Programmatic Form for Yellowstone Transit Survey

NPS Form 10-201 (Rev. 09/2019)
National Park Service

OMB Control No. 1024-0224
Expiration Date 05/31/2023

PROGRAMMATIC REVIEW AND CLEARANCE PROCESS
FOR NPS-SPONSORED PUBLIC SURVEYS

The scope of the Programmatic Review and Clearance Process for NPS-Sponsored Public Surveys is limited and will only include individual surveys
of park visitors, potential park visitors, and residents of communities near parks. Use of the programmatic review will be limited to noncontroversial surveys of park visitors, potential park visitors, and/or residents of communities near parks that are not likely to include topics of
significant interest in the review process. Additionally, this process is limited to non-controversial information collections that do not attract
attention to significant, sensitive, or political issues. Examples of significant, sensitive, or political issues include: seeking opinions regarding
political figures; obtaining citizen feedback related to high-visibility or high-impact issues like the reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone National
Park, the delisting of specific Endangered Species, or drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

SUBMISSION DATE: 9-19-2023

PROJECT TITLE: Visitor Transit Survey to Inform Park Planning at Yellowstone National Park
ABSTRACT: (not to exceed 150 words)
The Yellowstone National Park (YELL) management team is interested in administering a visitor survey to inform
management decisions about alternative transportation and managed access options in the park and if investments in
shuttle bus systems and infrastructure can address issues associated with the park’s high levels of
visitation. In particular, the park’s management team needs insight about the visiting public’s willingness
to adopt shuttle busses as a means of access and transport in the park along with a timed entry system
that allows a limited number of personal vehicles access to the park each day. The study adopts a data collection
methodology consisting of an on-site survey throughout front country areas at two locations in the park: (1) Geyser
Corridor and (2) Canyon Area. This collection is intended to inform decisions about park infrastructural improvement
and visitor management.
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR CONTACT INFORMATION:
NAME:

William Rice

TITLE

Assistant Professor of Outdoor Recreation and Wildland Management

AFFILIATION:

University of Montana

ADDRESS:

32 Campus Dr., University of Montana, College of Forestry,59812

EMAIL:

wiliam.rice@umontana.edu

PHONE: 406-243-5477

PARK OR PROGRAM LIAISON CONTACT INFORMATION:
NAME:
TITLE

David Pettebone
Applied Research Coordinator

AFFILIATION:

National Park Service

ADDRESS:
EMAIL:

David_Pettebone@nps.gov

PHONE: 970-889-3205

RECORDS RETENTION - PERMANENT. Transfer all permanent records to NARA 15 years after closure. (NPS Records Schedule, Resource
Management And Lands (Item 1.A.2) (N1-79-08-1)).

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NPS Form 10-201 (Rev. 09/2019)
National Park Service

OMB Control No. 1024-0224

PROJECT INFORMATION:
Where will the collection take place? Yellowstone National Park (YELL)
Sampling Period Start Date: 7/1/2024

Sampling Period End Date: 8/31/2024

Type of Information Collection Instrument: (Check ALL that Apply)
Mail-Back Questionnaire
Face-to-Face Interview

X On-Site Questionnaire
Focus Groups

Will an electronic device be used to collect information?

Telephone Survey
Other (List)
 No

X Yes – Type of Device: Android Tablet

SURVEY JUSTIFICATION:
Social science research in support of park planning and management is mandated in the NPS Management Policies 2006
(Section 8.11.1, “Social Science Studies”). The NPS pursues a policy that facilitates social science studies in support of the
NPS mission to protect resources and enhance the enjoyment of present and future generations (National Park Service
Act of 1916, 38 Stat 535, 16 USC 1, et seq.). NPS policy mandates that social science research will be used to provide an
understanding of park visitors, the non-visiting public, gateway communities and regions, and human interactions with
park resources. Such studies are needed to provide a scientific basis for park planning and development.
Annual Yellowstone NP (YELL) visitation has increased dramatically over the last decade. Annual recreation visits in
2011 were 3,394,326 and in 2021 recreation visits were estimated at 4.8 million, an increase of over 40% over 10 years.
Moreover, over 1 million recreation visits were recorded in July 2021, the first time in the park’s history that monthly
recreation visits exceeded this mark. These historic levels of use tax park staff’s capacity to manage the demands for
parking and visitor services along with providing for visitor safety and natural/cultural resource protection.
In 2018, YELL conducted a study of visitor use in the park that examined how visitors circulate throughout the park
along with their real time experiences at focal attraction sites (OMB Control #: 1024-0224; Expiration: 05/31/2020;
Yellowstone Summer Visitor Use Survey: Geofencing and On-site Surveys). This current data collection represents the
second phase of this study to examine the visitor preferences concerning their travel experience and various visitor
management strategies.
Yellowstone’s management team needs a visitor survey to inform management decisions about alternative
transportation and managed access options in the park and if investments in shuttle bus systems and infrastructure can
solve issues associated with the park’s high levels of visitation. In particular, the park’s management team needs insight
about the visiting public’s views on adopting shuttle busses as a means of access and transport in the park along with a
timed entry system that allows a limited number of personal vehicles access to the park each day. The proposed
research will use visitor input to inform future management strategies surrounding visitor access and transportation
options. The results from this survey give park managers the information needed to make data-driven decisions and
maximize the utility of their financial and personnel resources to improve overall management and visitor experiences
at the park.

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NPS Form 10-201 (Rev. 09/2019)
National Park Service

OMB Control No. 1024-0224

SURVEY METHODOLOGY
(A) Respondent Universe:
Based on the 2022 NPS Visitor Use Statistics Report, YELL recorded 3,290,242 visits. The respondent universe for the
on-site intercepts will be all adult visitors (18 years old and older) in the park at (1) Midway Geyser Basin, (2) Old
Faithful, (3) Canyon Village, and (4) the North Rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone during the sampling period.
(B) Sampling Plan / Procedures:
This collection will use an on-site intercept survey to capture a representative sample of visitor information,
characteristics, and perception of willingness to adopt shuttle busses as a means of access and transport in the park
along with a timed entry system that allows a limited number of personal vehicles access to the park each day.
On-site Intercept Survey
A random sampling of visitors will be intercepted while visiting YELL across two designated regions: (1) Geyser Corridor
and (2) Canyon Area. (Table 1). Intercept effort and the number of target intercepts by site will be equal across the two
regions. Within region, target intercept effort will be applied in proportion to historic traffic/visitor volume at each
location (e.g., at Old Faithful and at Midway Geyser Basin). Visitors will be randomly intercepted at designated areas
while out of their vehicles. For example, as they pass designated locations within the area of the visitor center or while
exiting a trailhead. Surveyors will be instructed to attempt to intercept every Nth group passing. N will be determined
based on anticipated volume and number of intercepts required at each location.
Table 1. Example Schedule During a Sampling Period.
Survey Locations

Sampling Days

Geyser Corridor
Canyon Area
Total

9
9

Number of Visitor
Contacts
471
471
942

Surveys
Completed
400
400
800

Two surveyors will be on site collecting surveys in each region. Each member of this survey team will work eight of the
nine days within the sampling period. Days off will be staggered such that only one surveyor is absent on any given day.
(C) Instrument Administration:
The on-site collection will be conducted using a tablet-based questionnaire to collect responses. The on-site survey will
be administered to visitors during their visit at designated intercept locations. If the visitor agrees to participate in the
study, the surveyor will verbally administer the survey questions and will record the responses via an Android Tablet. If
the visitor does not agree, surveyors will thank them for their time, and ask if they would be willing to answer the three
non-response bias questions.
Following a brief introduction of the purpose of the survey, the potential respondent (adult group member with the
most recent birth date) will be asked if they are willing to take part in the 6-minute survey administered by the
surveyor.

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NPS Form 10-201 (Rev. 09/2019)
National Park Service

OMB Control No. 1024-0224

Sample Script for On-site Survey:
“Hello, I am working with Yellowstone National Park conducting a 6-minute survey to better
understand visitor perceptions of potential future management options for the park. May I ask
you several questions about these potential actions?
➔If NO – The surveyor will thank the visitor and ask them to answer the three
questions that will serve as a non-response bias check (in Section E below)
➔If YES – The surveyor will begin the on-site visitor survey with the recruited
individual after reading the Paperwork Reduction and Privacy Act below. The
surveyor will verbally administer the survey and record responses on an Android
Tablet. Upon completion of the on-site survey, the respondent will be thanked
for their time.
Before we begin, I would like to let you know that this survey has been approved by the Office
of Management and Budget. It is important to note that a Federal agency may not conduct or
sponsor, and you are not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it has a valid
OMB control number. The control number for this collection is XXXX-XXXX and this number is
valid through XX/XX/XXXX. Secondly, your participation is voluntary and your name will never
be connected with your individual responses. This survey will only take about five minutes of
your time today.
The intercept survey includes questions used in the non-response bias check (e.g., residency, group size, guided or noncommercial group).
Three potential outcomes are expected following the request to participate:
1. Complete refusal;
2. Partial refusal, answering non-response questions but nothing further;
3. Complete on-site survey.
(D) Expected Response Rate / Confidence Level:
Based on previous research experience with this intercept method and as indicated above, we estimate that at least
85% (n=942) of visitors contacted during the sampling period will agree to participate in the intercept survey. Of those
who do not agree to participate in the on-site survey (n=142), we expect 90% to answer the non-response bias
questions (n=128) with roughly 14 visitors completely refusing to participate in any part of the collection. Based on a
confidence level of 95% (z=1.96) an overall margin of error in the on-site is estimated at +/- 3%, assuming an overall
worst-case 50/50 proportion split on any question in the survey (Table 2).

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NPS Form 10-201 (Rev. 09/2019)
National Park Service

OMB Control No. 1024-0224

Table 2. Anticipated Survey Response Rates

Total
Number
of Visitor
Contacts

Sampling Period

Completed
Intercept
Surveys

Refusals

Completed
Non-response
Survey

Hard Refusals

85%

15%

(90% of refusals)

(10% of
refusals)

Margin of Error*

Geyser Corridor

471

400

71

64

7

+/- 5%

Canyon Area

471

400

71

64

7

+/- 5%

942

800

142

128

14

+/- 3%

TOTAL

*Note: University of Montana and RRC Associates conducts frequent on-site surveys across the U.S. and these percentages are based upon the average refusals
obtained during 2022 National Park visitor surveys.

(E) Strategies for dealing with potential non-response bias:
To account for potential intercept non-response bias, surveyors will attempt to ask non-responding visitors the
following questions:
1. How many people were in your [personal, organized, tour] group, including you?
____ Number of people
2. Please select the choice below that best describes your traveling party. (Please select all that apply)


Individual (Traveling alone)



Preschoolers (less than 5 years old)



Family only



Teen agers (12-19)



Friends only



Adults (20-64)



Family plus friends



Anyone over 65



Tour or other group



With pets

3. Which of the following best describes your residency of the counties directly bordering Yellowstone National
Park (i.e., Teton County, WY; Park County, WY; Fremont County, ID; Gallatin County, MT; Park County, MT)?
Check one.
 Permanent Resident
 Seasonal Resident (returning annually for 1-6 months)
 Not a Resident
These questions will be compared to those who complete the intercept survey to identify if any non-response bias
exists.
(F) Description of any pre-testing and peer review of the methods and/or instrument:
The survey questions are pulled from the NPS Pool of Known (OMB Control Number 1024-0224, expiration:
08/31/2026). The intercept survey instrument was pre-tested in the format in which it will be delivered (i.e., tablet or
online) to determine question understanding and length. The pre-tests were conducted by Social Scientists working on
the project at the University of Montana. These Social Scientists identified students, and staff (9 in total) who were
placed in a mock situation in which they found themselves at YELL. Based upon the pretest we were able to assess and
correct skip patterns within the survey and gauge readability of the posed questions. We have estimated from these
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NPS Form 10-201 (Rev. 09/2019)
National Park Service

OMB Control No. 1024-0224

pre-tests that it will take up to one minute to introduce the survey and an additional 6 minutes to complete the
intercept survey. For the visitors refusing to complete the survey it will take 30 seconds to ask nonresponse questions if
the respondent does not want to participate in the full survey.
These estimates conform to averages from the project team’s combined ongoing field studies across the Western U.S.
All concepts for the questionnaire and methods have been shown to be valid and reliable through peer-reviewed
academic studies and other NPS projects. A project Social Scientist will train and supervise the data cleaning process for
accuracy and quality control. Given the survey is collected via tablet, back-end processing should be minimal, as it will
be programmed and tested for ease of analysis and reporting.

BURDEN ESTIMATES
The estimated totals for the intercept survey in this study are as follows: Number of Responses for Intercept Survey:
800 and Respondent Burden Hours for Intercept Survey: 94 (see Table 4). These are split evenly across the Geyser
Corridor and the Canyon Area. We expect that contact time will include at least 1 minute per person to establish
participation and to answer any questions the respondent may have and then an additional six minutes to complete
the on-site survey (800 respondents x 7 minutes = 94 hours). We expect that in addition to the one-minute initial
contact, it will take less than one minute (we round up to 1 minute) to conduct the non-response bias check for
visitors who do not agree to participate in the on-site survey (256 respondents x 2 minutes = 9 hours (rounded up).
The burden for the remaining visitors completely refusing to participate in the collection will not be estimated due to
the de minimis nature of their participation. Therefore, the total burden for the intercept survey will be 103 hours.
Table 4. Burden Estimates
Completed Responses

Completion Time

Burden
Hours**

(minutes)

(hours)

Intercept Survey*
Geyser Corridor

400

7

47

Canyon Area

400

7

47

Subtotal

800

94

Intercept non-response survey*
Geyser Corridor

128

2

4

Canyon Area

128

2

4

Subtotal
Total burden requested under this ICR:

256

9

1,056

103

* Initial contact time of one minute is added to the time to complete the surveys.
** Burden hours are rounded up to the nearest hour.

REPORTING PLAN:
The study results will be presented in a comprehensive report that will be shared with NPS staff at Yellowstone
National Park and the Social Science Program. Questionnaire results will be presented in tables or figures with
descriptive text. Results will include frequencies, measures of central tendency (e.g., mean, median, and standard
deviation), cross-tabulations from chi-square tests and ANOVAs will be conducted where appropriate. The reports will
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NPS Form 10-201 (Rev. 09/2019)
National Park Service

OMB Control No. 1024-0224

be archived with the NPS Social Science Program for inclusion in the Social Science Studies Collection as required by the
NPS Programmatic Approval Process. Hard copies and electronic copies of the final report will be submitted to the park.
Finally, results will be presented to NPS staff. In addition to a report and data delivery, a 2-hour Microsoft Teams or
Zoom based presentation will be delivered to park staff.

NOTICES
PRIVACY ACT STATEMENT
GENERAL: This information is provided pursuant to Public Law 93-579 (Privacy Act of 1974), December 21, 1984, for
individuals completing this form.
AUTHORITY: National Park Service Research mandate (54 USC 100702)
PURPOSE AND USES: This information will be used by The NPS Information Collections Coordinator to ensure appropriate
documentation of information collections conducted in areas managed by or that are sponsored by the National Park
Service.
EFFECTS OF NONDISCLOSURE: Providing information is mandatory to submit Information Collection Requests to
Programmatic Review Process.

PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT STATEMENT
We are collecting this information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501) and is authorized by the
National Park Service Research mandate (54 USC 100702). This information will be used by The NPS Information
Collections Coordinator to ensure appropriate documentation of information collections conducted in areas managed
by or that are sponsored by the National Park Service. All parts of the form must be completed in order for your
request to be considered. We may not conduct or sponsor and you are not required to respond to, this or any other
Federal agency-sponsored information collection unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. OMB has
reviewed and approved The National Park Service Programmatic Review Process and assigned OMB Control Number
1024-0224.

ESTIMATED BURDEN STATEMENT
Public Reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 60 minutes per collection, including the time it takes for
reviewing instructions, gathering information and completing and reviewing the form. This time does not include the
editorial time required to finalize the submission. Comments regarding this burden estimate or any aspect of this form
should be sent to the Information Collection Clearance Coordinator, National Park Service, 1201 Oakridge Dr., Fort
Collins, CO 80525.

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