[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 170 (Wednesday, September 3, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52298-52299]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-20864]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Information Collection: Generic Information Collection Clearance 
for STEW-MAP, the Stewardship Mapping and Assessment Project

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
Forest Service is seeking comments from all interested individuals and 
organizations on the new information collection Generic Information 
Collection Clearance for STEW-MAP, the Stewardship Mapping and 
Assessment Project.

DATES: Comments must be received in writing on or before November 3, 
2014 to be assured of consideration. Comments received after that date 
will be considered to the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES: Comments concerning this notice should be addressed to Lynne 
Westphal, USDA Forest Service, 1033 University Place, Suite 360, 
Evanston, IL 60201.
    Comments also may be submitted via facsimile to 847-866-9506 or by 
email to [email protected]. Please put ``Comments re: STEW-MAP'' in 
the subject line.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice may be made available 
to the public through relevant Web sites and upon request. For this 
reason, please do not include in your comments information of a 
confidential nature, such as sensitive personal information or 
proprietary information. If you send an email comment, your email 
address will be automatically captured and included as part of the 
comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the 
Internet. Please note that responses to this public comment request 
containing any routine notice about the confidentiality of the 
communication will be treated as public comments that may be made 
available to the public notwithstanding the inclusion of the routine 
notice.
    The public may inspect the draft supporting statement and/or 
comments received at USDA Forest Service, 1033 University Place, Suite 
360, Evanston, IL during normal business hours. Visitors are encouraged 
to call ahead to 847-866-9311 to facilitate entry to the building. The 
public may request an electronic copy of the draft supporting statement 
and/or any comments received be sent via return email. Requests should 
be emailed to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lynne Westphal at 847-866-9311 
extension 11. Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the 
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-
800-877-8339 twenty-four hours a day, every day of the year, including 
holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Generic Information Collection Clearance for STEW-MAP, the 
Stewardship Mapping and Assessment Project.
    OMB Number: 0596--NEW.
    Type of Request: New.
    Abstract: Local environmental stewardship groups are essential for 
ensuring the vibrancy of natural areas in urban environments. Urban 
natural areas provide a range of benefits and services including 
stormwater management, air pollution removal, urban heat island 
mitigation, carbon storage, wildlife habitat, recreation opportunities, 
stress reduction, aesthetic beauty, noise reduction, increased property 
values, and reduced energy use. The work of civic environmental 
stewards leverages the efforts of local government officials in 
maintaining these resources, especially in lean budget times. Civic 
stewardship organizations, including nonprofits, faith-based groups, 
formal and informal community groups, and coalitions, are often 
involved in, for example, planting trees, organizing community gardens, 
offering environment-themed classes, engaging with local officials on 
behalf of the environment, monitoring plants or animals, and cleaning 
up nearby parks or natural areas. People who do this work are stewards 
of their local environments, even if they do not normally use the word 
``steward'' or think of what they do as ``stewardship.''
    In urban areas, the roles of civic environmental stewards and their 
levels of engagement and commitment are often not understood by land 
managers and other decision makers. This means that the valuable 
services they provide are not appreciated and built on to full 
advantage. In addition, stewards themselves may not be aware of others 
doing similar work in their area so there may be lost opportunities for 
collaboration between groups.
    The purpose of this research is to gather information on civic 
stewardship groups and their efforts such as where

[[Page 52299]]

they work, the types of projects they focus on, how they are organize. 
This information will be summarize and made publicly available online 
for use by policy makers, land managers, environmental professionals, 
the general public, stewards themselves, and other urban resource 
management stakeholders.
    There are three phases to a STEW-MAP project:
     Phase One (Census) is a census of stewardship groups in 
the target city or region, essentially putting together a master list 
of known stewardship groups and their contact information.
     Phase Two (Survey) is a survey which is distributed to all 
of the organizations identified in Phase One to collect information 
about what they work on, how their group is structured, where they 
work, and what other groups they collaborate with.
     Phase Three (Follow-Up Interviews) is follow-up interviews 
with key longstanding organizations identified during Phase Two to 
collect more detailed information about their organizational histories.
    A primary goal of STEW-MAP is to visualize stewardship activities 
across the urban landscape. The geographic information provided by 
stewardship groups on the survey (Phase Two) will allow the researchers 
to do a spatial analysis of where stewardship groups are working, 
identify ``gaps'' where little to no stewardship is being done, and 
provide locally relevant geographic information like what kinds of 
stewardship groups are working in particular places. This geographic 
information will be displayed on maps to show stewards, local land 
managers, policy makers, and other interested stakeholders how 
stewardship work is distributed across the region with the goal of 
encouraging collaboration, building innovative partnerships, increasing 
organizational capacities, and generally making stewardship efforts 
more effective.
    All of the information from STEW-MAP will help planners, natural 
resource decision makers, land managers, and the general public work 
across property jurisdictions, management regimes and political 
boundaries to conserve, protect, and manage urban natural resources 
effectively. It will also be used to enhance local resource management 
efforts by helping public officials, land managers, and civic stewards 
connect to local stewardship groups.
    STEW-MAP is being led by researchers from the Forest Service in 
partnership with researchers from universities and nongovernment 
organizations. The exact makeup of the research team will vary from 
location to location where STEW-MAP is conducted. The Forest Service, 
Research and Development branch is authorized to conduct basic 
scientific research to improve the health of forests and rangelands 
involving State, Federal, Tribal agencies, and private landowners 
across multiple jurisdictions including in urban areas. The study is 
aligned with the U.S. Department of Agriculture policy of an ``all-
lands approach'' to resource management, which ``requires land managers 
to work across jurisdictions and land-use types, viewing forests 
landscapes as an integrated whole, both ecologically and socially'' 
(National Report on Sustainable Forests, 2010). This all-lands approach 
applies to urban ecosystems as well. Our project goals are consistent 
with the Forest Service, Urban and Community Forestry (UCF) program, 
which focus on urban forest ecosystems and the role of stewardship and 
trail connections to parks and public lands that promote health and 
sustainability for urban residents. This study seeks to identify 
opportunities for stewardship organizations to better collaborate and, 
thus, be more effective in the stewardship of urban natural areas.
    Due to local geographical and/or cultural differences, and to meet 
the needs of any particular collaborative effort, we anticipate that 
there may be changes to the survey and interview questions and perhaps 
in methodology to accommodate the unique requirements of individual 
communities; therefore, we are submitting this request for a Generic 
Information Collection Clearance for the information collection 
activities associated with the STEW-MAP program in order to afford us 
the flexibility of tailoring the information collection activities and 
instruments to each location, and to apply lessons learned from 
previous STEW-MAP efforts and locations to future efforts and 
locations.
    Affected Public: Representatives from civic environmental 
stewardship groups, and from State, local, or Tribal Governments.
    Estimate of Burden per Response: 15 to 60 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Number of Respondents:

Phase One (Census): 600
Phase Two (Survey): 15,000
Phase Three (Follow-up Interviews): 300
    Estimated Annual Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 7,925 hours.
    Comment is Invited: Comment is invited on: (1) Whether this 
collection of information is necessary for the stated purposes and the 
proper performance of the functions of the Agency, including whether 
the information will have practical or scientific utility; (2) the 
accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the burden of the collection of 
information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions 
used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on respondents, including the use of 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.
    All comments received in response to this notice, including names 
and addresses when provided, will be a matter of public record. 
Comments will be summarized and included in the submission request 
toward Office of Management and Budget approval.

    Dated: August 26, 2014.
Jimmy L. Reaves,
Deputy Chief, Research & Development.
[FR Doc. 2014-20864 Filed 9-2-14; 8:45 am]
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