2024 Bureau of Land Management Visitor Satisfaction Surveys

This Information Bulletin (IB) outlines the procedures for states to conduct the 2024 Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Visitor Satisfaction Survey. This IB requests each state director (not including Eastern States), in collaboration with their Recreation and National Conservation Lands program leads, to select two sites within their jurisdiction to participate in the survey.

This survey (conducted annually since 1999) provides the BLM with data for national performance measures required under the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993 for both overall visitor satisfaction and value for fees paid. This survey also gives BLM managers vital information on visitor satisfaction regarding facilities, interpretation/education programs and materials, road/trail maintenance, customer service, and general recreation management. The survey forms, virtual training, and data processing are the product of a collaborative agreement with Washington State University (WSU) and are approved under Office of Management and Budget control number 1040-0001.

Each state is asked to complete the following steps:  

1. Review the BLM Visitor Survey instrument (Attachment 1) and the Instructions for On-Site Visitor Survey Administration (Attachment 2).

2. Select two sites/areas to survey within a two-month period between April 19 and September 30, 2024, in accordance with survey instructions (Attachment 2). Selected sites can be fee or non-fee sites and may be National Conservation Lands units. In choosing two sites/areas, please consider the following requirements:

• Select sites with adequate visitation during a two-month survey period. Ideally, 350-400 surveys would be completed per site, depending upon annual visitation; therefore, each state must select an appropriate site and timeframe with adequate visitation to meet this requirement.
• Provide on-site staffing or volunteers to distribute the surveys in accordance with the instructions in Attachment 2.
• Select sites where the BLM has made an investment to provide recreation opportunities and benefits. Given the list of recreation activities listed in the survey, surveying sites with one or more of these activities will help the BLM 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 the BLM can meet the departmental requirement in reporting GPRA information on interpretive efforts.

3. Complete an online Site Profile Form for each site by April 5, 2024.
4. States with sites experiencing high visitation during the fall may consider submitting an additional online Site Profile Form for FY2024/2025. Simply enter the desired fall start date on the form. This will help WSU coordinate survey efforts between BLM’s fiscal years.
5. Results from the FY 2024 surveys and national report will be available to BLM by the end of December 2024. Resulting reports are available from WSU online.

Once each state’s site/area nominations have been approved by the Division of Recreation and Visitor Services (HQ430), site selections will be forwarded to the Principal Investigator, Lena Le, Ph.D., and Project Manager, Nathan Palmer, at WSU, who will establish the number of surveys to be completed based on each site’s annual visitation. The following will then occur:

1. WSU will print scannable surveys and postcards (Attachment 3) with the site name and online survey information, and ship them, along with the locked drop boxes and other survey materials, directly to the site contact person. BLM field staff will oversee administration of the survey during the two-month sampling period between April 19 and September 30.
2. WSU and the BLM National Operations Center (NOC) staff will provide virtual training in the spring of 2024.  WSU and the NOC staff are available to assist field units with developing their site profile, answer any questions, or address concerns. Primary contacts for sampling-related issues are Nathan Palmer at WSU (nathan.palmer@wsu.edu, 509-335-1736) and Michelle Puckett at the NOC (mpuckett@blm.gov,
   303-236-1138).
3. Once the sampling is completed, all survey materials (lock box(s) containing the completed surveys, leftover surveys and postcards, instruction manual or other materials) will be returned to WSU.
4. The survey data will be scanned and analyzed by WSU with reports distributed to individual sites. Final site reports and a comprehensive national report will be delivered to the BLM by the end of December 2024.

Through its annual agreement and as managed by the NOC, WSU will establish the number of surveys to be administered by site, print the survey and postcards (individualized with BLM site names), scan the survey data into a spreadsheet, analyze the data, and prepare site and national reports. Field units conducting the survey will require approximately 100 hours of staff or volunteer time (surveying and administration) for each site. Depending on annual visitation, site type, number of surveys to administer, travel time, and level of effort, more time may be needed.

HQ430 has coordinated with NOC-DRS (OC520) on this effort.

For more information, please contact Cory Roegner, Deputy Division Chief, HQ430 at 385-258-0496 or Michelle Puckett, Outdoor Recreation Planner, NOC/DRS at 303-236-1138.

Signed by:                                           Authenticated by:

Thomas Heinlein                                Ambyr Fowler           

Assistant Director                               Division of Regulatory Affairs and Directives (HQ630)

National Conservation Lands

and Community Partnerships

3 Attachments

1 – Bureau of Land Management Visitor Survey (2 pp)

2 – Bureau of Land Management Survey – Instructions for On-Site Visitor Survey Administration (2 pp)

3 – Bureau of Land Management Visitor Survey Postcard (2 pp)