[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 76 (Wednesday, April 22, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18395-18396]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-9284]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R4-R-2009-N0084] [41510-1261-0000-4A]


Proposed Information Collection; Economic Valuation and Visitor 
Satisfaction Survey, Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION:  Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY:  We (Fish and Wildlife Service) will ask the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the information collection (IC) 
described below. As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and 
as part of our continuing efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent 
burden, we invite the general public and other Federal agencies to take 
this opportunity to comment on this IC. We may not conduct or sponsor 
and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information 
unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

DATES: Your comments must be received by June 22, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the IC to Hope Grey, Information 
Collection Clearance Officer, Fish and Wildlife Service, MS 222-ARLSQ, 
4401 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203 (mail); hope_
[email protected] (e-mail).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information 
about this IC, contact Hope Grey by mail or e-

[[Page 18396]]

mail (see ADDRESSES) or by telephone at (703) 358-2482.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge is developing a 
Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP), a 15-year planning document, to 
chart the course of future management options on the refuge. The refuge 
was established in 1983 for the purpose of protecting the Florida 
manatee, an endangered species.
    Citrus County, where the refuge is located, is heavily dependent on 
manatee ecotourism as a source of tourist revenue. Local tour operators 
conduct manatee-human interactions in the form of ``swim with'' the 
manatee programs, which have become enormously popular over the years. 
Citrus County widely advertises and encourages visitors to come from 
around the world to have this unique experience. We manage ecotourism 
activities cooperatively with local tour operators through special use 
permits that impose conditions on activities conducted within the 
refuge. One condition is that operators must provide educational 
materials to their customers related to manatee-human interactions.
    We have signed a challenge cost-share agreement with the Department 
of Community Services, Citrus County, to conduct a survey to obtain 
information to:
    (1) Evaluate present and future use levels by the public, and
    (2) Determine the quality and viability of manatee ecotourism 
experiences.
    The county will contract with a private consulting firm to develop 
and conduct the survey, analyze the data, and provide the results to 
the Service and the county. The proposed survey will gather information 
from visitors regarding their experience while visiting Citrus County 
and the purpose for their visit, including specific questions related 
to manatee viewing. The report will not include any personal 
information about the participants and will only include information 
regarding the present and future public use levels on the refuge, as 
well as a determination of the quality and viability of manatee 
ecotourism experiences. The information collected will provide data to:
    (1) Support future refuge decisions to ensure protection of 
manatees while providing quality experiences for visitors.
    (2) Aid local business interests in providing quality ecotourism 
experiences.

II. Data

    OMB Control Number: None. This is a new collection.
    Title: Economic Valuation and Visitor Satisfaction Survey, Crystal 
River National Wildlife Refuge.
    Service Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: New.
    Affected Public: Visitors to Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge 
and Citrus County, Florida.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Frequency of Collection: One time.
    Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 500.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 500.
    Estimated Time Per Response: 15 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 125.

III. Request for Comments

     We invite comments concerning this IC on:
    (1) whether or not the collection of information is necessary, 
including whether or not the information will have practical utility;
    (2) the accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this collection 
of information;
    (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.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request 
to OMB to approve this IC. Before including your address, phone number, 
e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your 
comment, you should be aware that your entire comment, including your 
personal identifying information, may be made publicly available at any 
time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal 
identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we 
will be able to do so.

    Dated: April 15, 2009
Hope Grey,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, Fish and Wildlife Service.
FR Doc. E9-9284 Filed 4-21-09; 8:45 am
BILLING CODE 4310-55-S