The Bureau of Land Management's 2017 Visitor Satisfaction Surveys

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20240
http://www.blm.gov

November 10, 2016

In Reply Refer To:
8300 (WO-250/OC-570) P

EMS TRANSMISSION 11/22/2016
Information Bulletin No. 2017-007

To:           All State Directors and D-NLCS
                Attn: Recreation and National Landscape Conservation System Program Leads

From:       Assistant Director, Resources and Planning

Subject:   The Bureau of Land Management’s 2017 Visitor Satisfaction Surveys, DD:  12/16/2016
                                        
                
This Information Bulletin (IB) documents the decision to continue the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Visitor Satisfaction Survey through calendar year 2017.  This IB requests that each state director in collaboration with their State Recreation Program and National Conservation Lands Program leads, select two sites per fiscal year in their respective area of jurisdiction for visitor satisfaction surveying.  The Eastern States Office may participate at their discretion.

This annual visitor satisfaction survey 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 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 office (except Eastern States) is asked to complete the following steps:   

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

2.    Select two sites/areas that can be sampled in FY 2017 within a two-month time period between January 14, 2017 and September 30, 2017, in accordance with survey instructions developed with Washington State University (WSU).  Selected sites can be either fee or non-fee, and may be a National Conservation Lands 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 optimal 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 WSU.  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.

3.    Complete a Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 winter/spring/summer Site Profile (Attachment 3) for each of the two sites/areas selected.

4.    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 16, 2016. 

5.    Again this year, we would like the states with sites that experience high visitation during the fall to consider selecting sites for a FY 2018 (October through January) survey.  If a state is interested, they should complete the Fall FY 2018 Site Profile (Attachment 4).   Results from these surveys will be available to BLM in April 2018, and be included in the comprehensive national report available by the end of November 2018.

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

1.    The WSU will print scannable surveys with the site name and ship them, along with the locked drop boxes and other survey materials, directly to the site contact person.  The BLM field staff will oversee the administration of the survey on-site during the two-month sampling period between January 14 and September 30.  

2.    Both WSU and BLM NOC staff are available to assist field units with developing their sampling profile, or to answer any questions or address concerns.  Primary contacts for sampling-related issues are Matt Strawn at WSU (matthew.strawn@wsu.edu, or by telephone at 509-335-2350) and David Baker at the NOC (djbaker@blm.gov, or by telephone at 303-236-6313).

3.    Once the sampling is completed, all survey materials (lock box(es) containing the completed surveys, leftover surveys, instruction manual, extra forms) will be returned to WSU.

4.    The survey data will be scanned and analyzed by WSU, and reports generated and distributed to individual sites.  The final and comprehensive national and site specific reports will be delivered to the BLM by the end of November 2017.

Each state office should submit a completed FY 2017 Site Profile (Attachment 3) for each of their two site selections by December 16, 2016.  Each state office has the option to submit an additional Fall FY 2018 Site Profile (Attachment 4) for one or two additional site selections by April 28, 2017.

The BLM Washington Office has an annual $65,000, agreement with Washington State University to establish the number of surveys to be administered by site, print the survey (individualized with BLM site names), scan the survey data into a spreadsheet, analyze the data, and prepare both national and site reports.  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 Satisfaction Survey has been conducted annually since 1999 (with the exception of 2002).  The 2017/2018 survey instrument has been approved by the Office of Management and Budget for use through June of 2018. 

Annual visitor satisfaction surveys are required as part of the Annual Performance Plan mandated under GPRA which stipulates meeting explicit long-term goals related to Recreation and National Conservation Lands customer satisfaction measures.

Coordination:  Coordination has included the National Recreation and Visitor Services Division (WO-250) and the NOC-DRS (OC-520).

Contact:  For more information, please contact either Dan Brown, Program Analyst WO-250, 202-912-7255 or David Baker, Outdoor Recreation Planner, NOC/DRS, 303-236-6313.

Signed by:                                        Authenticated by:
Stephanie Connolly                         Robert M. Williams
Acting, Assistant Director               Division of IT Policy and Planning,WO-870
Resources and Planning

4 Attachments
      1 – Bureau of Land Management Visitors Survey (1 p)
      2 – Instructions for On-Site Visitor Survey Administration (2 pp)
      3 – Site Profile – Fiscal Year 2017 Visitor Survey (2 pp)
      4 – Site Profile – Fall Fiscal Year 2018 Visitor Survey (2 pp)