[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 123 (Friday, June 26, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34917-34918]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-17047]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Geological Survey


Request for Public Comments on Proposed Information Collection 
Submitted to the Office of Management and Budget for Review Under the 
Paperwork Reduction Act

    The proposed information collection described below has been 
submitted to the Office of Management and Budget for approval under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). 
Copies of the proposed collection of information may be obtained by 
contacting the Bureau's clearance officer at the phone number listed 
below. OMB has up to 60 days to approve or disapprove the information 
collection but may respond after 30 days; therefore, public comments 
should be submitted to OMB within 30 days in order to assure their 
maximum consideration. Comments and suggestions on the proposal should 
be made directly to the Desk Officer for the Interior Department, 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and 
Budget, Washington, DC 20503 and to the Bureau clearance officer, U.S. 
Geological Survey, 807 National Center, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, 
Reston, Virginia 20192, (703) 648-7313).
    Specific public comments are requested as to:
    1. whether the collection of information is necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions on the bureaus, including whether 
the information will have practical utility;
    2. the accuracy of the bureau's estimate of the burden of the 
collection of information, including the validity of the methodology 
and assumptions used:
    3. the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be 
collected; and
    4. how to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other forms of information technology.
    Title: Qualify of life in southwestern Colorado and northwestern 
New Mexico.
    OMB Approval Number: New Collection.
    Abstract: This study is one part of an integrated study of public 
knowledge of, preferences for, and responses to tourism and recreation 
development on the Colorado Plateau. The correlated information is 
designed to assist Federal, state, and local land and resource managers 
in their management decisions by providing information about the 
knowledge, needs, and desires of the affected publics surrounding 
public lands. Natural resource land managers and county government 
officials in seven counties, working as partners in this research, ran 
adjust management practices in response to citizens' knowledge and 
perceived values. The intended effect is to better inform managers and 
assist land managers in developing citizen involvement programs. This 
study is being conducted in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, 
Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and as part of the 
Colorado Plateau Ecosystem Partnership Program (CPEPP). This study is 
part of a peer-reviewed research study plan of the Midcontinent 
Ecological Science Center in Fort Collins, Colorado and is part of the 
study plan of the CPEPP.
    To build a picture of quality of life on the Colorado Plateau, we 
will measure the perceptions and preferences for the environment held 
by diverse residents at several locations in the region. Our objectives 
are to describe what resident populations perceive as the most salient 
elements of the region's natural landscapes, ecosystems, and human 
communities; what would have to be maintained, protected, or restored 
to attain conditions of community and ecosystem quality that residents 
desire. The first iteration of this research approach has been 
conducted by Utah State University for the Utah State Travel Council in 
partnership with the Canyon Country Partnership. The goal of that study 
was to help achieve the Travel Council's specific directive to relate 
tourism planning to local residents' quality of life. For this second 
iteration, surveys will be administered to a stratified random sample 
of citizens living in two counties in Colorado (Montezuma, an La Plata) 
and in San Juan County, New Mexico. The sampling design is being 
developed in partnership with the combined U.S. Fortes Service and 
Bureau of Land Management office in Durango, Colorado, and Fort Lewis 
College.
    Respondents will be given 12 exposure, one-time use, 35mm cameras 
and will be asked to photograph areas of their community that either 
add to or detract from their quality of life. Respondents will receive 
complete sets of their photographs, accompanied by a short follow-up, 
mail survey instrument for the purposes of collecting demographic data 
and cross-checking the quality of life factors reflected in the 
photographs.
    Bureau Form Number: None.
    Frequency: One time.

[[Page 34918]]

    Description of Respondents: Individuals or households.
    Number of respondents: 420.
    Burden hours: 1714 hours. (The burden hour estimate is based on a 
70% return rate, with an average of 15 minutes to 4 hours to take the 
photographs and fill out the photo log plus an additional 10 minutes to 
complete the follow-up questionnaire plus any additional time to 
travel.) We estimate one-third of the 420 will not use any optional 
travel time to complete the survey; one-third will take 1 hour, and 
one-third will use up to 10 hours of optional travel time to complete 
the survey.

    Dated: June 22, 1998.
Dennis B. Fenn,
Chief Biologist.
[FR Doc. 98-17047 Filed 6-25-98; 8:45 am]
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