[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 38 (Thursday, February 26, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9857-9858]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-4913]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management
[OR-938-6330-01 24 1A]


Extension of Currently Approved Information Collection; OMB 
Approval Number: 1004-0173

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces its intention to request 
extension of approval to collect information from those contractors who 
are awarded contracts under the Jobs-in-the-Woods Program. This program 
was created through the President's Northwest Economic Adjustment 
Initiative to create jobs in the timber-impacted communities of 
Washington State, Oregon and northern California. BLM collects this 
information to gauge the effectiveness of the Jobs-in-the-Woods Program 
in achieving its intent of employing workers displaced by severe 
reductions in timber harvests in the northwestern United States in 
recent years.

DATES: Submit comments on the proposed information collection by April 
27, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to: Bureau of Land Management, Oregon 
State Office (OR-910), 1515 SW Th Ave., Portland, Oregon 97201, or by 
way of Internet to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Robert Rheiner, Jr., (503) 952-6015.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with 5 CFR 1320.12(a), B.M. is 
required to provide 60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning an 
approved collection of information to solicit comments on: (1) Whether 
the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance 
of the functions of the agency, including whether the information has 
practical utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
burden of collecting the information, including the validity of 
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 collecting the information on those who are 
to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology. BLM will receive and analyze any 
comments sent in response to this notice and include them with its 
request for approval from the Office of Management and Budget under 44 
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.
    The Jobs-in-the-Woods Program is a result of the President's 
Northwest Initiative to provide funding for assisting workers displaced 
by reduced logging activities on public lands in the Pacific northwest. 
The funding is intended for jobs which would restore forest ecosystems 
in the region. The Jobs-in-the-Woods Employment Evaluation, which is 
the subject of this information collection, consists of four items of 
information to be requested in each Jobs-in-the-Woods contract issued. 
The BLM Contracting Officer supplies the contractors with these four 
items before each Jobs-in-the-Woods contract is signed. The four items 
are: (1) The number of workers employed on the contract, including 
managers, supervisors and support personnel; (2) the number of days 
these workers worked on the contract, the total being based on an 8-
hour work day; (3) the total amount of wages and benefits paid to these 
workers; and (4) the number of workers, if any, considered to be 
displaced timber workers. Each contractor must submit responses to 
these items to BLM's Contracting Officer, along with the final invoice, 
before being paid the final contract amount.
    BLM and other Federal land management agencies, as well as 
Administration officials and Congress,

[[Page 9858]]

use this information to gauge the effectiveness of the Jobs-in-the-
Woods Program in employing displaced timber workers and in restoring 
damaged forest ecosystems.
    Based on past experience, BLM estimates that approximately 125 
contractors will spend 8 hours each reading the instructions, 
collecting the data and reporting the data to BLM. The total estimated 
information burden is 1,000 hours. The frequency of response is once, 
as a condition of receiving final payment on each contract.

    Dated: February 23, 1998.
Carole J. Smith,
Information Collection Officer.
[FR Doc. 98-4913 Filed 2-25-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-84-M