[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 63 (Tuesday, April 2, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19732-19733]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-07594]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-VRP-WS-12612; PPWOVPADW0, PPMPRLE1Y.LB0000]


Proposed Information Collection; Backcountry Use Permit

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We (National Park Service, NPS) will ask the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the information collection (IC) 
described below. As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and 
as part of our continuing efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent 
burden, we invite the general public and other Federal agencies to take 
this opportunity to comment on this IC. This IC is scheduled to expire 
on February 28, 2014. We may not conduct or sponsor a survey, and a 
person is not required to respond to a collection of

[[Page 19733]]

information, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

DATES: To ensure that we are able to consider your comments on this IC, 
we must receive them by June 3, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the IC to Madonna L. Baucum, 
Information Collection Clearance Officer, National Park Service, 1201 I 
Street NW., MS 1237, Washington, DC 20005 (mail); or [email protected] (email). Please include ``1024-0022'' in the subject 
line of your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information 
about this IC, contact Garry Oye, Chief, Wilderness Stewardship 
Division at (702) 895-4893; or 4505 Maryland Parkway, Box 452040-
RAJ284, Las Vegas, NV 89154-2040 (mail); or [email protected] (email). 
Please include ``1024-0022'' in the subject line.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    In 1976, the NPS initiated a backcountry registration system in 
accordance with the regulations found at 36 CFR 1.5, 1.6 and 2.10. The 
objective of the use permit system is to provide users access to 
backcountry areas of national parks with continuing opportunities for 
solitude, while enhancing resource protection and providing a means of 
disseminating public safety messages regarding the backcountry travel. 
NPS backcountry program managers, by designating access routes and 
overnight camping locations, can redistribute campers in response to 
user impact, high fire danger, flood or wind hazard, bear activity or 
other situations that may temporarily close a portion of the 
backcountry. The NPS may also use the permit system as a means of 
ensuring that each backcountry user receives up-to-date information on 
backcountry sanitation procedures, food storage, wildlife activity, 
trail conditions and weather projections so that concerns for visitor 
safety are met.
    The Backcountry Use Permit is an extension of the NPS statutory 
authority responsibility to protect the park areas it administers and 
to manage the public use thereof (16 U.S.C. 1 and 3). NPS regulations 
codified in 36 CFR parts 1 through 7, 12 and 13 are designated to 
implement statutory mandates that provide for resource protection and 
pubic enjoyment. The Backcountry Use Permit is the primary form used to 
provide access into NPS backcountry areas including those areas that 
require a reservation to enter where use limits are imposed in 
accordance with other NPS regulations. Such permitting enhances the 
ability to the NPS to education users on potential hazards, search and 
rescue efforts, and resource protection.

II. Data

    OMB Control Number: 1024-0022.
    Expiration Date: 02/28/2014.
    Title: Backcountry Use Permit (36 CFR 1.5, 1.6, and 2.10).
    Service Form Numbers: Backcountry Use Permit, 10-404A.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    Description of Respondents: Individuals wishing to use backcountry 
areas within national parks.
    Estimated Average Number of Responses: 285,000.
    Frequency of Response: 1 per respondent.
    Estimated Average Time Burden per Respondent: 5 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Reporting Burden: 23,750 hours.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.

III. Comments

    We invite comments concerning this information collection on:
     Whether or not the collection of information is necessary, 
including whether or not the information will have practical utility;
     The accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this 
collection of information;
     Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     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, 
email 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.

    Dated: March 20, 2013.
Madonna L. Baucum,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, National Park Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-07594 Filed 4-1-13; 8:45 am]
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