[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 51 (Wednesday, March 16, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14374-14375]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-6062]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Proposed Information Collection for Focus Groups and One-on-One 
Interviews

AGENCY: Office of Response and Restoration, Assessment and Restoration 
Division and the Office of Habitat Conservation, National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments on Proposed Information 
Collection for Focus Groups and One-on-one Interviews for the Elwha 
River Dam Removal and Floodplain Restoration Ecosystem Service 
Valuation Pilot Project located on the north central part of the 
Olympic Peninsula of Washington State.

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SUMMARY: As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we will 
ask the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the 
Information Collection (IC) to conduct focus groups and one-on-one 
interviews, described below. We invite the general public and Federal 
agencies to comment on this proposed IC.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information, please 
contact Dr. Anthony Dvarskas by telephone at 732-872-3090, or by e-mail 
at [email protected]. You may also contact Dr. Peter Edwards by 
telephone at 301-713-2325 ext. 210 or by e-mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract

    NOAA is requesting approval for a new IC to conduct focus groups 
and one-on-one interviews to develop and test the Elwha River Dam 
Removal and Floodplain Restoration Ecosystem Service Valuation Survey.
    The planned removal of two hydroelectric dams on the Elwha River 
would be one of the largest dam-removal projects in U.S. history. This 
project, along with restoration actions planned for the floodplain and 
drained reservoir basins, would have numerous impacts to people of the 
surrounding region. Impacted groups include recreators who engage in 
river activities such as fishing and rafting, reservoir users, and 
members of American Indian Tribes for whom the river has cultural, 
environmental, and economic significance. The dam removal and 
restoration actions could also have value to people throughout the 
Pacific Northwest and the United States, regardless of whether they 
visit the Elwha River or Olympic Peninsula. Such nonuse value may be 
significant because the dam removal and habitat restoration will 
restore the river to more natural conditions and will restore 
threatened and endangered populations of salmon and other fish species. 
This project will also address an important gap in research on indirect 
and nonuse values provided by habitat restoration and protection.

[[Page 14375]]

    A study of the value of ecological restoration is of particular 
interest in this location because significant baseline ecological data 
are available to allow a comparison of ecological values with some of 
the more obvious use losses associated with the reservoir.
    The ability to link results of the study to precise measures of 
ecosystem changes will be useful in applying the study to future 
restoration sites, enabling NOAA to evaluate a broader range of 
ecosystem services provided by future restoration actions.
    A nonmarket valuation survey of the U.S. public and members of the 
Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe will be developed and implemented. To ensure 
the survey questions and policy scenarios presented in this survey are 
accurate, easily understood, and the least burdensome, it is important 
to test the survey with small focus groups and in one-on-one 
interviews.

II. Method of Collection

    Information will be collected through 12 focus groups, 2 
stakeholder meetings and 24 one-on-one interviews.

III. Data

    Title: Elwha River Dam Removal and Floodplain Restoration Ecosystem 
Service Valuation Pilot Project.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-xxxx.
    Type of Review: Regular (request for approval of a new information 
collection).
    Affected Entities: Individuals or households.
    Frequency of Response: One time.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Annual Reporting and Record-keeping Burden:
    Estimated Number of Respondents Annually: 156 (120 for focus 
groups, 12 for stakeholder meetings, and 24 for one-on-one interviews).
    Estimated Burden per Response: 2 hours for focus groups and 
stakeholder meetings, and 1 hour for one-on-one interviews.
    Total Annual Reporting: 300.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.

IV. Request for Comments

    We invite comments concerning this IC on: (1) Whether the 
collection of information is necessary, including whether 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. Although 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: March 3, 2011.
David G. Westerholm,
Director, Office of Response and Restoration, National Ocean Service, 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2011-6062 Filed 3-15-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-JE-P