[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 13 (Wednesday, January 21, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2966-2967]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-00795]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

U.S. Geological Survey

[GX14LQ00DXG0200]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments on 
the Classification of Biogeomorphic Attributes and Imagery of Coastal 
Habitats

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

ACTION: Notice of a new information collection, classification of 
biogeomorphic attributes and imagery of coastal habitats.

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SUMMARY: We (the U.S. Geological Survey) are notifying the public that 
we have submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) the 
information collection request (ICR) described below. To comply with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) 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 ICR.

DATES: To ensure that your comments on this ICR are considered, OMB 
must receive them on or before February 20, 2015.

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: 
(OIRA[email protected]); or by fax (202) 395-5806; and identify 
your submission with `OMB Control Number 1028--NEW Classification of 
biogeomorphic attributes and imagery of coastal habitats'. Please also 
forward a copy of your comments and suggestions 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) 648-7195 (fax); or [email protected] (email). 
Please reference `OMB Information Collection 1028--NEW: Classification 
of biogeomorphic attributes and imagery of coastal habitats' in all 
correspondence.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: E. Robert Thieler, Woods Hole Coastal 
and

[[Page 2967]]

Marine Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, 384 Woods Hole Rd., 
Woods Hole, MA 02543 (mail); 508-457-2350 (phone); or [email protected] 
(email). You may also find information about this ICR at 
www.reginfo.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The information collection will be done by trained and vetted 
personnel to record information about habitats on coastal beaches and 
the environment surrounding them. It will collect geographic location 
information, date and time of observation, site identification 
information, photographic images, and includes a simple biogeomorphic 
landscape classification of geomorphologic and vegetation 
characteristics surrounding nest sites. Federal and non-federal 
partners are the targeted users, Personally Identifiable Information 
(PII) will not be collected.
    The data collected will be used as input into research models of 
habitat utilization by beach-dependent species--primarily shorebirds. 
Model outputs will be used to understand habitat availability and 
utilization in the future as the coast evolves in response to climate 
and sea-level change. This information can be used to inform land and 
species management decisions.
    The USGS office leading the program is the Woods Hole Coastal and 
Marine Science Center, in collaboration with the USGS Center for 
Integrated Data Analytics, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

II. Data

    OMB Control Number: 1028--NEW.
    Title: Classification of biogeomorphic attributes and imagery of 
coastal habitats.
    Type of Request: Approval of new information collection.
    Respondent Obligation: None (participation is voluntary).
    Frequency of Collection: Data will be collected on an occasional 
basis, typically during the active growing and breeding season (May-
September).
    Description of Respondents: Employees of non-governmental 
organizations, non-federal cooperators/collaborators (e.g., academic 
scientists, resource managers), State, or local entities (state 
agencies, counties, towns).
    Estimated Total Number of Annual Responses: There will be 100 new 
training responses with 4000 observation responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: We estimate that training will require 
20 minutes per person one time. Recording observations will take 5 
minutes per person at each site.
    Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 364.
    Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost'' Burden: 
There are no ``non-hour cost'' burdens associated with this collection 
of information.
    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.
    Comments: On September 12, 2014, we published a Federal Register 
notice (79 FR 54742) announcing that we would submit this ICR to OMB 
for approval and soliciting comments. The comment period closed on 
November 12, 2014. We received no comments.

III. Request for Comments

    We again invite comments concerning this ICR 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) how 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 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 the OMB in your 
comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public 
review, we cannot guarantee that it will be done.

Walter A. Barnhardt,
Director, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center.
[FR Doc. 2015-00795 Filed 1-20-15; 8:45 am]
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