Arboriculture & Urban Forestry 37(3): May 2011 Weighted frequencies using park visitor statistics In order to obtain estimates that represent total campers for all parks in the study and avoid disproportionately skewing results by simply combining proportions of camper responses from smaller parks with very large parks, response frequencies and individual camper data were weighted. Each park weighting factor was cal- culated as total camper groups in 2008 (National Park Service 2008) divided by the number of camper groups interviewed in 2008 or 2009. Total camper groups were calculated by divid- ing the number of annual overnight campers by the individual or averaged persons-per-vehicle multiplier that each park uses to estimate total visitors from the number of campsites occupied or camping permits sold (NPS 2008). Weighting factors were used in all analyses. For example, since there were 413 campers sur- veyed in Yellowstone NP and the total number of annual camper groups was estimated at 271,115, each surveyed camper group was weighted by 656 (271,115/413). Total camper groups were used in the risk analyses as those data best represent the survey methods (one to several individuals per campsite were inter- viewed) (Table 1). The term “campers” throughout these analyses refers to the number of camper groups (i.e., groups of people at one campsite) at parks. State park visitor statistics for the seven parks surveyed were obtained directly from Colorado State Parks (pers. comm. Matt Schulz, Forest Management and GIS Coordi- nator 2010), and the weighting factors represent the number of campsite permits sold in 2008 divided by the number of people surveyed at each park. If campers had firewood from two state or- igins or wood sources the weighted counts were added together. Additional data on park visitation Two sources provided additional data on park visitation indepen- dent of NPS statistics: the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve (GSDNPP), which collected camper home state data throughout 2008 (data on file, pers. comm. Phyllis Pineda-Bovin, Park Biologist), and the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspec- tion Service (APHIS), which provided reservation data made available from a query of the National Recreation Reservation Service for several parks in 2008 (data on file, pers. comm. Ju- dith E. Pasek, Senior Regional Program Manager, Data & Risk Management, USDA, APHIS). The personal firewood surveys were limited to only one to three days per each park, and these yearly, more complete reservation data provided by GSDNPP and APHIS were used to compare and confirm the proportions of visitors from various locations to the weighted proportions. RESULTS State and National Park Camper Populations Campers at 15 campgrounds in seven Colorado State Parks were surveyed between June and August 2008 (Figure 1; Table 1). Most surveys were conducted in person, but four state parks also handed out paper surveys over two-week periods to increase the sample sizes (n = 126 paper survey responses). Of the 608 at- tempted personal campsite surveys at Colorado State Parks, 368 campsites (61%) were empty and 62 sites (10%) were occupied but no campers were present (missed contacts). In most cases at State Parks, the vehicle license plate state of missed contacts were recorded so their home state was known without a survey contact (n = 59). A total 362 campers (or their vehicle license plate state 129 source) represented 30 states and four countries, of which 303 (177 personal and 126 paper survey responses) provided informa- tion on firewood presence and origins (Table 2; Table 3). Paper surveys did not ask respondent what type of camping vehicle they had so those data are missing in some state park surveys (Table 2). Of the 303 state park campers interviewed, 66% had firewood as a weighted proportion (n = 193) (Table 3). Thirteen Nation- al Parks were visited between March and August 2009 and 30 campgrounds within these parks were surveyed (Figure 1; Table 1). Results indicated that 4,522 campsites were visited and 28% were empty, 35% of the sites were occupied but no one was pres- ent, and 37% (n = 1,658 sites) had campers present (Table 1). Na- tional Park campers represented 46 states and 20 countries, and 60% (n = 1,116) had firewood as a weighted proportion (Table 3). The percentage of campers visiting Colorado State Parks who tests (both p < 0.0001) (Table 1). The proportion of camp- ers visiting from outside the western United States (east of New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana) varied by park and state. Twenty-six percent of National Park campers came from out- side the western U.S., and Wyoming and Colorado had the highest proportions of nonwestern campers (42% and 49%, respectively) (Table 1). The two National Parks with the highest percentages of nonwestern visitors were Mesa Verde and Rocky Mountain in Colorado (53% and 57%, respectively) (Table 1). In Colorado State Parks, the overall proportion of campers from nonwestern states was 19% with individual parks ranging from zero to 39% (Table 1). Collaborative camper and reservation data At parks for which reservation data were available, consistencies were found between year-round reservation data and the one-time visit to survey parks (Table 1). At the two Utah National Parks where data were available, the highest proportions of campers were from nonneighboring states and the lowest proportions were from the park state in both datasets (Table 1). There were some differences at Rocky Mountain NP, where most reservations were made by campers in the park state (53%), surveys indicated that most campers were from nonneighboring states (58%) (Table 1). The largest proportion of reservations at Grand Canyon were made from nonneighboring states (58%), while study data indi- cated that similar proportions of campers came from neighbor- ing (40%) and nonneighboring (39%) states (Table 1). The 2008 Great Sand Dunes year-round data had similar proportions to the camper surveys: 65% of their campers came from the park state (Colorado), 7% from neighboring states, and 28% from non- neighboring states (25% from western U.S. overall) (Table 1). ©2011 International Society of Arboriculture lived in Colorado was high, at 68% (Table 1). Many more camp- ers at State Parks were from nonneighboring states (29%) than neighboring states (3%) (Table 1). The percentage of National Park campers who lived in the home state of the park ranged from three percent at Yellowstone (Wyoming) to 84% at the Great Sand Dunes (Colorado), with an overall mean of 20% (Table 1). Camp- ers from neighboring states ranged from 4% at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison (Colorado) and Great Sand Dunes to 46% at Glen Canyon (Utah), with an overall mean of 33% (Table 1). Campers coming from nonneighboring states ranged from 12% at the Great Sand Dunes to 77% at Mesa Verde (Colorado), with an overall mean of 47% (Table 1). The distribution of camper home states (park, neighboring, or nonneighboring) was significantly differ- ent between the totals of the five states (for national park surveys) or between state parks (for Colorado State Park surveys) based on χ2
May 2011
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