Public use of the national parks; a statistical report, 1954-1964

Branch of Statistics Analysis, National Park Service

Although the content and manner of presentation of the statistics in the current summary are largely consistent with those issued previously, a few differences justify some special remarks. The statistical unit in which public use data are currently produced is the "Visit", by which is meant the entry of any person into an area administered by the National'Park Service such that he makes some use of the services or facilities provided therein by the Service. A few parks are excluded from the reporting system for reasons of impracticality in producing consistent or meaningful data. The above definition of the "Visit" unit became effective in 1960. Prior to that time, the statistical unit was more analogous to what might he called "bonafide visitor", by which was roughly intended the entry of a person into a park intent on pursuing the type of recreation, educational, or allied activities for which the park in question was established. During the pre-1960 period attempts were made, with varying degrees of success, to eliminate both nonconforming (for example, non-recreational) use from the data and also to remove re-entries from the data, (that is, visitors who made more than one entry into a park during a "brief period of time). The new, definition was adopted in 1960 because of the practicable impossibility of both accurately and efficiently making the delineations and adjustments required on a consistent and continuing basis throughout the National Park Service. Thus, for a number of parks there are marked discontinuities in the series of historical data between 1959 and 1960. In the tables, the presence of these discontinuties is emphasized with an extra-wide spacing between the columns of data for those two years. The public use data for all parks were not affected by the change in definition. Changes in the statistical series for the above areas also affected the totals for the administrative regions and Service as a whole.' With respect to the latter, the effect of the changed definition of the reported statistic was to raise the numerical total about 12$ from what would otherwise have been reported. Individual series since 1960 may exhibit an occasional apparent discontinuity. This arises from an ongoing process of revisions in "Visit" estimating procedures which grow out of changes in access or internal circulation roads, or development of new facilities. Among the attached tables the summary by type of area, (previously published), has been replaced by the more useful summary by geographic administrative region. Inside the front cover of this report will be found a map showing the location of the individual areas and the boundaries of the administrative regions. Statistics on the public use of the National Parks, including series on both visits and overnight stays in the parks, are published monthly. For those wishing to study recreation and park use in detail, back numbers of the monthly compilations are available on request until the stock is exhausted. While printed in limited numbers, complete annual sets are usually available for the current year and the immediately preceding bi-ennium. The figures in Tables 2-5 are shown in thousands of visits.

Public use of the national parks; a statistical report, 1954-1964

Series