[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 42 (Wednesday, March 3, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Page 9994]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-4764]


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 Notices
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  Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 42 / Wednesday, March 3, 2004 / 
Notices  

[[Page 9994]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Information Collection; Request for Comments; Forest Stewardship 
Program Participant Survey

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 establish the new information 
collection entitled Forest Stewardship Program Participant Survey. The 
collected information will enable Forest Service officials to determine 
the extent to which Forest Stewardship management plans are affecting 
active forest management on the ground.

DATES: Comments must be received in writing on or before May 3, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Comments concerning this notice should be addressed to Karl 
R. Dalla Rosa, Forest Stewardship Program Manager, Cooperative 
Forestry, State & Private Forestry, Mail Stop 1123, Forest Service, 
USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250.
    Comments also may be submitted via facsimile to (202) 205-1271or by 
e-mail to [email protected].
    The public may inspect comments received in the Office of the 
Director, Cooperative Forestry, State & Private Forestry, Forest 
Service, Room 4, Southeast Wing, Yates Building, 201 14th Street, SW., 
Washington, DC. Visitors are encouraged to call ahead to (202) 205-6206 
to facilitate entry to the building.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karl R. Dalla Rosa, Forest Stewardship 
Program Manager, (202) 205-6206. Individuals who use telecommunication 
devices for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 
1-800-877-8339 twenty-four hours a day, every day of the year, 
including holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Forest Stewardship Program Participant Survey.
    OMB Number: 0596-New.
    Expiration Date of Approval: N/A.
    Type of Request: New.
    Abstract: To encourage and enable active long-term forest 
management, the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 authorizes 
the Forest Service, through the Forest Stewardship Program (FSP), to 
provide technical assistance to nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) 
owners, through State Foresters. A primary focus of the Forest 
Stewardship Program is the development of comprehensive, multi-resource 
management plans that provide landowners with the information they need 
to manage their forests for a variety of products and services. Since 
its establishment in 1991, the Forest Stewardship Program has produced 
more than 225,000 multi-resource management plans encompassing more 
than 25 million acres of nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) land.
    Through interviews with a representative sample of participants, 
such as landowners who have received written management plans, program 
leaders can learn which aspects of the Forest Stewardship Program are 
functioning successfully, where improvements may be needed, and the 
extent to which the Forest Stewardship Program may be complementary to 
other public programs such as those that offer cost-share assistance 
for management plan implementation.
    While data gathered under the Federal Government Performance and 
Results Act of 1993 tend to yield measures of program outputs, such as 
numbers of plans and acres under plans, the goal of the proposed 
interviews is to provide indicators of outcomes.
    The Forest Service has a cooperative agreement with the Center for 
Great Plains Studies at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, 
Nebraska, to collect information. The Center for Great Plains Studies 
contracted with the public Opinion Lab of Northern Illinois University 
in De Kalb, Illinois, to conduct telephone interviews with 
approximately 1,200 respondents. The respondents will be selected 
randomly by computer from lists of landowner participants provided by 
State forestry agency partners.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: 20 minutes.
    Type of Respondents: Non-industrial private landowners, who have 
received written Forest Stewardship Program management plans.
    Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 1,200 respondents.
    Estimated Annual Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 400 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.

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 submission request for 
Office of Management and Budget approval.

    Dated: February 25, 2004.
Robin L. Thompson,
Acting Deputy Chief, State and Private Forestry.
[FR Doc. 04-4764 Filed 3-2-04; 8:45 am]
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