[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 8 (Wednesday, January 13, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1800-1801]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-446]


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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 Interior, National Park Service.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
and 5 CFR part 1320, Reporting and Record Keeping Requirements, the 
National Park Service (NPS) invites public comments on a new collection 
of information.

DATES: Public comments on this Information Collection Request (ICR) 
will be accepted on or before March 15, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to: Brian Mitchell, Northeast Temperate 
Inventory and Monitoring Network, NPS, 54 Elm Street, Woodstock, VT 
05091; or via fax at 802-457-3405; or via e-mail at [email protected]. All responses to the Notice will be summarized and 
included in the request for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
approval. All comments will become a matter of public record.
    To Request a Draft of Proposed Collection of Information Contact: 
Brian Mitchell, NPS, 54 Elm Street, Woodstock, VT 05091; or via phone 
at 802/457-3368; or via fax at 802/457-3368; or via e-mail at [email protected]. You are entitled to a copy of the entire ICR package 
free of charge once the package is submitted to OMB for review.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

    Title: Citizen Science Phenology Monitoring in National Parks.
    Form(s): None.
    Type of Request: A new collection of information.
    Description of Need: The Government Performance and Results Act 
(GPRA) of 1995 (Pub. Law 103-62) and the National Park Service (NPS) 
Strategic

[[Page 1801]]

Plan require that the NPS develop goals to improve program 
effectiveness and public accountability. This collection will encourage 
the public to collect data relevant to goal 1b: ``The National Park 
Service contributes to knowledge about natural and cultural resources 
and associated values; management decisions about resources and 
visitors are based on adequate scholarly and scientific information''. 
This collection is also consistent with the NPS Management Policies 
(2006), which emphasize the ``use of qualitative and quantitative 
techniques to monitor key aspects of resources and processes at regular 
intervals'' and furthermore state that ``studies, research, and 
collection activities by non-NPS personnel involving natural and 
cultural resources will be encouraged and facilitated when they 
otherwise comport with NPS policies.'' More specifically, the goal of 
this collection is to engage the public in documenting the timing of 
biological events (``phenology'') for a variety of species at numerous 
different locations. The data collected will help the NPS document how 
climate change is affecting the timing of biological events such as 
migration, flowering, and autumn foliage.
    The proposed Internet- and paper-based surveys will ask the public 
to participate in the collection of these data on NPS lands. With 
sufficient participation, NPS will obtain critical information for 
determining trends in the timing of biological events for many species. 
In addition to documenting changes in timing of events, the data set 
will facilitate the identification of species most at risk from climate 
change and anthropogenic influences. Survey participants will provide 
their contact information and multiple observations of species at one 
or more sites. The contact information will be used for quality control 
and (at the request of the participant) to provide data summaries or 
reports and information about additional opportunities for assisting 
with NPS research and monitoring activities. The obligation to respond 
is voluntary.
    Automated Data Collection: The information will be collected 
through an Internet site, as well as through paper forms available at 
public locations.
    Description of respondents: Respondents are members of the public 
with an interest in contributing to climate change research in the 
National Parks.
    Estimated average number of responses: 1,000 per year.
    Frequency of Response: 5 per respondent.
    Estimated average time burden per respondent: 30 minutes.
    Estimated total annual reporting burden: 100 hours per year.
    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 being collected; and (4) ways to minimize the burden to 
respondents, including use of automated information collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology. 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.

    December 23, 2009.
Cartina A. Miller,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, National Park Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-446 Filed 1-12-10; 8:45 am]
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