[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 189 (Monday, October 1, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55736-55737]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-19253]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Information Collection; Arctic National Refuge Recreation Visitor 
Study

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
Forest Service is seeking comments from all interested individuals and 
organizations on the new information collection, Arctic National 
Wildlife Refuge Recreation Visitor Study--2008.

DATES: Comments must be received in writing on or before November 30, 
2007 to be assured of consideration. Comments received after that date 
will be considered to the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES: Comments concerning this notice should be addressed to Alan 
E. Watson, Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute, USDA Forest 
Service Rocky Mountain Research Station, 790 E. Beckwith Ave., 
Missoula, MT 59801.
    Comments also may be submitted via facsimile to 406-542-4196 or by 
e-mail to: [email protected].
    The public may inspect comments received at the Aldo Leopold 
Wilderness Research Institute, USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain 
Station, 790 E. Beckwith Ave., Missoula, MT during normal business 
hours. Visitors are encouraged to call ahead to 406-542-4197 to 
facilitate entry to the building.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alan E. Watson, Aldo Leopold 
Wilderness Research Institute at 406-542-4197. Individuals who use TDD 
may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339, 24 hours a 
day, every day of the year, including holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Recreation Visitor Study--
2008.
    OMB Number: 0596-NEW.
    Type of Request: New.
    Abstract: The Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute in 
Missoula, Montana, works under an interagency agreement with the U.S. 
Fish & Wildlife Service (Department of the Interior) to provide 
information to support management planning for public wild lands. 
Management of specific refuges is directed by laws,

[[Page 55737]]

policies, and Comprehensive Conservation Plans. The Wilderness Act of 
1964 directs the National Wilderness Preservation System be managed to 
protect natural wilderness conditions and to provide outstanding 
opportunities for the public to find solitude or primitive and 
unconfined types of recreational experiences. The Arctic National 
Wildlife Refuge contains 8,000,000 acres of federally protected 
wilderness (Molly Beattie Wilderness) and over 11,000,000 acres of land 
and water that are managed for multiple values (subsistence, wildlife, 
water quality, scenic values, etc.), and mandated to provide recreation 
experiences to visitors under a number of laws, including the National 
Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act, (as amended by the National 
Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act), the Refuge Recreation Act, and 
the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.
    To help meet Federal agencies' mandates related to recreation, 
scientists at the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute will 
periodically monitor and report, to managers and the public, visitor 
use and user characteristics, and visitor feedback on management 
actions on federal lands. Agency personnel will use the collected 
information to ensure that visitors' recreational activities do not 
harm the natural resources of the refuge and that wilderness-type 
recreation experiences are protected. The agency intends to record 
visitor responses in 2008 for comparison to the most recent survey 
(1977 prior to Refuge status and Wilderness designation), and expand 
the scope of the survey to include visitor feedback to understand major 
dimensions of experiences and factors that influence those experiences. 
Potential influences include encounters with other visitors, 
subsistence users, researchers, and agency personnel and information 
sources used to plan the trip. The data from this information 
collection will be stored at the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research 
Institute in Missoula, Montana. Scientists working at the Research 
Institute will conduct the data analysis.
    The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service will use information from this 
collection to:
    (1) Understand;
    a. Individual visitor demographics, frequency of visits, and 
residence;
    b. Visit characteristics, such as whether they are hunting or not, 
river floating or not, method of access, size of group, and difficulty 
in finding campsites, evaluations of conditions encountered, and 
feedback on information available for trip planning;
    (2) Gain an understanding of how the agency's management of the 
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other potential facilitating and 
constraining factors influence a visitor's recreation experience;
    (3) Help understand how to educate recreation visitors so they do 
not leave impacts from their visits, such as damaged vegetation, 
litter, polluted lakes and streams, and wildlife disturbance while 
engaging in high quality, safe, responsible recreation visits; and
    (4) Provide information that may assist in revision of the Arctic 
National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan.
    Respondents will be recreation visitors to the Arctic National 
Wildlife Refuge. Visitors will be contacted as they enter the Arctic 
Refuge or upon exit and will be provided with a mail-back postcard that 
offers them alternative methods of response to the survey: (1) Mail the 
postage-paid postcard to the Leopold Institute with a name and address 
in order to receive a mail-back survey, (2) mail the postage paid 
postcard to the Leopold Institute with an electronic e-mail address to 
receive an electronic form of the survey, or (3) keep the postcard that 
contains a web address for on-line completion of the survey. All 
responses will be voluntary. Data collected in this information 
collection are not available from other sources and have not been 
collected since 1977.
    This study will only ask recreation visitors (non-local, non-
subsistence users) questions about their recreation visit, their 
personal demographics relevant to education and service provision, and 
factors that have influenced or are likely to influence their 
recreation visits. Survey respondents will be told that this 
information is voluntary, in confidence (their names will not be 
connected to their responses in any way). The Survey will not include 
questions related to oil exploration or development within the 
boundaries of the Refuge.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: 20 minutes.
    Type of Respondents: Individuals.
    Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 900.
    Estimated Annual Number of Responses per Respondent: Once.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 300 hours.
    Comment is Invited:
    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 additional use of automated, electronic, 
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms 
of information technology.
    All comments received in response to this notice, including names 
and addresses when provided, will be a matter of public record. 
Comments will be summarized and included in the request for Office of 
Management and Budget approval.

    Dated: September 21, 2007.
Ann M. Bartuska,
Deputy Chief for Research & Development.
[FR Doc. E7-19253 Filed 9-28-07; 8:45 am]
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