I suspect the caliber of information varies by agency and even location within a given agency. For example, when I call the USFS office at the Red River Gorge in Kentucky, I get invariably good information. However, I've also encountered other USFS areas where all I get is the official line: "All I can tell you is that the water is not safe to drink." "What if I filter it?" "All I can tell you is that water is not safe to drink." Another time, I called the NPS office at Isle Royale to ask about the parasite that is in the water, and I was put through to a ranger who actually did the monitoring; he even was able to intelligently discuss the various filters available and indicate where some might fall short.

I suspect it depends partly on attitude - get someone who keeps their head down and takes the approach "Not in my job description" and you get bad results. Get the knowledgable person and you've struck gold. Usually, what I hope for is the one in between: the one who is alert and interested in what the knowledgeable folks say, smart enough to realize when they aren't able to give an intelligent answer, and brave enough to say, "I'm not well-informed about that, but I know who is. Let me see if he/she has a minute to talk to you." I've even had some of those folks say, "He's not available now, but if I can have your number, one of us will get back to you with an answer." Or even, "Here's her email - send her your question and we'll get you an answer."

As with most other contacts in the course of your day, it all depends on the caliber of the person on the other end of the phone.