[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 85 (Tuesday, May 2, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25464-25465]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-10837]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Information Collection; Request for Comments; National Survey on 
Recreation and the Environment

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
Forest Service announces its intention to request an extension of a 
currently approved, multi-agency-sponsored information collection. This 
collection is necessary to ensure that the Forest Service and other 
land managing agencies meet the recreational needs of the public, 
understand the public's attitudes and preferences for management of 
public lands and the environment, and meet Congressionally mandated 
reporting requirements for the Renewable Resources Planning Act and the 
Government Performance and Results Act. Information will be

[[Page 25465]]

collected from adults in the United States.

DATES: Comments must be received in writing on or before July 3, 2000.

ADDRESSES: All comments should be addressed to H. Ken Cordell, Southern 
Research Station, Forest Service, USDA, 320 Green Street, Athens, GA 
30602-2044.
    Comments also may be submitted via facsimile to (706) 559-4266 or 
by e-mail to [email protected].
    The public may inspect comments received at the offices of the 
Southern Research Station, Research Work Unit SRS-4901, Forest Service, 
USDA, 320 Green Street, Athens, Georgia.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: H. Ken Cordell, Southern Research 
Station, at (706) 559-4263.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 
(RPA), as amended, directs the Secretary of Agriculture to periodically 
assess the status of National Forests and other forests and rangeland 
resources. Similar legislative assessment mandates form the basis for 
each of the other Federal agencies that sponsor the National Survey on 
Recreation and the Environment. These agencies include the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Economic Research Service, 
the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Park Service, and the 
Bureau of Land Management. The RPA Assessment Update must be completed 
by 2002.
    Each Federal agency needs to keep abreast of public outdoor 
recreational trends and preferences. The survey assesses the demands 
the public places on Federal and other managed forest, rangeland and 
wilderness resources for recreational purposes and the perceptions the 
public has of the way agencies manage for meeting these demands. The 
collected information enables the agencies to be responsive to the 
trends and preferences of the public while achieving the agencies' 
missions through effective policy, planning, and management of Federal 
lands and other forests and wilderness resources.
    The National Survey on Recreation and the Environment will be used 
to collect the data for the assessment update.
    The first National Recreation Survey (NRS) was conducted in 1960 by 
the Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission and has assumed the 
role of being the United States' baseline survey for outdoor recreation 
and related public land interests. The NRS has served as the official 
source of recreation data for the population in the United States.
    The Forest Service assumed the principle investigative role for the 
Survey in 1986 and, in 1994, conducted the sixth in this continuing 
national series. As the lead agency, Forest Service personnel led the 
conceptualization, design, and execution of the 1994-95 National Survey 
on Recreation and the Environment. The Forest Service is coordinating 
NSRE 2000, which began in 1999. It is the seventh in this series of 
Federally-sponsored recreational surveys.
    The NRS survey series has served not only Federal land managing 
agencies, but also educational institutions, industry, others in the 
private sector, State agencies, and other levels of government.

Description of Information Collection

    The following describes the information collection to be extended:
    Title: National Survey on Recreation and the Environment 2000.
    OMB Number: 0596-0127.
    Expiration Date of Approval: May 31, 2000.
    Type of Request: Extension of a previously approved information 
collection.
    Abstract: The collected information will be used to measure the 
recreational demands the public makes on Federally managed forest and 
wilderness resources and other public lands at all levels of 
government. The Forest Service will use the collected information in 
developing the 2000 and 2003 Renewable Resources Planning Act 
Assessments and the 2000 and 2003 Government Performance and Results 
Act Strategic Plans.
    To enable analysis of trends, many of the interviewing protocols 
used in earlier surveys have been replicated. Interviews are being 
conducted by telephone with telephone numbers selected randomly. 
Persons who answer the phone are interviewed by University of Tennessee 
trained interview personnel. Bilingual interviewers are available to 
overcome language barriers.
    Respondents are all age, ethnic, regional, gender, and household 
strata making up the United States' population. Data is collected from 
a random sample of adults residing in the United States and the 
District of Columbia. Sampling is by means of Random Digit Dialing 
(RDD), resulting in natural stratification of the sample by state, 
county, and area code. RDD samples provide an equal probability of 
reaching all households in the nation with telephone access (i.e., a 
unique telephone number that rings in that household only), whether or 
not that phone number is listed. University of Tennessee interviewers 
collect the data under an agreement with the Southern Research Station 
of the Forest Service.
    Questions address the public's perception of recreational site 
accessibility for disabled persons; the public's perception of how 
Federal forests, forests on other public lands, and wilderness 
resources are managed; the public's perception of how well the Federal 
government delivers the preferred recreational services; and the 
demographics of the respondents.
    Data gathered in this information collection is not available from 
other sources.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: 18 minutes.
    Type of Respondents: Consenting adults with access to a telephone.
    Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 20,000.
    Estimated Annual Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 6,000 hours.

Comment is Invited

    The agency invites comments on the following: (a) Whether the 
proposed collection will meet the stated purposes and is necessary to 
the performance of the agency, including whether the information will 
have practical or scientific utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's 
estimate of the public burden and validity of the methods and 
assumptions used; (c) ways that might improve the quality, utility, and 
clarity of information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the 
burden on respondents, including the use of automated, electronic, 
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms 
of information technology.

Use of Comments

    All comments received in response to this notice, including names 
and addresses when provided, will become a matter of public record. 
Comments will be summarized and included in the request for Office of 
Management and Budget approval.

    Dated: April 25, 2000.
Randle D. Phillips,
Deputy Chief, Programs and Legislation.
[FR Doc. 00-10837 Filed 5-1-00; 8:45 am]
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