[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 180 (Friday, September 16, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57762-57763]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-23848]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NRSS-0906-8363; 2380-OCR2-NWZ]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed New 
Collection--Social Science Assessment and Geographic Analysis of Marine 
Recreational Uses and Visitor Attitudes at Dry Tortugas National Park 
and Biscayne National Park

AGENCY: Department of the Interior, National Park Service.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), we 
are notifying the public that we have submitted to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) an information collection request (ICR) for 
a proposed new collection. This notice provides the public and other 
Federal agencies an opportunity to comment on the paperwork burden of 
this collection. To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and 
as a part of our continuing efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent 
burden, we invite the general public and other Federal agencies to 
comment on this IC. We may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not 
required to respond to a collection unless it displays a currently 
valid OMB control number.

DATES: To ensure that your comments on this ICR are considered, please 
submit them on or before October 17, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Please submit written comments on this information 
collection directly to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Office 
of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attention: Desk Officer for the 
Department of the Interior via e-mail to [email protected] or 
fax at 202-395-5806; and identify your submission as 1024-DRTO/BISC. 
Please also send a copy your comments to Phadrea Ponds, Information 
Collections Coordinator, National Park Service, 1201 Oakridge Drive, 
Fort Collins, CO 80525 (mail); or [email protected] (e-mail).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David K. Loomis, Ph.D. Institute for 
Coastal Science and Policy, Mail Stop 250, Flanagan, East Carolina 
University, Greenville, NC 27858-4353, or at [email protected] (e-mail). 
To see a copy of the entire ICR submitted to OMB, go to http://www.reginfo.gov (Information Collection Review, currently under 
review).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    OMB Control Number: 1024-NEW.
    Title: Social Science Assessment and Geographic Analysis of Marine 
Recreational Uses and Visitor Attitudes at Dry Tortugas National Park 
and Biscayne National Park.
    Type of Request: This is a new collection.
    Affected Public: Visitors (18 years and older) to Biscayne or Dry 
Tortugas National Parks.
    Respondent Obligation: Voluntary.
    Frequency of Collection: One-time.
    Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 7,866.
    Annual Burden Hours: 952 hours.
    Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost'' Burden: 
None.
    Abstract: The National Park Service (NPS) Act of 1916, 38 Stat 535, 
16 USC 1, et seq., requires that the NPS preserve national parks for 
the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The National 
Park Service is developing a visitor-focused program to reduce 
recreational impacts on marine resource at Dry Tortugas National Park 
(DRTO) and Biscayne National Park (BISC). The program management at 
these ocean units aims to remove and mitigate degradation of ocean 
resources by enabling visitors to avoid boat grounding, anchor damage, 
fishing violations, wildlife disturbance, invasive species 
introduction, pollution and other impacts from boating, fishing, scuba 
diving, snorkeling and kayaking. The proposed information collection 
will use a series of surveys to understand visitor attitudes, 
perceptions and beliefs concerning marine resources and provide a 
geospatial assessment of geographic locations of visitor uses at DRTO 
and BISC. The information collected will be used to assess levels and 
patterns of recreational uses in these parks and develop and evaluate 
strategic communication plans. This information will support efforts to 
address marine recreational impacts on sensitive habitats and marine 
resources, and guide strategies to reduce these impacts through 
education and outreach, navigational aids, and enhanced compliance with 
rules and regulations, working closely with the public and marine 
recreational communities.
    Comments: On May 2, 2009, we published a Federal Register notice 
(74 FR 20973) announcing that we would submit this ICR to OMB for 
approval and soliciting comments. The comment period closed on July 6, 
2009. We

[[Page 57763]]

received a comment from one individual regarding this notice. This 
commenter objected to boaters using the area for recreation purposes. 
However, in our response, we noted that legislation creating this and 
other parks of the National Park system specifically allows for this 
and other public uses. The commenter also suggested that a survey about 
the recreational habits of citizens is unnecessary. While the survey 
mentioned by the commenter may be useful for tracking national 
recreational trends, information about appropriate use levels for 
specific indicators of quality at Biscayne National Park can only be 
obtained from the proposed survey.
    We again invite comments concerning this ICR on: (a) Whether the 
proposed collection of information is necessary for the agency to 
perform its duties, including whether the information is useful; (b) 
the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed 
collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, usefulness, 
and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to 
minimize the burden on the respondents, including the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Please note that the comments submitted in response to this notice 
are a matter of public record. 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 OMB in your comment to withhold your 
personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that it will be done.

    Dated: September 13, 2011.
Robert M. Gordon,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, National Park Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-23848 Filed 9-15-11; 8:45 am]
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