting GPRA information on interpretive efforts.
- Complete a fiscal year (FY) 2014 winter/spring/summer Site Profile – 2014 Fall Visitor Survey (Attachment 3) for each of the two sites/areas selected.
- Submit the completed Site Profiles to David Baker, Outdoor Recreation Planner, National Operations Center (NOC) - Division of Resource Services (DRS), at djbaker@blm.gov by December 6, 2013.
- Again this year, we would like the states with sites that experience high visitation during the fall to consider selecting sites for a FY 2015 (October –January) survey. If a state is interested, it should complete the Site Profile – 2015 Fall Visitor Survey (Attachment 4) by the end of February 2014. Results from these surveys will be available to BLM in April 2015, and be included in the comprehensive national report by the end of November 2015.
Once each state’s site/area nominations have been approved by the national Recreation and Visitor Services (NR&VS) Division, the site selections will be forwarded to the Principal Investigator, Lena Le, Ph.D. at the University of Idaho, who in turn will contact the person named on the site profile, to develop a sampling procedure. The following will then take place:
- The University of Idaho will print the computer scannable surveys with the site name and ship them, along with the locked drop boxes and protocols, directly to the site contact person. The BLM will oversee the administration of the survey on-site during the 2-month sampling period between January 15 and August 31. It is necessary to distribute approximately 350-400 survey instruments per site to potential respondents.
- Once the sampling is completed, the locked drop boxes containing the returned surveys will be shipped to the University of Idaho.
- The survey data will be entered and analyzed by the University of Idaho, and reports generated and distributed to individual sites. Data relating to BLM national GPRA reporting measures will be available to the BLM by late September 2014. The final and comprehensive national and site specific reports will be delivered to the BLM by the end of November 2014.
Each state office should submit a completed Site Profile – 2014 Fall Visitor Survey (Attachment 3) for each of their two site selections by December 5, 2013. Each state office has the option to submit an additional Site Profile – 2015 Fall Visitor Survey (Attachment 4) for one or two additional site selections by February 28, 2014.
The BLM Washington Office has a contract with the University of Idaho to print the surveys, provide surveys and locked drop boxes for completed surveys, establish a sampling protocol for each site, enter data, analyze the data, and prepare both national and site reports of the results. In addition, administering the survey will require approximately 100 hours of paid staff or volunteer time (surveying and administration) at each of the 22 sites selected to participate in the survey. However, depending upon annual visitation, site type, the number of surveys to administer, travel time from/to the field office, and level of effort, it may take substantially more than 100 hours to complete the survey.
The BLM Visitor Survey has been conducted annually since 1999 (with the exception of 2002). The 2014/2015 survey instrument has been approved by the Office of Management and Budget for use through June 2015.
Annual visitor surveys are required as part of the Annual Performance Plan mandated under GPRA which stipulates meeting explicit long-term goals related to recreation and NLCS customer satisfaction measures.
For more information, please contact either Dan Brown, Program Analyst WO-250, by telephone at 202-912-7255, or by email at: drbrown@blm.gov or David Baker, Outdoor Recreation Planner, NOC/DRS, by telephone at 303-236-6313, or by email at: djbaker@blm.gov
Signed by: Authenticated by:
Andy Tenney Robert M. Williams
Division Chief, Division of IRM Governance,WO860
Recreation and Visitor Services
4 Attachments
1 - Bureau of Land Management Visitor Survey (2 pp)
2 - BLM Visitor Survey – Instructions for On-Site Visitor Survey Administration (2 pp)