WENATCHEE — People who hike, ride, camp or picnic in certain parts of the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest will be counted — and some will be asked to take a survey — over the next year.

For the third time the forest will participate in the National Visitor Use Monitoring Project, conducted every five years to track the number of visitors to national forests, and how the purposes for those visits have changed, said Mary Bean, recreation program manager for the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest.

The study begins this month and will continue through next September.

Bean said road and trail counters will mechanically gather information about the number of visitors who come to high, medium and low-use sites in selected areas across the forest during the next year.

She said some people will also be asked to participate in a 10-minute interview as they’re leaving the national forest. Participation is voluntary, and confidential, she said.

Visitors should not expect to find those conducting interviews to be dressed in Forest Service uniforms, since employees will not be doing the surveys, Bean said. She said a graduate student from West Virginia University is coordinating the interviews.

Bean said the Forest Service conducted similar studies on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest in 2004, and in 1999.

The information gathered not only shows whether more or fewer people are visiting the national forest, it also exposes changes in the way people use the forest, she said. “For example, 20 or 30 years ago, more people were backpacking and camping overnight in the backcountry,” she said. “As demographics changed, day hiking is now more likely to be practiced than backpacking.”

The information helps the Forest Service know what facilities to update or maintain, and which areas may not have the same demand, Bean said.

Information can also be useful to local businesses and communities that rely on people who come to the area for recreation, she said.

More information about the monitoring project can be found at fs.fed.us or from the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest office in Wenatchee.

K.C. Mehaffey: 997-2512

mehaffey@wenatcheeworld.com