[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 6, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40649-40650]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-15146]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


60 Day Notice of Intention To Request Clearance of Collection of 
Information; Opportunity for Public Comment

AGENCY: Department of the Interior, National Park Service

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Cape Cod National Seashore Impacts of Hunting Survey of 
Hunters, Visitors and Residents will provide park managers and others 
with important social science input about public attitudes on hunting 
and an assessment about whether conflicts over hunting are occurring at 
the Cape Cod National Seashore. Specifically the study will use hunter, 
resident and visitor surveys to (1) Assess attitudes about hunting and 
hunting programs at the Cape Cod National Seashore, (2) determine the 
extent of conflict between hunters and nonhunters in the Cape Cod 
National Seashore and surrounding communities, (3) assess the extent to 
which the attitudes and characteristics of area residents and visitors 
to Cape Cod National Seashore have changed since the early 1990s, and 
(4) estimate the extent, and distribution of hunters and profile the 
behaviors of hunters within the Seashore.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                   Estimated numbers of
                                                 -----------------------
                                                                 Burden
                                                   Responses     hours
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cape Cod National Seashore Impacts of Hunting           1,500        625
 Survey.........................................
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Under provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and 5 CFR 
part 1320, Reporting and Record Keeping Requirements, the National Park 
Service invites comments on the need for gathering the information in 
the proposed survey. Comments are invited on: (1) The practical utility 
of the information being gathered; (2) the accuracy of the burden hour 
estimate;

[[Page 40650]]

(3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (4) ways to minimize the burden to 
respondents, including use of automated information collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Cape Cod National Seashore has been charged by the United States 
District Court, District of Massachusetts to re-evaluate its hunting 
programs and will be preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 
of hunting within its borders. This study will provide social science 
input into the EIS process by measuring the attitudes toward hunting 
among Seashore visitors and the Seashore neighbors, the extent of 
conflict between hunters and non-hunters, and the attitudes and 
behaviors of hunters at the Seashore.

DATES: Public comments will be accepted on or before September 7, 2004.

SEND COMMENTS TO: Dr. James H. Gramann, Visiting Chief Social 
Scientist, National Park Service, Social Science Program, 1849 C 
Street, NW (2300), Washington, DC 20240-0001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Forist, Research Associate, 
National Park Service Social Science Program by telephone at 202-513-
7190 or by electronic mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Titles: Cape Cod National Seashore Impacts of Hunting Survey of 
Visitors and Residents.
    Bureau Form Number: None.
    OMB Number: To be requested.
    Expiration Date: To be requested.
    Type of request: New Collection.
    Description of need: Because of the long-standing tradition of 
hunting on Cape Cod, the enabling legislation of Cape Cod National 
Seashore in 1961 allowed for continued hunting activity within the 
boundaries of the Seashore. Animal rights group have argued that 
environmental and social conditions in and around the Seashore have 
changed, and that hunting should be discontinued. Public meetings about 
this issue have been contentious, with the hunting community voicing 
strong opposition to changes in current hunting regulations within the 
Seashore. Given the polarity of the current debate, questions remain: 
Do area residents and visitors object to hunting in the Seashore, are 
they neutral about the issue, or do they consider it an appropriate 
and/or desirable use of the area? To what extent do residents and 
visitors feel threatened by hunting activities? How often do conflicts 
occur between hunters and non-hunters during the fall and winter 
hunting seasons? And what is the extent of hunting activity on the 
Seashore? This study is designed to better understand the scope of 
hunting activities at the Seashore, the degree of conflict that occurs 
over the practice, and how people feel about hunting at the Seashore.
    Automated data collection: At the present time, there is no 
automated way to gather this information because it includes directly 
contacting hunters, visitors to Cape Cod National Seashore, and 
residents in the six surrounding townships.
    Description of respondents: Visitors to Cape Cod National Seashore 
and residents of the following townships on Cape Cod: Provincetown, 
Truro, Wellfleet, Eastham, Orleans, and Chatham.
    Estimated average number of respondents: 1,500.
    Estimated average number of responses: 1,500.
    Estimated average burden hours per response: 25 minutes.
    Frequency of Response: 1 time per respondent.
    Estimated annual reporting burden: 625 hours.

    Dated: May 25, 2004.
Leonard E. Stowe,
Acting, National Park Service Information Collection Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 04-15146 Filed 7-2-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P