[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 34 (Tuesday, February 22, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8624-8625]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-3347]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


30-Day Notice of Submission of Study Package to Office of 
Management and Budget; Opportunity for Public Comment

AGENCY: National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

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           2,900       929
 Survey.........................................
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Under provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and 5 CFR 
Part 1320, Reporting and Record Keeping Requirements, the National Park 
Service (NPS) invites comments on a request submitted to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) to approve a new collection of information 
(OMB 1024-XXXX). Comments are invited on: (1) The practical 
utility of the information being gathered; (2) the accuracy of the 
burden hour estimate; (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 March 24, 2005.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments directly to the Desk Officer for the 
Department of the Interior, (OMB  1024-XXXX) Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, by fax at 202-395-6566, or by 
electronic mail at [email protected].
    The OMB has up to 60 days to approve or disapprove the information 
collection but may respond after 30 days. Therefore, to ensure maximum 
consideration, OMB should receive public comments within thirty days of 
the date on which this notice is published in the Federal Register.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION OR A COPY OF THE STUDY PACKAGE SUBMITTED FOR 
OMB REVIEW, CONTACT: Dr. Jim Gramann, Visiting Chief Social Scientist, 
National Park Service, Social Science Program, via phone at 202-513-
7189, via fax at 202-371-2131, or via 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

[[Page 8625]]

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 groups 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: 2,900.
    Estimated average number of responses: 2,900.
    Estimated average burden hours per response: 20 minutes.
    Frequency of Response: 1 time per respondent.
    Estimated annual reporting burden: 929 hours.

    Dated: November 17, 2004.
Leonard E. Stowe,
Acting, National Park Service Information Collection Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 05-3347 Filed 2-18-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P