Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request, 13679 [2024-03748]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 37 (Friday, February 23, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 13679]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-03748]


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Notices
                                                Federal Register
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This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 37 / Friday, February 23, 2024 / 
Notices

[[Page 13679]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    The Department of Agriculture has submitted the following 
information collection requirement(s) to OMB for review and clearance 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13. Comments 
are requested regarding: whether the collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility; the 
accuracy of the agency's estimate of burden including the validity of 
the methodology and assumptions used; ways to enhance the quality, 
utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are 
to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques 
and other forms of information technology.
    Comments regarding this information collection received by March 
25, 2024 will be considered. Written comments and recommendations for 
the proposed information collection should be submitted within 30 days 
of the publication of this notice on the following website 
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information 
collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for 
Public Comments'' or by using the search function.
    An agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information 
unless the collection of information displays a currently valid OMB 
control number and the agency informs potential persons who are to 
respond to the collection of information that such persons are not 
required to respond to the collection of information unless it displays 
a currently valid OMB control number.

Forest Service

    Title: National Woodland Owner Survey.
    OMB Control Number: 0596-0078.
    Summary of Collection: The main authority for this collection is 
the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974. The 
Act states that the Forest Service is tasked with ``assessing the 
Nation's renewable resources'' and this ``must be based on a 
comprehensive assessment of present and anticipated uses, demand for, 
and supply of renewable resources from the Nation's public and private 
forests.'' A ``comprehensive assessment'' and a statement that ``the 
majority of the Nation's forests and rangeland is under private, State, 
and local governmental management and the Nation's major capacity to 
produce goods and services is based on these nonfederally managed 
renewable resources, the Federal Government should be a catalyst to 
encourage and assist these owners in the efficient long-term use and 
improvement of these lands and their renewable resources consistent 
with the principles of sustained yield multiple use''. The USDA Forest 
Service interprets the above provisions to call for studies aimed at 
understanding land ownership patterns and the attitudes and behaviors 
of owners and manager. A survey of owners and managers was deemed 
appropriate for meeting this mandate. This was reaffirmed in the 2014 
Farm Bill which included a statement directing the Forest Inventory and 
Analysis program, which implements the National Woodland Owner Survey, 
to provide an ``increased understanding . . . of the over 10,000,000 
family forest owners, their demographics, and the barriers to forest 
stewardship.''
    Need and Use of the Information: Data from the National Woodland 
Owner Survey will be used by federal and state forestry agencies, 
academics, private consultants, landowners, non-governmental 
organizations, and other groups interested in understanding the owners 
and managers of forestland in the United States. This information will 
be used to describe ownership patterns in national reports, such as 
Forest Resources of the United States, 2017, and it will be included in 
many state-level forest resource reports. Federal and state agencies 
use this information to design, implement, and monitor forestry 
assistance programs, such as the USDA Forest Service's Forest 
Stewardship Program. Forestry consultants, non-governmental 
organizations, and the forest industry use this information to make 
strategic planning decisions, such as where to site new biomass 
processing facilities, what services to offer, or where to concentrate 
conservation efforts. Extension agents and other educators use the 
information to design educational materials and programs. University 
and other researchers use the data for a myriad of reasons, ranging 
from assessments of minority landowners to factors influencing 
participation rates.
    Description of Respondents: Individuals or households; Business or 
other for-profit; State, Local or Tribal Government.
    Number of Respondents: 5,630.
    Frequency of Responses: Reporting: Annual.
    Total Burden Hours: 4,270.

Levi S. Harrell,
Departmental Information Collection Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2024-03748 Filed 2-22-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3411-15-P