EP 1130-2-550
15 Nov 96
CHAPTER 13 - RECREATION USE SURVEYS
13-1. Purpose. This chapter provides guidance on conducting recreation use surveys on Corps
water resource development projects. The goal of conducting recreation use surveys is to
develop visitation estimates which are consistent, reliable, and credible for all Corps projects.
13-2. Procedure.
a. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval to conduct recreation use
surveys has been granted to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers through 30 September 1998. The
OMB Control Number is 0710-0002. Survey hours are limited. Requests for survey hours will
be submitted by the MSC Commander to HQUSACE (CECW-ON) by 1 October of each year.
This request will include, (1) the number of areas to be surveyed, (2) and the number of survey
hours needed. When requests exceed the total hours available from OMB, HQUSACE (CECW-
ON) will prorate the total hours to the MSC commanders.
b. The Visitor Estimating and Reporting System (VERS) is the official and only
authorized reporting procedure that is used for computing visitation at Natural Resource
Management System (NRMS) projects. VERS is comprised of four microcomputer based
programs designed to estimate and report recreation use on Corps projects.
c. The estimates used by VERS to compute visitation are based on recreation use surveys
conducted at recreation areas where car counters are used to monitor vehicular traffic. VERS
processes data collected through the Direct Data Entry System (DDES).
d. VERS training is mandatory prior to collecting survey data and is provided through
Proponent Sponsored Engineer Corps Training (PROSPECT) courses and workshops through the
Waterways Experiment Station (WES).
e. FOAs are responsible for budgeting time and funds to implement recreation user
surveys. Priority consideration should be given to surveying recreation areas that are
representative of other areas within the project or district.
f. Visitation information is reported annually through the NRMS update.
13-3. Data Retention and Archiving. The WES is the repository of VERS information. Upon
completion of surveys, FOAs should contact CEWES-EN-R and provide the necessary data files.
Survey data collected through VERS and archived at WES is of significant utility in national
studies requiring characterizations of project visitors and their use of Corps projects.
13-1
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