A visitor use study of the Wilderness Areas of Everglades National Park

Abstract

Surveys were conducted from January 9, 2023, to April 29, 2023, at eight sampling sites within Everglades National Park: Long Pine Key, Flamingo Marina, Gulf Coast Visitor Center area, Caribbean Club, 9 Mile Pond, Hells Bay, Coot Bay, and Coastal Prairie. Samplers included University of Montana staff, Forest Service staff from the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute, Denver Service Center staff, and Everglades National Park volunteers. Samplers would ask the visitor if they would be willing to answer the survey in-person or later using a QR code or an email link; responses recorded on a tablet or with a QR code or email link were automatically saved on a UM Qualtrics account, while completed paper surveys were manually entered into the Qualtrics account by researchers. If the visitor declined to participate, they were asked to answer two non-response bias questions. During some sampling events, samplers left cards with the QR code on windshields of parked cars.

Citation

Mudford, Taylor I.; Rice, William L.; Thomsen, Jennifer; Armatas, Christopher A. 2024. A visitor use study of the Wilderness Areas of Everglades National Park. Final report. Missoula, MT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute. 51 p.