You may see U.S. Forest Service and contract employees working in developed and dispersed recreation sites and along Forest Service roads on the Superior National Forest. They will be wearing bright orange vests and be near a sign that says “Traffic Survey Ahead”.

The Superior Natioanl Forest is surveying visitors throughout the coming year to learn more about their recreational use of the forest. The surveys are a followup to similar surveys conducted five years ago and are intended to update information and identify recreational trends. Survey responses are confidential.

The survey information is used for project planning and local community tourism planning. It provides the National Forest managers with an estimate of how many people actually recreate on federal lands and what activities they engage in while there.

Other important information forest and tourism planners need includes how satisfied people were with their visit and the economic impact of your recreational visit on the local economy.

There are three different kinds of surveys. The basic interview lasts about six minutes. In addition, every other visitor is asked a few additional questions which may take an additional five minutes. Then, about a third of the visitors will be asked to complete a confidential survey on recreation spending during their trip.

Information collected in this national study will be used in local forest planning, at the state planning level, and even by Congress. The survey is entirely voluntary.