[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 8, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12714-12715]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-5150]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Marianas Trench 
Marine National Monument Knowledge and Attitudes Survey

AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort 
to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public 
and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on 
proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before May 9, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Diana Hynek, Departmental 
Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th 
and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet 
at [email protected]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument and instructions should 
be directed to Dr. Stewart Allen, (808) 944-2186 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    President George W. Bush established the Marianas Trench Marine 
National Monument (Monument) on January 6, 2009, by Presidential 
Proclamation 8335. The monument includes approximately 95,216 square 
miles within three units in the Mariana Archipelago. The Mariana Trench 
Unit is almost 1,100 miles long and 44 miles wide and includes only the 
submerged lands. The Volcanic Unit consists of submerged lands around 
21 undersea mud volcanoes and thermal vents along the Mariana Arc. The 
Islands Unit includes only the waters and submerged lands of the three 
northernmost Mariana Islands: Farallon de Pajaros or Uracas; Maug; and 
Asuncion, below the mean low water line. Within the Islands Unit of the 
monument, commercial fishing is prohibited but sustenance, 
recreational, and traditional indigenous fishing can be allowed on a 
sustainable basis.
    The Secretary of the Interior has management responsibility for the 
monument, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce who, through

[[Page 12715]]

the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has primary 
responsibility for managing fishery-related activities. These agencies 
are required to consult with the Secretary of Defense, the United 
States (U.S.) Coast Guard, and the Government of the Commonwealth of 
the Northern Mariana Islands in managing the monument. A subsequent 
Secretary of the Interior action on January 16, 2009, delegated 
management responsibilities for the monument to the Fish and Wildlife 
Service through, and placed two of the units (the Mariana Trench and 
Volcanic Units) within, the National Wildlife Refuge System as the 
Mariana Trench and Mariana Arc of Fire National Wildlife Refuges.
    Management activities are anticipated to include public education 
programs and public outreach regarding the coral reef ecosystem and 
related marine resources and species of the monument and efforts to 
conserve them; traditional access by indigenous persons, for culturally 
significant subsistence, cultural and religious uses within the 
monument; a program to assess and promote monument-related scientific 
exploration and research, tourism, and recreational and economic 
activities and opportunities in the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands (CNMI); a process to consider requests for recreational 
fishing permits in certain areas of the Islands Unit, based on an 
analysis of the likely effects of such fishing on the marine ecosystems 
of these areas, sound professional judgment that such fishing will not 
materially interfere with or detract from the fulfillment of the 
purposes of this proclamation, and the extent to which such 
recreational fishing shall be managed as a sustainable activity; 
programs for monitoring and enforcement necessary to ensure that 
scientific exploration and research, tourism, and recreational and 
commercial activities do not degrade the monument's coral reef 
ecosystem or related marine resources or species or diminish the 
monument's natural character.
    The Human Dimensions Research Program at NOAA Fisheries Pacific 
Islands Fisheries Science Center is initiating a survey to support 
development of a management plan for the Monument. Designation of the 
Monument was accompanied by social debate over the merits of 
designation, the economic benefits, increased Federal management in the 
archipelago, the impacts to fishermen and fishing communities, and 
other effects. Now that the Monument has been established and 
management planning is beginning, there is a need for research to 
define CNMI and Guam residents' management preferences and perceptions 
of effects so this information is available to managers as they develop 
and begin to implement the plan. The survey contains questions on 
awareness, knowledge, and attitudes regarding the Monument, preferences 
for management and scientific research, and level of interest in 
becoming involved in Monument management and outreach activities. 
Additional questions include experiences with and attitudes toward 
existing uses of coastal and marine resources, to provide a context for 
interpreting responses regarding the Monument.

II. Method of Collection

    Data will be collected through a telephone survey of a random 
sample of adult members of Guam and CNMI households.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: None.
    Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 800.
    Estimated Time per Response: 20 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 267.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.

IV. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden 
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; 
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information 
collection; they also will become a matter of public record.

    Dated: March 3, 2011.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2011-5150 Filed 3-7-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P