Visitors to the Santa Fe National Forest may be approached between now and September 2009 by Forest employees, contracted employees and volunteers conducting a forest-use survey. The employees and volunteers will be wearing bright orange vests.
Local and out-of-area visitors should stop if they see a “Traffic Survey Ahead” sign or are approached to answer a few questions. All responses are totally confidential and the basic interview lasts about six minutes. Half of visitors surveyed will also be asked additional questions which may take about five extra minutes.
Sample questions include: where they recreated in the Forest, how many people they traveled with, how long they were in the Forest, what other recreation sites they visited while in the Forest, and how satisfied they were with the facilities and services provided.
Information being obtained for this study is part of a nationwide, systematic monitoring process. By knowing how many people recreate in the forests, what activities they do, how long they stay, how much they spend, and how satisfied they are, public land managers can make more informed decisions. Program information is also used for forest management plans, Congressional reporting, resource monitoring and strategic planning.
This on-going national forest survey has already been conducted once on every National Forest in the United States. The Santa Fe National Forest first participated between October 2002 and September 2003. This second survey will be used to update previously gathered information, and to identify recreation trends over time.
For more information, visit www.fs.fed.us/recreation/programs/nvum, or call Joan Hellen at 438-7826.
2002-2003 VISITOR USE SURVEY DATA
1) Total recreation use on the Santa Fe National Forest: 1,356,154
visits
2) Wilderness use: 64,956 visits
3) Number of visitors contacted: 2,258
4) Number of visitors who agreed to be interviewed: 1,896
5) Gender distribution of visitors: Male—58%; Female—42%
6) Race/ethnicity of Santa Fe NF recreation visitors: White—87.7%;
Hispanic or Latino—18.4%; Native American—2%; African American—.5%,
Asian—1.4%, Pacific Islander .10%; other—1%. Less than one percent (0.6)
of forest visitors indicated they were from another country.
7) Average number of people/vehicle: 2.4 people
8) Items of highest satisfaction: Scenery, feeling of safety, employee
helpfulness, and condition of the environment.
9) Items of lowest satisfaction: Interpretive display, sign adequacy,
road conditions and availability of recreation information.
10) Average length of stay per visit: 11.9 hours, over 12 percent
(12.25%) of visitors stayed overnight on the forest.
11) Primary activity during a visit: Viewing natural features,
hiking/walking, viewing wildlife and relaxing.