[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 180 (Monday, September 18, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54686-54687]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-7719]


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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: Under provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and 5 
CFR Part 1320, Reporting and Record Keeping Requirements, the NPS 
invites comments on the need for gathering the information in the 
proposed survey (OMB 1024-XXXX).

DATES: Public comments will be accepted on or before November 17, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Send Comments to: Kirsten M. Leong, NPS SCEP Student, 
Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, 306 Fernow Hall, 
Ithaca, NY 14853; Phone: 607-255-4136; e-mail: [email protected].
    To Request a Draft of Proposed Collection of Information Contact: 
Kirsten M. Leong, NPS SCEP Student, Department of Natural Resources, 
Cornell University, 306 Fernow Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853; Phone: 607-255-
4136; e-mail: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Margaret Wild, Biological Resource 
Management Division, 1201 Oakridge Dr., Suite 200, Fort Collins, CO 
80525; Phone: 970-225-3593; e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: Identifying Capacity for Local 
Community Participation in Wildlife Management Planning: White-tailed 
Deer in Northeastern NPS Units.
    Bureau Form Number: None.
    OMB Number: To be requested.
    Expiration Date: To be requested.
    Type of Request: New collection.
    Description of Need: NPS and DOI policies have begun to place more 
emphasis on civic engagement and public participation in park 
management (NPS Director's Order 75A), as well as communication and 
collaboration with local communities (NPS Director's Order 52A. 
Discussions with NPS natural resource managers indicate a need for 
tools to better understand local community residents and ways to engage 
them in management and planning, especially in situations where local 
communities may be impacted by NPS management decisions.
    Biological studies have been conducted on white-tailed deer 
(Odocoileus virginianus) in park units of the northeastern U.S. for 
over two decades to determine deer population density, movement, and 
impact on park resources. Because deer biology has been relatively 
well-studied in parks, management issues related to deer were chosen as 
a model system to study the ways in which input from local stakeholders 
can affect wildlife management planning. Five sites were chosen to 
represent various stages of deer-issue maturity and amount of outreach 
efforts related to these issues: The Potomac Gorge area of Chesapeake 
and Ohio Canal National Historical Park; Fire Island National Seashore; 
Morristown National Historical Park; Prince William Forest Park; and 
Valley Forge National Historical Park. Fire Island National Seashore is 
the only park identified with a long history of deer issues and 
experience with deer outreach activities. Valley Forge National 
Historical Park and Morristown National Historical Park represent parks 
with a long history of deer issues and limited deer outreach 
activities. Prince William Forest Park and Chesapeake and Ohio National 
Historical Park (Potomac Gorge area) represent parks with relatively 
young deer issues and relatively few outreach activities related to 
deer. No parks with young deer issues and many deer outreach activities 
were identified.
    This study will focus on residents of communities near these parks, 
using a mail-back survey to describe and understand their opinions and 
experiences related to the role of parks in deer and other wildlife 
management, their understanding of deer issues and ways to address them 
in parks, and the influence of public input in wildlife management in 
parks. Follow-up telephone interviews with non-respondents (up to 100 
per park) will be conducted to assess non-response bias. This 
information will assist park staff in improving communication with the 
public in the event that these parks consider managing impacts related 
to deer in the future. However, any formal management that is 
considered will be subject to public input requirements of the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4231 et seq.). Therefore, 
research associated with this study should not be considered equivalent 
to public scoping related to a NEPA process. In addition, insights from 
this study will enhance NPS ability to respond to other natural 
resource management issues that involve local communities. 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.
    Automated data collection: This information will be primarily 
collected via mail-back questionnaire. Telephone interviews will be 
conducted with a small number of non-respondents to the mail survey. No 
automated data collection will take place.
    Description of respondents: Residents of communities near: the 
Potomac Gorge area of Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical 
Park; Fire Island National Seashore; Morristown National Historical 
Park; Prince William National Historical Park; and Valley Forge 
National Historical Park.
    Estimated average number of respondents: 2,500 (2,000 respondents 
for mail survey; 500 respondents for telephone interviews).
    Estimated average number of responses: 2,500 (2,000 respondents for

[[Page 54687]]

mail survey; 500 respondents for telephone interviews).
    Estimated average burden hours per response: \1/3\ hour for mail 
survey respondents; \1/12\ hour for follow-up telephone interview 
respondents.
    Frequency of Response: 1 time per respondent.
    Estimated annual reporting burden: 709 hours.

    Dated: September 7, 2006.
Leonard E. Stowe,
NPS, Information Collection Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 06-7719 Filed 9-15-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-M