Information Collection; Request for Comment; National Forest Visitor Use Monitoring, 54706-54707 [05-18385]
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54706
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 179 / Friday, September 16, 2005 / Notices
determine whether the requesting party
consents to the fees charged by NAL.
Estimate of Burden: Average 1.00
minute per response.
Description of Respondents:
Respondents to the collection of
information are those libraries,
institutions, or organizations that
request interlibrary loans or copies of
material in the NAL collections. Each
respondent must furnish the
information for each loan or copying
request.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
2100.
Frequency of Responses: Average 15
per respondent.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on
Respondents: 525 hours.
Comments: Comments are invited on
(a) Whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the
agency, including whether the
information will have a practical utility;
(b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate
of the burden of the proposed collection
of information including the validity of
the methodology and assumptions used;
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility,
and clarity of the information to be
collected; and (d) ways to minimize the
burden of the collection of information
on those who are to respond, such as
through the use of appropriate
automated, electronic, mechanical, or
other technological collection
techniques. Comments may be sent to
Wayne Thompson at the address listed
above within 65 days after date of
publication. All responses to this notice
will be summarized and included in the
request for OMB approval. All
comments will also become a matter of
public record.
Dated: September 8, 2005.
Edward B. Knipling,
Administrator, ARS.
[FR Doc. 05–18380 Filed 9–15–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–03–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Information Collection; Request for
Comment; National Forest Visitor Use
Monitoring
Forest Service, USDA.
Notice.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
SUMMARY: In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the
Forest Service is seeking comments
from all interested individuals and
organizations on the extension with
VerDate Aug<31>2005
15:04 Sep 15, 2005
Jkt 205001
revision of information collection,
National Forest Visitor Use Monitoring.
DATES: Comments must be received in
writing on or before November 15, 2005
to be assured of consideration.
Comments received after that date will
be considered to the extent practicable.
ADDRESSES: Comments concerning this
notice should be addressed to Dr.
Donald B.K. English, NVUM Program
Manager, USDA-Forest Service, 1400
Independence Ave SW., Washington,
DC 20250.
Comments also may be submitted via
facsimile to (202) 205–1145 or by e-mail
to: denglish@fs.fed.us.
The public may inspect comments
received at Room 4 Central, Yates
Building, USDA-Forest Service,
Recreation and Heritage Resources staff,
1400 Independence Ave. SW.,
Washington, DC during normal business
hours. Visitors are encouraged to call
ahead to (202) 205–9595 to facilitate
entry to the building.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.
Donald B.K. English, Recreation and
Heritage Resources staff, at (202) 205–
9595. Individuals who use
telecommunication devices for the deaf
may call the Federal Relay Service at 1–
800–877–8339, 24 hours a day, every
day of the year, including holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Government Performance and
Results Act of 1993 requires that Federal
agencies establish measurable goals and
monitor their success at meeting those
goals. Two items the Forest Service
must measure are: (1) The number of
visits that occur on the National forest
lands for recreation and other purposes,
and (2) the views and satisfaction level
of recreational visitors to National
Forest System lands about the types and
quality of recreation services the agency
provides. The agency is often asked for
this kind of information from a variety
of organizations that include
Congressional Staffs, newspapers,
magazines, and recreational trade
organizations.
National Forest System land managers
will use the collected information to
better understand their recreational
customers, to improve recreational
opportunities and services, and to
identify barriers that prevent the agency
from meeting the recreational needs of
its customers. Data and results from this
information collection are key
considerations in revising land and
resource management plans for National
Forests, as required by the National
Forest Management Act of 1976, and in
agency strategic planning efforts. In
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addition, information and results from
this collection are directly used in
several of the OMB Program Analysis
Reporting Tool (PART) measures for the
Forest Service Recreation program.
Examples include measures of customer
satisfaction, participation in physically
active outdoor activities, and estimates
of recreation visitation.
The currently approved information
collection is designed to estimate the
number of visits to National Forests and
Grasslands for recreation as well as
obtain information on key management
issues including the proportion of
visitors that engage in various outdoor
recreation activities, the geographic and
demographic populations served, visitor
satisfaction with facilities and services
provided, the amount of recreational use
that occurs on designated wilderness
areas, and salient economic aspects of
recreational use of National Forests. The
collected information will be shared
with all National Forest System land
managers and upon request, with others.
Results from this collection will be
published in agency reports and various
research journals.
The sampling design, survey
instrument, and analysis protocols are
also being tested at several areas by the
Department of the Interior (DOI), Bureau
of Land Management to evaluate the
applicability of this collection as a
scientifically-credible and effective
means of obtaining visitation estimates
and visitor characteristics on its lands.
As well, the DOI National Park Service
and Fish and Wildlife Service will be
testing the protocols on their lands in
Southern Nevada to obtain information
needed to conform with the Southern
Nevada Public Land Management Act.
Title: National Visitor Use
Monitoring.
OMB Number: 0596–0110.
Expiration Date of Approval: April 30,
2006.
Type of Request: Extension with
revision.
Abstract: Data from this information
collection is used to estimate the
number of recreational visits to National
Forests and Grasslands, and designated
wilderness areas, as well as the types of
activities in which these visitors
participate. The data are used to identify
recreational markets, defined customers
served, evaluate visitor satisfaction, and
estimate the economic values and
impacts of recreational visits.
Respondents are asked questions about
the activities in which they participate
while visiting National Forest System
lands, the duration of their visit, how
often they visit, what types of items they
have purchased during their visit, and
E:\FR\FM\16SEN1.SGM
16SEN1
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 179 / Friday, September 16, 2005 / Notices
their satisfaction with various aspects of
the locations they visited.
Forest Service or contractor personnel
will interview visitors as they exit
National Forest System lands at a
stratified random sample of recreational
sites and forest access points. Surveys
will be conducted on about one-fifth of
the National Forests each year, so that
complete coverage of agency lands
occurs over a five-year cycle. Results of
this study will be published in agency
reports and various research journals.
Data gathered in this collection is not
available from other sources.
Estimate of Annual Burden: 10
minutes.
Type of Respondents: People who
visit National Forest System lands.
Estimated Annual Number of
Respondents: 66,000.
Estimated Annual Number of
Responses per Respondent: 1.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on
Respondents: 11,000 hours.
Comment is invited on: (1) Whether
this collection of information is
necessary for the stated purposes and
the proper performance of the functions
of the agency, including whether the
information will have practical or
scientific utility; (2) the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of the burden of the
collection of information, including the
validity of the methodology and
assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance
the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (4)
ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on
respondents, including the use of
automated, electronic, mechanical, or
other technological collection
techniques or other forms of information
technology.
All comments received in response to
this notice, including names and
addresses when provided, will be a
matter of public record. Comments will
be summarized and included in the
request for Office of Management and
Budget approval.
Dated: September 2, 2005.
Frederick R. Norbury,
Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest
System.
[FR Doc. 05–18385 Filed 9–15–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–11–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Plumas National Forest, Feather River
Ranger District, California, Slapjack
Project
AGENCY:
Forest Service, USDA.
VerDate Aug<31>2005
15:04 Sep 15, 2005
Jkt 205001
Notice to intent to prepare an
environmental impact statement.
ACTION:
SUMMARY: The USDA Forest Service will
prepare an environmental impact
statement to disclose the environmental
effects from construction of defensible
fuel profile zones (DFPZs); harvest and
reforestation of timber stands; watersted
rehabilitation; control of noxious weeds;
construction of temporary roads and
reconstruction of specified roads;
decommissioning of roads; road access
restrictions, and underburning forest
fuels and debris in the Slapjack project
area.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope
of the analysis must be received within
30 days of the publication of this notice
in the Federal Register. The draft
environmental impact statement is
expected by January 2006, and the final
environmental impact statement is
expected by April 2006.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments
˜
concerning this notice to James M. Pena,
Forest Supervisor, Plumas National
Forest, P.O. Box 11500, 159 Lawrence
Street, Quincy, CA 95971. Comments
may be (1) mailed to the Responsible
Official; (2) hand-delivered between the
hours of 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m., Monday
through Friday, excluding holidays; (3)
faxed to (530) 283–7746; or (4)
electronically mailed to: commentspacificsouthwestplumas@fs.fed.us.
Comments submitted electronically
must be in Rich Text Format (.rtf).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Susan Joyce, Project Leader, Feather
River Ranger District, 875 Mitchell
Avenue, Oroville, CA 95965, or call
(530) 534–6500.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Project Location
The Slapjack project area is located
approximately 19 air miles east of
Oroville, California, near the
communities of Challenge, Brownsville,
Dobbins, Forbestown, Feather Falls,
Woodleaf, Clipper Mills, and Strawberry
Valley. The project area consists of
approximately 27,000 acres of public
and private land and is located within
Butte, Yuba, and Plumas Counties,
California. It is generally situated
between Lake Oroville to Dobbins to the
west, the North Yuba River to Wambo
Bar on the East, and from Barton Hill to
the town of Feather Falls to the North.
The area ranges in elevation from
approximately 1,300 to 3,800 feet above
mean sea level.
The legal description of the project
area is: Township (T) 20N, Range (R) 6E,
portions of Sections 15, 23, 25, 26, and
34; T20N, R8E, portions of Section 32;
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54707
T19N, R6E, portions of Sections 2–5, 9,
11 and 14; T19N, R7E, portions of
Sections 1, 8, 11–13, 16–21 and 27–34;
T19N, R8E, portions of Sections 4, 5,
and 6; T18N, R7E, portions of Sections
2, 3, 12, 14, 22, 23, 26, and 34, Mount
Diablo Base and Meridian.
Proposed Action
The Forest Service proposes to
construct approximately 18 miles of
DFPZs with a total treatment area of
approximately 4,800 acres. A DFPZ is a
strategically located strip of land
approximately 1⁄4 mile in width on
which fuels, both living and dead, have
been modified in order to reduce the
potential for sustained crown fire and to
allow fire suppression personnel a safer
location from which to take action
against a wildfire. Proposed DFPZs are
located primarily on ridges. Due to
dense brush in the area, use of
herbicides is proposed to maintain the
effectiveness of the DFPZs. Use of
mechanical ground based equipment is
proposed on 1,099 acres in DFPZs for
masticating woody shrubs and trees
under 10 inches in diameter at breast
height. The healthiest, largest, and
tallest conifers would be left at a
spacing of 18 to 25 feet, depending on
size of the remaining trees. Mastication
would break up fuel continuity in these
stands.
The Forest Service also proposes to
harvest approximately 12 million board
feet of timber through application of
group selection and individual tree
selection harvest methods. Group
selection timber harvest would be
conducted on approximately 240 acres
within and near the DFPZ treatment
units. Group selection involves harvest
of trees up to 30-inches in diameter
from small (1⁄2 to 2 acres) groups. The
240 acres would be harvested from a
total area of about 2,291 acres. Over
time, this would create an uneven-aged
(all-aged) forests made up of a
patchwork of small groups of same-aged
trees. Individual tree selection harvest
would be conducted on 148 acres to
improve forest health and favor fire
resilient tree species.
Use of existing and temporary roads
would be needed to access timber and
DFPZ treatment areas. An estimated 26
miles of existing road would be
reconstructed with 2 additional miles of
road resurfacing. An additional 26 miles
of road, no longer in use or needed,
would be decommissioned or closed by
various methods, such as removal of
culverts, ripping and seeding,
recountouring, and installing barriers.
Use of herbicides to control the
spread of noxious weeds is proposed on
10 to 15 acres. Aquatic and riparian
E:\FR\FM\16SEN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 179 (Friday, September 16, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54706-54707]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-18385]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Information Collection; Request for Comment; National Forest
Visitor Use Monitoring
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the
Forest Service is seeking comments from all interested individuals and
organizations on the extension with revision of information collection,
National Forest Visitor Use Monitoring.
DATES: Comments must be received in writing on or before November 15,
2005 to be assured of consideration. Comments received after that date
will be considered to the extent practicable.
ADDRESSES: Comments concerning this notice should be addressed to Dr.
Donald B.K. English, NVUM Program Manager, USDA-Forest Service, 1400
Independence Ave SW., Washington, DC 20250.
Comments also may be submitted via facsimile to (202) 205-1145 or
by e-mail to: denglish@fs.fed.us.
The public may inspect comments received at Room 4 Central, Yates
Building, USDA-Forest Service, Recreation and Heritage Resources staff,
1400 Independence Ave. SW., Washington, DC during normal business
hours. Visitors are encouraged to call ahead to (202) 205-9595 to
facilitate entry to the building.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Donald B.K. English, Recreation
and Heritage Resources staff, at (202) 205-9595. Individuals who use
telecommunication devices for the deaf may call the Federal Relay
Service at 1-800-877-8339, 24 hours a day, every day of the year,
including holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 requires that
Federal agencies establish measurable goals and monitor their success
at meeting those goals. Two items the Forest Service must measure are:
(1) The number of visits that occur on the National forest lands for
recreation and other purposes, and (2) the views and satisfaction level
of recreational visitors to National Forest System lands about the
types and quality of recreation services the agency provides. The
agency is often asked for this kind of information from a variety of
organizations that include Congressional Staffs, newspapers, magazines,
and recreational trade organizations.
National Forest System land managers will use the collected
information to better understand their recreational customers, to
improve recreational opportunities and services, and to identify
barriers that prevent the agency from meeting the recreational needs of
its customers. Data and results from this information collection are
key considerations in revising land and resource management plans for
National Forests, as required by the National Forest Management Act of
1976, and in agency strategic planning efforts. In addition,
information and results from this collection are directly used in
several of the OMB Program Analysis Reporting Tool (PART) measures for
the Forest Service Recreation program. Examples include measures of
customer satisfaction, participation in physically active outdoor
activities, and estimates of recreation visitation.
The currently approved information collection is designed to
estimate the number of visits to National Forests and Grasslands for
recreation as well as obtain information on key management issues
including the proportion of visitors that engage in various outdoor
recreation activities, the geographic and demographic populations
served, visitor satisfaction with facilities and services provided, the
amount of recreational use that occurs on designated wilderness areas,
and salient economic aspects of recreational use of National Forests.
The collected information will be shared with all National Forest
System land managers and upon request, with others. Results from this
collection will be published in agency reports and various research
journals.
The sampling design, survey instrument, and analysis protocols are
also being tested at several areas by the Department of the Interior
(DOI), Bureau of Land Management to evaluate the applicability of this
collection as a scientifically-credible and effective means of
obtaining visitation estimates and visitor characteristics on its
lands. As well, the DOI National Park Service and Fish and Wildlife
Service will be testing the protocols on their lands in Southern Nevada
to obtain information needed to conform with the Southern Nevada Public
Land Management Act.
Title: National Visitor Use Monitoring.
OMB Number: 0596-0110.
Expiration Date of Approval: April 30, 2006.
Type of Request: Extension with revision.
Abstract: Data from this information collection is used to estimate
the number of recreational visits to National Forests and Grasslands,
and designated wilderness areas, as well as the types of activities in
which these visitors participate. The data are used to identify
recreational markets, defined customers served, evaluate visitor
satisfaction, and estimate the economic values and impacts of
recreational visits. Respondents are asked questions about the
activities in which they participate while visiting National Forest
System lands, the duration of their visit, how often they visit, what
types of items they have purchased during their visit, and
[[Page 54707]]
their satisfaction with various aspects of the locations they visited.
Forest Service or contractor personnel will interview visitors as
they exit National Forest System lands at a stratified random sample of
recreational sites and forest access points. Surveys will be conducted
on about one-fifth of the National Forests each year, so that complete
coverage of agency lands occurs over a five-year cycle. Results of this
study will be published in agency reports and various research
journals. Data gathered in this collection is not available from other
sources.
Estimate of Annual Burden: 10 minutes.
Type of Respondents: People who visit National Forest System lands.
Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 66,000.
Estimated Annual Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 11,000 hours.
Comment is invited on: (1) Whether this collection of information
is necessary for the stated purposes and the proper performance of the
functions of the agency, including whether the information will have
practical or scientific utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's
estimate of the burden of the collection of information, including the
validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance
the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected;
and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on
respondents, including the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or
other technological collection techniques or other forms of information
technology.
All comments received in response to this notice, including names
and addresses when provided, will be a matter of public record.
Comments will be summarized and included in the request for Office of
Management and Budget approval.
Dated: September 2, 2005.
Frederick R. Norbury,
Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest System.
[FR Doc. 05-18385 Filed 9-15-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-P
