USFS employees may ask visitors to complete poll

Soon, persons may see more U.S. Forest Service employees working in recreation sites and along Forest Service roads.  

They will be wearing bright orange vests and near “Traffic Survey Ahead” signs.   Just like the postman these folks may be out in all kinds of adverse weather conditions.  

They are waiting to talk to motorists, so please pull over for an interview.  We want to know about the visits to the Kootenai National Forest.  The survey is voluntary, and all information gathered is confidential. 

This on-going national visitor use survey is conducted once every five years on each national forest in the country.  

Information on use and trends over time is updated.  The information is useful for forest planning and even local community tourism planning. 

 The survey will help provide an estimate of how many people recreate on federal lands and what activities they engage in.  

Additional information gathered includes how satisfied people were with their visit and the economic impact of their visit on the local economy. 

 The national visitor use survey gathers basic visitor information.  All responses are totally confidential a person’s name is never written anywhere on the survey.  

The basic interview lasts about eight minutes.  The questions asked include: Where did visitors recreate on the forest, how many people traveled with the visitor, how long were the visitors in the forest, what other recreation sites visited, and how satisfied the visitor was with the facilities and services provided.  

About a third of the visitors will be asked about recreation spending during their trip. 

 “Although the survey is entirely voluntary, we appreciate visitors who stop and answer these questions.  It’s important to talk with local people using the forest as well as out-of-area visitors, so all users are represented in the study.  

Even if persons have stopped for the survey once already, the Forest Service would like to talk to persons each time there is a survey.  

If visitors see us out there again, please stop for another interview,” said Mary Laws, Recreation Program Manager.  

Persons with questions about this program can visit the Website at http://www.fs.usda.gov/kootenai or call Mary Laws at 406-293-6211.