BLM Alaska to Partner with other Federal Land Management Agencies on Visitor Access Survey
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In an effort to improve transportation and access to federal parks, forests, refuges and public lands, Alaska federal land management agencies (FLMA) will conduct a statewide survey this summer to learn more about how visitors travel to public lands in the state.
The survey results will contribute to the 2017 Alaska Federal Lands Long Term Transportation Plan, a document that guides transportation funding and improved access to federal parks, forests, refuges and public lands. Agencies participating in the visitor survey include the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The University of Alaska Fairbanks will administer the Alaska survey for the agencies at approximately fifteen locations across the state. The survey team will ask visitors to take a brief survey on-site and complete a follow-up survey online after their trip. The surveys began this month and will run through September.
This project represents an unprecedented survey collaboration effort to collect visitor experience data. The Alaska FLMAs, as well as the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities and the Western Federal Lands Highway Division, U.S. Department of Transportation, each signed a Memorandum of Understanding granting permission to collect the survey data on FLMA public lands. The Alaska survey will serve as a pilot and lessons learned will be shared with other FLMAs across the nation where similar collaborative surveys are planned.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.