[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 154 (Friday, August 9, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48715-48716]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-19280]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NRSS-EQD-13710; PPWONRADN1, PPMRSNR1N.NS0000]


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request: NPS Study of 
Value of Natural Sounds: A Pilot Study

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We (National Park Service) will ask the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) to approve the information collection request (ICR) 
described below. This collection will consist of a pretest of a survey 
of the general public concerning the value of natural quiet in national 
parks. 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 
ICR. A Federal agency may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not 
required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a 
currently valid OMB control number.

DATES: To ensure that your comments on this ICR are considered, OMB 
must receive them on or before September 9, 2013.

[[Page 48716]]


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 email to [email protected] or 
fax at 202-395-5806; and identify your submission as ``1024-SOUND''. 
Please also send a copy of your comments to Phadrea Ponds, Information 
Collection Coordinator, National Park Service, 1201 Oakridge Drive, 
Fort Collins, CO 80525 (mail); or [email protected] (email). 
Please reference Information Collection ``1024-SOUND'' in the subject 
line of your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Catherine Taylor, Volpe National 
Transportation Systems Center, Economics and Industry Analysis Division 
(RVT-21), 55 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02142 (mail); via email at 
[email protected] (email); or at 617-494-2380 (phone). You may 
also access this ICR at www.reginfo.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract

    Currently, the NPS has no information about the value that visitors 
hold for preserving natural sound conditions in national parks. Nor 
does NPS have any information of how human-caused sound conditions 
affect the likelihood of visitation to national parks. The National 
Park Service is requesting permission to conduct focus groups that will 
be used to pilot test the central questions that will be used in a 
subsequent survey to estimate the general public's value for natural 
sounds in national parks. Once the pilot sessions are completed, a 
final survey will be developed and submitted to OMB for review and 
consideration for approval.

II. Data

    OMB Control Number: None. This is a new collection.
    Title: NPS Study of Value of Natural Sounds: A Pilot Study.
    Type of Request: New.
    Affected Public: General public.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Frequency of Collection: One-time.
    Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 514.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 183 hours.
    Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost'' Burden: 
None.

III. Request for Comments

    On February 4, 2011, we published a Federal Register notice (76 FR 
6495) announcing that we would submit this ICR to OMB for approval. 
Public comments were solicited for 60 days ending April 5, 2011. We did 
not receive any comments that addressed the information collection 
requirements.
    We again invite comments concerning this ICR 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.
    Please note that the comments submitted in response to this notice 
are a matter of public record. 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 OMB in your comment to withhold your 
personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that it will be done.

    Dated: August 5, 2013.
Madonna L. Baucum,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, National Park Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-19280 Filed 8-8-13; 8:45 am]
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