FNST VISITOR ASSESSMENT Taylor Stein, Ph.D., Principal Investigator Bin Wan, Ph.D., Research...
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Transcript of FNST VISITOR ASSESSMENT Taylor Stein, Ph.D., Principal Investigator Bin Wan, Ph.D., Research...
FNST VISITOR ASSESSMENT Taylor Stein, Ph.D., Principal Investigator
Bin Wan, Ph.D., Research Associate
Ramesh Paudyal, Graduate Research Assistant
Acknowledgements
US Forest Service
Florida Trail Association
Special thanks to the land managers who made this study possible.
What to Expect
1. How many FNST Visitors?
2. Who are the FNST Visitors?
3. Reconsidering Trail Standards.
HOW MANY FNST VISITORS?
2013-2014 Study Sites & Use Level
1. Apalachicola NF 1,338 - Sopchoppy - Bradwell Bay West2. St. Marks NWR 1,888 - Shepard Spring3. Osceola NF 562 - Battle Field -Turkey Run4. Ocala NF 5,932 - Lake Delancy - Juniper Rec. Area - SR 195. Tosohatchee WMA 1,428 - Woodbridge/Powerline Rd.6. Big Cypress NP 3,139 - Oasis North
2
6
1
3
4
5
2013-2014 Study Site Use by Month
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
Juniper Rec. Area
SR 19
Lake Delancy
Battlefield
Turkey Run
Sopchoppy
Bradwell Bay West
Shepard Spring
Wood Bridge/Powerline Rd.
Oasis North
High use sites: greater variation by season Low use sites: less variation by season
2013-2014 Trail-Wide Use Estimates 355,317 – total use 52% (185,982) - pedestrians 48% (169,335) - other users
2013-2014
2012-2013
2011-2012
2010-2011
2009-2010
2008-2009
2007-2008
2006-2007
2005-2006
2004-2005
2003-2004
- 50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000 300,000 350,000 400,000
355,317
354,124
353,150
352,217
352,218
349,701
349,637
343,991
329,745
342,458
225,368
Chart Title
2013-2014 Use Estimate by Segments
Bronson State ForestRice Creek
Etoniah State ForestMills Creek
Aucilla WMAOsceola National Forest
Kissimmee River/Avon AFBEglin AFB
Pine Log State ForestBull Creek WMA
Twin Rivers State ForestGreen Swamp WMA
Apalachicola National ForestEconfina WMA
Tosohatchee State PreserveThree Lakes WMA
Seminole State Forest Highlands (S65B to US 98)
Big Cypress National PreserveBlackwater River State Forest
Suwannee SegmentGoldhead Branch State Park
Ocala National ForestSt. Marks NWR & Rail Trail
Withlacoochee State Forest & Rail TrailLittle Big Econ St. Forest
Gulf Islands National SeashoreCross Florida Greenway
0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000 35,000 40,000
FNST Visitors by Area (NF and NP) Visitation to all three national forests mostly small but steady increase since
2007/2008 Volatile fluctuations in early years due to weather and technical difficulties Visitations to Big Cypress NP increase first time after continuous declining
since 2007/2008
2013-2014
2012-2013
2011-2012
2010-2011
2009-2010
2008-2009
2007-2008
2006-2007
2005-2006
2004-2005
2003-2004
0 500 100015002000250030000 10002000300040005000600070000 500 1000 1500 20000 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000
Apalachicola NF Ocala NF Osceola NF Big Cypress NP
Refinement of Visitor Use Estimates New Access Points/Segments: thousands counts
added to the total use over the years: Shepard Spring, Woodbridge/Powerline Rd., Red Rock, Little Shoals, Latus…
Counter rotations: more counter data less mathematical inferring.
Re-assess areas with other traffic: Lake Okeechobee, St. Marks, Withlacoochee, Little Big Econ, Gulf Islands…
WHO ARE THE
FNST VISITORS?
Demographics (n=328)
Female 36%
Male64%
Gender
Married Single Widowed Divorced0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Marital status
None One or two Three or more
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70No. of children in
home
White
Hispanic/Latino
African American
Asian American
Hawaiin/American Indian
0 20 40 60 80 100
Race/ethnicity
Demographics (n=328)
Characteristics %
Education High school or below 10
Some College 27
College Graduate 38
Some Graduate School 6
Graduate degree or beyond 19
Employment Full time 63
Part time 8
Unemployed 7
Home maker 2
Retired 12
Student 11
HH income Less than 30,000 19
30,000 - 60,000 26
60,000 - 90,000 25
90,000 or more 30
Trip characteristics (n=328)
49%51%
Types of visitors
First time Returning
None Low (1-6 times)
Medium (7-20 times)
High (> 20 times)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60Use frequency (past 12 months)
% o
f re
spo
nd
en
ts
Trip Characteristics (n=328)
One hour or
less
Few hours to
half a day
One whole day
More than one
day
0
10
20
30
40
50Time spent on the trail
% o
f re
sp
on
de
nts
Less than a mile
1-5 miles 5-10 miles
>10 miles
0
10
20
30
40
50
60 Miles hiked on the trail
% o
f re
spo
nd
en
ts
Alone: 22%, Group of two or three: 55%, Family or friends: 63%
Source of trail information
Family/friend
Saw trail
Website
Other
Road sign
Don't remember
Guidebook
Brochure
Magazine/Newspaper
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
% of respondents
Distance from home zip code %
5 miles or less6
5 - 10 miles5
10 - 20 miles13
20 - 50 miles31
50 - 100 miles20
100 - 250 miles12
250 - 500 miles3
500 miles or more 9
How far the visitors came from?
Preferences and motivations
Attractions (Pull factors) Mean
Wilderness and undisturbed nature 4.5
Good environmental quality of air, water, and
soil4.2
Chance to see wildlife/birds 4.1
To see the natural water features 3.8
Easy access to the area/being easy to get to 3.6
Motivation (push factors) Mean
To enjoy the scenery 3.6
To experience nature 3.5
To be close to nature 3.4
To get exercise 3.4
To relax physically 3.3
All items measured in a scale of 1 (Not at all important) – 5 (Very important)
Trail experience and feedback
10 9 8 7 or below 0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
4036
21 22 21
Rating of trail expereince Rating (Scale: 1 - 10)
% o
f re
spo
nd
en
ts
Reasons/suggestions (n = 213) %
Maps, sign, marking, and blazes are not sufficient 21
Expected to see more wildlife, water features, diversity of vegetation, and scenery 14
Personal reason, bugs, bad weather, and wrong season 13
Increase drinking water facilities and bathrooms 11
Clear fallen dead trees and brush piles and minimize burning on the trail 10
Too much of litter, trash, and poop on the side of the trail 9
Clear dense bush, rocks, gravels, roots, and other obstacles and maintain shade on the trail 8
Other 26
RECONSIDERING TRAIL STANDARDS:
THINK LARGE SCALE
People visit the FNST for different reasons.Desire different things.
Site attributesMean
(N=282)
Subgroups based on pull factors
Low Enthusiastic
(22%)
Convenience & Non-
consumptive (26%)
Non-consumptive
(31%)Opportunistic
(21%)Fishing 2.1 1.3 1.6 2.0 3.7Big game 1.6 1.1 1.2 1.1 3.4Small game 1.7 1.1 1.4 1.2 3.4Natural water features 3.8 3.3 3.2 4.4 4.1Wilderness 4.5 4.1 4.5 4.7 4.4Wildlife 4.1 3.3 4.3 4.4 4.0Camping 3.6 1.6 4.0 4.4 4.0Easy access 3.6 3.2 4.3 3.0 4.0Close to home 3.2 2.8 4.2 2.2 4.0Parking 3.2 2.5 3.9 2.9 3.6
What’s An Attractive Segment? High use correlates high level of attractiveness of the
surrounding area High use areas (Ocala, Withlacoochee, Suwannee) have more
attraction features to offer: tourism support facilities, landscape features, and outdoor recreation activities
PEAK USE LEVEL
What Do They Want? Surrounding Attractions
Use is focused in a few key areas Areas close to urban areas (Little Big Econ, Cross Florida
Greenway) Areas with more attraction features to offer (Ocala NF,
Suwannee segments)
Consistent use (approximately 350,000 visits) Many areas could accommodate more users Expanding visitation is very possible
What if area is not “attractive”?
Areas like St. Marks, Big Cypress… Perceived more attractive than what areas can deliver Creation/improvement: attraction features Expectations should be matched by supply
Areas like Apalachicola, Tosohatchee and others Perceived less attractive than what areas possess Untapped potential Promote attraction features Awareness
Things to Monitor/ImproveImproving Experience
• Communication!!!• Highlight water and wildlife attractions• Highlight surrounding amenities
Higher Use Sites• Diverse amenities surrounding section• Close to water• Close to residential areas
• Middle income has higher rates of use
Lower Use Sites• “Isolated” areas
• But, communication could remove isolated perception
• Sand hills• Potential trail “improvements” could improve use
Thank youFNST by Lake DeLancy, Ocala NF
Thank you
FNST by St. Marks NWR