[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 19 (Tuesday, January 29, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Page 6066]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-01741]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    The Department of Commerce will submit to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of 
information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 
U.S.C. Chapter 35).
    Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
    Title: Pilot Test of the Elwha River Dam Removal and Floodplain 
Restoration Ecosystem Service Valuation Project Survey.
    OMB Control Number: None.
    Form Number(s): NA.
    Type of Request: Regular submission (request for a new information 
collection).
    Number of Respondents: 1,300.
    Average Hours per Response: 30 minutes.
    Burden Hours: 650.
    Needs and Uses: National Ocean Services' Office of Response and 
Restoration, Assessment and Restoration Division and the National 
Marine Fisheries Services' Office of Habitat Conservation are 
requesting approval for a new information collection to conduct a pilot 
study to test the Elwha River Dam Removal and Floodplain Restoration 
Ecosystem Service Valuation Survey it has developed.
    The removal of two hydroelectric dams on the Elwha River is 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, will 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 Native American 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, 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 populations of salmon and other fish 
species as well as forests and wildlife. This project will also address 
an important gap in research on indirect and nonuse values provided by 
habitat restoration.
    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.
    NOAA has developed a nonmarket valuation survey to administer to 
people living in Washington and Oregon. This survey has been tested 
with small focus groups and one-on-one interviews to ensure the survey 
questions and choice scenarios presented are accurate, easily 
understood, and the least burdensome. The next step in the survey 
development process is to administer a draft survey instrument to test 
several, complex methodological approaches for presenting information 
to respondents. In particular, NOAA plans to test variations of the 
choice table.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Frequency: One time.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    OMB Desk Officer: [email protected].
    Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained 
by calling or writing Jennifer Jessup, Departmental Paperwork Clearance 
Officer, (202) 482-0336, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th and 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at 
[email protected]).
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to [email protected].

    Dated: January 23, 2013.
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013-01741 Filed 1-28-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-JE-P