Governor’s Trail Initiative Preliminary Results from the Statewide Telephone Poll Institute for Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Utah State University

Governor’s Trail Initiative Statewide Telephone Poll Purpose To substantiate Utah residents’ opinions on: trails values and benefits awareness and use of trails perception of needs and preferences related to trails in Utah

Methodology  USU’s Institute for Outdoor Recreation and Tourism designed the telephone poll questions with input from the Governor’s Trail Initiative Steering Committee.  Discovery Research Group was contracted to conduct the statewide telephone poll.

Methodology  Utilized a random sample of adults in Utah stratified by each of the seven, multi-county Planning Districts.  370 telephone interviews (averaging 6 minutes) recently conducted in each Planning District, proportionately divided based on individual counties’ population. Utah’s Planning Districts

Governor’s Trail Initiative Statewide Telephone Poll Results Have you used any trails in Utah in the past 12 months? Yes47.7% (Trail Users: N = 1240) No52.3% (Non-Users: N = 1359) About how many times have you used trails in Utah in the past 12 months? 80% of Trail Users used trails in Utah between 1 and 20 times in the past 12 months.

Governor’s Trail Initiative Statewide Telephone Poll Results Are there other members of your household who have used trails in Utah in the past 12 months? Yes78.7% No18.2%

Governor’s Trail Initiative Statewide Telephone Poll Results What kinds of activities do you participate in on trails in Utah? Hiking……………………………61.9% ATV Driving…………………….22.2% Biking/Mountain Biking………..16.7% Walking………………………….14.7% Horseback Riding……………….11.5% Backpacking……………………..5.1% Birdwatching/Wildlife Viewing...4.8% Motorcycle/Dirt Biking…………3.9% (N = 1240)

Governor’s Trail Initiative Statewide Telephone Poll Results What kinds of activities do you participate in on trails in Utah? OHV Driving………………….3.3% Jogging/Running………………3.2% Auto Touring………………….2.1% Snowmobiling…………………1.9% Cross-Country Skiing…………1.7% Historic/Heritage Activities…..1.1% Canoeing/Kayaking/Rafting….1.0% Snowshoeing…………………...1.0% Skating/Skateboarding………..0.9%

Governor’s Trail Initiative Statewide Telephone Poll Results Do you know if there is a trail within 15 minutes of your home or workplace? 85.1% --Yes, there is. 11.0% --No, there isn’t. 3.9% --I don’t know.

Governor’s Trail Initiative Statewide Telephone Poll Results Would you like to use trails in Utah more than you did in the past 12 months? 78.7% Yes 18.5% No 2.7% Don’t know 66.4% of Trail Users saying Yes, stated that the main reason they didn’t use trails as much as they would have liked was because they did not have enough time or were too busy with other activities.

Governor’s Trail Initiative Statewide Telephone Poll Results Would you support the use of additional funds for motorized trails in Utah? 53.0% Yes 39.7% No 7.3% Don’t know

Governor’s Trail Initiative Statewide Telephone Poll Results Would you support the use of additional funds for non-motorized trails in Utah? 78.2% Yes 16.8% No 5.0% Don’t know

Governor’s Trail Initiative Statewide Telephone Poll Results Would you support a tax increase if the additional money would be used to enhance your use and enjoyment of trails in Utah? 49.4% Yes 40.6% No 9.9% Don’t know

Governor’s Trail Initiative Statewide Telephone Poll Results Having quality trails in Utah is important to me. 91.0% of Trail Users Strongly Agreed or Agreed I personally receive little or no benefit from trails in Utah. 80.7% of Trail Users Strongly Disagreed or Disagreed

Governor’s Trail Initiative Statewide Telephone Poll Results Having trails in my area results in economic benefits for local communities. 69.7% of Trail Users Strongly Agreed or Agreed 19.4% of Trail Users were Neutral or Unsure 11.0% of Trail Users Disagreed or Strongly Disagreed Preservation of historic trails in Utah is important to me. 91.0% of Trail Users Strongly Agreed or Agreed

Governor’s Trail Initiative Statewide Telephone Poll Results Having trails in or near my community allows me to be physically active and lead a healthy lifestyle. 89.9% of Trail Users Strongly Agreed or Agreed Having trails in or near my community does little for my quality of life. 9.3% of Trail Users Strongly Agreed or Agreed 85.6% of Trail Users Disagreed or Strongly Disagreed

Governor’s Trail Initiative Statewide Telephone Poll Results Have you used any trails in Utah in the past 12 months? Yes47.7% (Trail Users; N = 1240) No52.3% (Non-Users; N = 1359) Are there other members of your household (Non-Users) who have used trails in Utah in the past 12 months? Yes19.0% No71.6% Don’t know 5.7%

Governor’s Trail Initiative Statewide Telephone Poll Results Do you know if there is a trail within 15 minutes of your home or workplace? 53.6% --Yes, there is. 24.5% --No, there isn’t. 21.9% --I don’t know.

Governor’s Trail Initiative Statewide Telephone Poll Results Would you like to use trails in Utah more than you did in the past 12 months? 53.6% Yes 41.6% No 4.9% Don’t know Of Non-Users stating Yes, 54.3% stated that the main reason they didn’t use trails as much as they would have liked was because they did not have enough time or were too busy with other activities. 15.9% noted Personal Health Concerns/Age/Disability

Governor’s Trail Initiative Statewide Telephone Poll Results Would you like to use trails in Utah more than you did in the past 12 months? 41.6% No Of Non-Users stating No, 42.8% stated that the main reason they didn’t use trails as much as they would have liked was because of Personal Health Concerns/Age/Disability 15.8% did not have enough time or were too busy with other activities. 13.2% had little or no interest/didn’t care for the outdoors

Governor’s Trail Initiative Statewide Telephone Poll Results Would you support the use of additional funds for motorized trails in Utah? 48.7% Yes 40.0% No 11.3% Don’t know

Governor’s Trail Initiative Statewide Telephone Poll Results Would you support the use of additional funds for non-motorized trails in Utah? 63.8% Yes 26.6% No 9.6% Don’t know

Governor’s Trail Initiative Statewide Telephone Poll Results Would you support a tax increase if the additional money would be used to enhance your use and enjoyment of trails in Utah? 33.3% Yes 55.8% No 10.9% Don’t know

Governor’s Trail Initiative Statewide Telephone Poll Results Having quality trails in Utah is important to me. 65.3% of Non-Users Strongly Agreed or Agreed I personally receive little or no benefit from trails in Utah. 46.1% of Non-Users Strongly Agreed or Agreed 20.0% of Non-Users were Neutral 33.9% of Non-Users Strongly Disagreed or Disagreed

Governor’s Trail Initiative Statewide Telephone Poll Results Having trails in my area results in economic benefits for local communities. 57.3% of Non-Users Strongly Agreed or Agreed 21.5% of Non-Users were Neutral 21.2% of Non-Users Strongly Disagreed or Disagreed Preservation of historic trails in Utah is important to me. 79.0% of Non-Users Strongly Agreed or Agreed

Governor’s Trail Initiative Statewide Telephone Poll Results Having trails in or near my community allows me to be physically active and lead a healthy lifestyle. 64.3% of Non-Users Strongly Agreed or Agreed 16.8% of Non-Users were Neutral 18.9% of Non-Users Strongly Disagreed or Disagreed

Governor’s Trail Initiative Statewide Telephone Poll Results Having trails in or near my community does little for my quality of life. 33.7% of Non-Users Strongly Agreed or Agreed 16.4% of Non-Users were Neutral 49.9% of Non-Users Strongly Disagreed or Disagreed

Governor’s Trail Initiative Statewide Telephone Poll Results Respondent Profiles Trail Users:Non-Users: 47.5% Male31.9% Male 52.5% Female68.1% Female Average of 41 years old Average of 48 years old

Governor’s Trail Initiative Statewide Telephone Poll Results Would you be willing to receive and complete a mail-back survey on Utah trails in the future? Trail Users:Non-Users: 71.3% Yes48.3% Yes 28.7% No51.7% No

Governor’s Trail Initiative Preliminary Results from the Statewide Telephone Poll Steven W. Burr, Director Michael Butkus, Programs Administrator Douglas Reiter, Research Associate Institute for Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Utah State University 5220 Old Main Hill Logan, Utah (435)