[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 97 (Thursday, May 19, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31654-31655]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-11762]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-HQ-R-2016-N088; FXRS126109HD000-167-FF09R23000]


Proposed Information Collection; Revealing Opportunities for 
Local-Level Stakeholder Engagement and Social Science Inquiry in 
Landscape Conservation Design

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) 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. We 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 we are able to consider your comments on this IC, 
we must receive them by July 18, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the IC to the Information Collection 
Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS BPHC, 5275 
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803 (mail); or [email protected] 
(email). Please include ``1018-Landscape Conservation Design (LCD)'' in 
the subject line of your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information 
about this IC, contact Hope Grey at [email protected] (email) or 703-
358-2482 (telephone).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract

    We have entered into a cooperative agreement with Cornell 
University to study the role of local stakeholder engagement and social 
data integration in Landscape Conservation Design (LCD) planning and 
implementation processes. Promoting ecosystem-level conservation based 
on LCD will rely on engaging local stakeholders--meaning local 
community members and locally based interest groups potentially 
impacted by conservation actions--in conservation design, planning, and 
implementation processes. To date, no systematic assessment of local 
stakeholders' role in LCD has been conducted. Lacking such assessment, 
questions remain as to what, when, and where social data (related to 
stakeholders' values, interests, and knowledge) and public engagement 
(the direct participation of stakeholders in information sharing and 
decisionmaking) are most valuable in LCD processes. Information 
gathered in this study will provide essential, non-duplicative data and 
insights for ongoing and future LCD efforts. In addition to literature 
review and participant observation, this study will employ a multiple 
case study approach focused on three LCD efforts. We will conduct semi-
structured interviews of 90 non-Federal LCD partners and local 
stakeholders to ascertain how LCD efforts have attempted to integrate 
social information, how these efforts have worked, and how they might 
be improved under varying social-ecological conditions. Based on case 
study findings, Cornell researchers will then develop and implement a 
survey instrument, which will be sent to 1,000 local stakeholders 
within one LCD case study area. The survey will solicit information 
concerning (1) local stakeholders' relationships with landscapes 
identified for conservation, (2) stakeholders' interest in engagement 
during various stages of LCD, (3) stakeholder values and interests that 
might be represented in conservation design processes and products, and 
(4) local social considerations that might help facilitate the 
translation of LCD to publicly supported conservation plans and 
actions.

II. Data

    OMB Control Number: 1018-XXXX.
    Title: Revealing Opportunities for Local-Level Stakeholder 
Engagement and Social Science Inquiry in Landscape Conservation Design.
    Service Form Number: None.
    Type of Request: Request for a new OMB control number.
    Description of Respondents: Federal, State, and municipal 
government representatives, and individuals.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Frequency of Collection: One time.

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                                                                                    Completion
                                                                     Number of       time per      Total annual
                            Activity                                 responses       response      burden hours
                                                                                     (minutes)       (minutes)
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Semi-structured Interviews......................................              90              70             105
Initial Contact for Survey......................................           1,000               5              83
Follow-Up Material Review for Survey............................             750               5              63
Complete Survey.................................................             600              20             200

[[Page 31655]]

 
Follow-Up Interviews with Nonrespondents........................              80               5               7
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    TOTALS......................................................           2,520  ..............             458
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    Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: None.

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: May 13, 2016.
Tina A. Campbell,
Chief, Division of Policy, Performance, and Management Programs, U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-11762 Filed 5-18-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P