[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 159 (Friday, August 15, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47879-47880]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-18959]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Information Collection; Extending the Forest Service Message to 
Diverse Urban Publics

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, Extending the Forest 
Service Message to Diverse Urban Publics.

DATES: Comments must be received in writing on or before October 14, 
2008 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 
Patricia L. Winter, Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, 
USDA, 4955 Canyon Crest Drive, Riverside, CA 92507.
    Comments also may be submitted via facsimile to (951) 680-1501 or 
by e-mail to: [email protected].
    The public may inspect comments received at Building One Reception, 
4955 Canyon Crest Drive, Riverside, CA 92507, during normal business 
hours. Visitors are encouraged to call ahead to (951) 680-1500 to 
facilitate entry to the building.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patricia L. Winter, Pacific Southwest 
Research Station, USDA FS, (951) 680-1557. 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: Extending the Forest Service Message to Diverse Urban 
Publics.
    OMB Number: 0596-New.
    Type of Request: New.
    Abstract: Forest Service and university researchers will contact 
residents in communities proximate to urban national forests. Through 
those contacts, they will evaluate outdoor recreation participation, 
barriers to participation, engagement in other community activities, 
use of various media types, trust of various media types, and socio-
demographics. The results of this information collection will help 
researchers improve their ability to provide information to natural 
resource managers on communication and information dissemination to 
publics.
    Residents in metropolitan communities surrounding urban national 
forests (age 18 or older) will be contacted via telephone and invited 
to participate in a brief telephone survey. Willing parties will 
participate in the telephone survey or arrange for future contact based 
on their availability and convenience.
    A Forest Service researcher, Agency analysts/technicians, and a 
cooperating university researcher will collect and analyze the data. 
The Forest Service and university researchers are experts in applied 
social psychology and survey research.
    Participants will be asked a series of questions focused on outdoor 
recreation participation, barriers to participation, engagement in 
community activities, use of various types of media (television, radio, 
newspaper, magazines, and Internet), trust in various types of media, 
and socio-demographics. Responses will be voluntary and anonymous, will 
not be stored with contact information at any time, and contact 
information will be purged from researcher files once data collection 
is complete.
    Responses will be used to evaluate selected ethnic/racial groups' 
use and reliance upon forms of media and other sources of information 
about outdoor recreation. Findings will help resource managers 
determine the appropriateness of routes of communication with diverse 
urban publics regarding natural resource issues and outdoor recreation 
opportunities. This in turn will help remedy one of the key barriers to 
use of natural areas for outdoor recreation, a lack of information 
about such opportunities.
    Without the proposed information collection, managers will continue 
to rely upon the traditional means of information dissemination, which 
may perpetuate the information gap found among communities of various 
ethnicities and races regarding outdoor recreation opportunities. The 
information collected will help the researchers supply information to 
natural resource managers and other researchers who are focusing their 
own work on natural resource management values and objectives. 
Additionally, Forest Service officials will share the data with 
community-based organizations serving the interests of diverse publics, 
assisting these organizations in efforts to work with natural resource 
management agencies and facilitate application of findings.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: 10 minutes.
    Type of Respondents: Respondents are residents of metropolitan 
areas

[[Page 47880]]

adjacent to urban national forests, age 18 or older.
    Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 2,000.
    Estimated Annual Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 344 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 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 submission request 
toward Office of Management and Budget approval.

    Dated: August 11, 2008.
Ann Bartuska,
Deputy Chief, Research & Development.
[FR Doc. E8-18959 Filed 8-14-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-P