The USDA Forest Service is partnering with the University of Tennessee to conduct a National Visitor Use Monitoring survey across the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests beginning October 1 for a year.
The survey has already been conducted once on every national forest in the country. Now, the Forest Service is returning five years later to update the information and look at recreation trends over time, according to a release from the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest office. It provides national forest managers with an estimate of how many people actually recreate on federal lands and what activities they engage in while there. Other important information needed includes how satisfied people were with their visit and the economic impact of recreation visits on the local economy.
Information collected in the national study will also be used in local Forest planning, at the state planning level, and even by Congress.
Visitors should expect to see more Forest Service and contracted University of Tennessee employees wearing bright orange vests in developed and dispersed recreation sites and along Forest Service roads near "Survey Ahead" signs. About one-third of visitors will be asked to complete the survey.
All responses are confidential and no names are even written on the survey forms. The basic interview lasts eight minutes. Some sample questions include: where they recreated on the Forest, how many people they traveled with, how long they were on the Forest, what other recreation sites they visited while on the Forest and how satisfied they were with the facilities and services provided.
More information about the survey can be found here.
