[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 95 (Friday, May 16, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28536-28537]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-11287]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

U.S. Geological Survey

[GX14EG50DW73200]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments

AGENCY: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of an information collection, The National Map Corps.

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SUMMARY: We (the U.S. Geological Survey) will ask the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the on-going information 
collection (IC) described below. As required by the Paperwork Reduction 
Act (PRA) 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.

DATES: To ensure that your comments are considered, we must receive 
them on or before July 15, 2014.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this information collection to 
the Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Geological Survey, 
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, MS 807, Reston, VA 20192 (mail); (703) 648-
7197 (fax); or [email protected] (email). Please reference `Information 
Collection 1028-NEW, The National Map Corps' in all correspondence.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elizabeth McCartney, at (573) 308-3696 
or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has historically sponsored 
volunteer data collection projects to enhance its topographic paper and 
digital map products, but these activities were suspended in 2008 due 
to budget

[[Page 28537]]

concerns. Since then, new Internet technologies have made it easy for 
citizens to georeference and share many different types of data via 
online mapping platforms and social networking sites. These data have 
been referred to as volunteered geographic information (VGI). As a 
result of these developments, the USGS has reinstated the volunteer 
data-collection program for The National Map (http://nationalmap.gov).
    Using crowd-sourcing techniques, the USGS VGI project known as 
``The National Map Corps'' encourages citizen volunteers to collect 
data about manmade structures in an effort to provide accurate and 
authoritative spatial map data for the USGS National Geospatial 
Program's Web-based The National Map. Citizens collect and/or improve 
structures data by adding new features, removing obsolete points, and 
correcting existing data using a Web-based mapping platform. Points 
edited become part of the National Structures Database, and include 
schools, hospitals, post offices, police stations and other important 
public buildings. Through their participation, volunteers are able to 
make significant contributions to the USGS's ability to provide the 
Nation with accurate mapping information to support response planning 
for natural hazards and to provide critical data for sustaining and 
improving the quality of life and economic vitality of the Nation.
    Volunteer efforts are recognized through a program that awards 
``virtual'' badges based on the number of contributions submitted. Each 
edit that is submitted is worth one point towards the badge level. The 
badges consist of a series of antique surveying instruments ranging 
from the Order of the Surveyor's Chain (25-50 points) to the Theodolite 
Assemblage (2,000+ points). Additionally, volunteers are publicly 
acknowledged (with their consent) via the USGS's Twitter (https://twitter.com/USGSTNM), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/USGeologicalSurvey), and Google+ (http://bit.ly/1kGmBeD) social media 
sites.
    Volunteers need nothing but access to a computer and the Internet 
to participate. The National Map Corps' Web site explains how 
volunteers can edit any area, regardless of their familiarity with the 
selected structures. Registration is simple and requires only an email 
address and self-selected username to facilitate on-going 
participation. No other personally identifiable information is 
collected.
    The USGS, as authorized by 43 U.S.C. 31, 1332, and 1340, provides 
research and scientific information to support the mission of the 
Department of the Interior and its science requirements. Specifically, 
the USGS Core Science Systems mission area, under which the National 
Geospatial Program falls, conducts fundamental research and provides 
data about the Earth, its complex processes, and its natural resources. 
These activities provide the Nation with natural science information to 
support response planning for natural hazards and to manage natural 
resources. Core Science Systems produces geological, geophysical, and 
geochemical maps and three-dimensional geologic frameworks that provide 
critical data for sustaining and improving the quality of life and 
economic vitality of the Nation, and creates the informatics framework 
and provides scientific content needed for understanding and 
stewardship of our Nation's ecological, geological, and geospatial 
resources.

II. Data

    OMB Control Number: 1028--NEW.
    Title: The National Map Corps.
    Type of Request: New information collection.
    Affected Public: The general public.
    Respondent's Obligation: None; Participation is voluntary.
    Frequency of Collection: Occasional.
    Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 1,000.
    Estimated Total Number of Annual Responses: 75,000.
    Estimated Time per Response: 10 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 12,500 hours.
    Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost'' Burden: 
None.
    Public Disclosure Statement: The PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.) 
provides that an agency may not conduct or sponsor and you are not 
required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a 
currently valid OMB control number and current expiration date.

III. Request for Comments

    We are soliciting comments as to: (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) how 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 personal mailing 
address, phone number, email address, or other personally identifiable 
information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire 
comment, including your personally identifiable information, may be 
made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your 
comment to withhold your personally identifiable information from 
public view, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Kari J. Craun,
Director, National Geospatial Technical Operations Center.
[FR Doc. 2014-11287 Filed 5-15-14; 8:45 am]
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