Gifford Pinchot National Forest

Gifford Pinchot
National Forest

Forest Headquarters
10600 N.E. 51st Circle
Vancouver, WA 98682
(360) 891-5000
TTY: (360) 891-5003

Cowlitz Valley
Ranger District
10024 US Hwy 12
PO Box 670
Randle, WA 98377
(360) 497-1100
TTY: (360) 497-1101

Mt. Adams
Ranger District
2455 Hwy 141
Trout Lake, WA 98650
(509) 395-3400
TTY: (360) 891-5003

Mount St. Helens
National Volcanic
Monument

Monument Headquarters
42218 N.E. Yale Bridge Rd.
Amboy, WA 98601
(360) 449-7800
TTY: (360) 891-5003

Johnston Ridge Observatory
24000 Spirit Lake Highway
P.O. Box 326
Toutle, WA 98649
(360) 274-2140

Mount St. Helens
Visitor Center
at Silver Lake
3029 Spirit Lake Highway
Castle Rock, WA 98611
(Operated by Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission)

TTY: Phone for the Deaf

Projects & Plans

Recreation Study

Recreationists on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest: A Survey of User Characteristics, Behaviors, and Attitudes

Recent trends in natural resource management agencies have placed increased importance on the quality of recreation services provided to recreational visitors. Driven by President Clinton's 1993 Executive Order focusing on improving customer satisfaction, the USDA Forest Service has pursued a variety of means of collecting data to assess customer satisfaction. The different methods include short comment cards, self-administered quick surveys, and in-depth visitor use studies conducted through mail-back and telephone surveys.

Managers on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest (GPNF) realized a need to develop a process to identify customer-driven improvements in natural resources management. Information about recreationists' preferences and perceptions is vital to discussions with other federal, state and local officials in determining operational and structural actions to enhance recreational opportunities on the GPNF.

Over the past five years, researchers from Penn State University and the University of Florida have examined different methods of assessing customer satisfaction among recreationists across several federal and state outdoor recreation agencies. The current study is a continuation of this national research effort, focusing in this case on the behaviors, expectations, and satisfaction levels of recreational users in the GPNF.

The purpose of this investigation was to examine recreational use patterns, satisfaction levels, economic expenditures, and experiences currently occurring on the GPNF. This information provides baseline data and suggests management actions to address current issues identified in the study. An additional purpose of this study was to add to the existing recreational use database that has been accumulated in previous and ongoing studies in the Pacific Northwest. This database includes studies completed for Region 6 of the US Forest Service (Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area and Umpqua National Forest) and the US Army Corps of Engineers (Bonneville Lock and Dam).

This study was done in conjunction with the National Visitor Use Monitoring (NVUM) initiative of the USDA Forest Service. Under this initiative, recreational use studies are being conducted in all National Forest units, with twenty-five percent of the National Forests conducting surveys each year over a four-year period. The GPNF was chosen as one of the Forests to be studied in Year Two of this four-year research effort.

Download The Study