[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 178 (Wednesday, September 14, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63203-63204]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-22010]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-VRP-WS-21876; PPWOVPADW0, PPMPRLE1Y.LB0000 (166)]


Proposed Information Collection; Backcountry/Wilderness Use 
Permit

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We (National Park Service, NPS) 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. This IC is scheduled to expire 
on May 31, 2017. We may not conduct or sponsor a survey, 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 November 14, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the IC to Madonna L. Baucum, 
Information Collection Clearance Officer, National Park Service, 12201 
Sunrise Valley Drive, MS-242, Reston, VA 20192 (mail); or 
[email protected] (email). Please include ``1024-0022'' in the 
subject line of your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information 
about this IC, contact Roger Semler, Chief, Wilderness Stewardship 
Division, Visitor & Resource Protection Directorate, National Park 
Service, 1201 I Street NW., Room 940, Washington, DC 20005 (mail); or 
[email protected] (email). Please include ``1024-0022'' in the 
subject line.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract

    In 1976, the NPS initiated a backcountry registration system in 
accordance with the regulations found at 36 CFR 1.5, 1.6 and 2.10. The 
objective of the registration system is to provide users access to 
backcountry and wilderness areas of national parks with continuing 
opportunities for solitude and primitive and unconfined recreation, 
while enhancing protection of natural and cultural resources and 
providing a means of disseminating public safety and outdoor ethics 
messages regarding backcountry/wilderness travel and camping. NPS 
backcountry/wilderness program managers, by designating access and 
travel routes and camping locations, can redistribute backcountry/
wilderness users in response to closures and public use adverse impacts 
to natural and cultural resources. The system also facilitates 
redistribution of backcountry/wilderness users due to public safety 
hazards related to high fire danger, flood, wind, snow or ice hazards 
hazard, bear activity, or other situations that may temporarily close 
or restrict access to a portion of the backcountry/wilderness.
    The NPS uses the registration system as a means of ensuring 
backcountry/wilderness users receive up-to-date information on outdoor 
ethics which minimize social and resource impacts including, but not 
limited to, sanitation procedures, food storage, campfire use, campsite 
selection, as well as wildlife activity, trail conditions and weather 
forecasts to address concerns for visitor safety. Data collected 
through the registration process is also an important source of 
information for first responders in the event of an emergency requiring 
deployment of search and rescue personnel to backcountry/wilderness 
areas. The registration system also serves to document the spatial and 
temporal extent, distribution and demographics associated with 
backcountry/wilderness use and social considerations and perceptions of 
backcountry/wilderness visitors. All of this information serves as an 
important resource that informs backcountry and wilderness management 
and stewardship planning, decision making, and operations.
    The Backcountry/Wilderness Use Permit is an extension of the NPS

[[Page 63204]]

statutory authority responsibility to protect the park areas it 
administers and to manage the public use thereof (54 U.S.C. 100101, 
100751, 3210102). NPS regulations codified in 36 CFR parts 1 through 7, 
12 and 13 are designated to implement statutory mandates that provide 
for resource protection and pubic enjoyment. NPS Forms 10-404, 
``Backcountry/Wilderness Use Permit Application'' and 10-404A, 
``Backcountry/Wilderness Use Permit Hangtag'' are the primary forms 
used to provide access into NPS backcountry areas including those areas 
that require a reservation to enter where use limits are imposed in 
accordance with other NPS regulations. Such permitting enhances the 
ability to the NPS to educate users on potential hazards, search and 
rescue efforts, and resource protection.

II. Data

    OMB Control Number: 1024-0022.
    Expiration Date: May 31, 2016.
    Title: Backcountry/Wilderness Use Permit (36 CFR 1.5, 1.6, and 
2.10).
    Service Form Numbers: NPS Forms 10-404, Backcountry/Wilderness Use 
Permit'' and 10-404A, ``Backcountry/Wilderness Use Permit Hangtag''.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    Description of Respondents: Individuals wishing to use backcountry 
and wilderness areas within national parks.
    Estimated Average Number of Responses: 285,000.
    Frequency of Response: 1 per respondent.
    Estimated Average Time Burden per Respondent: 5 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Reporting Burden: 23,750 hours.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.

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: September 8, 2016.
Madonna L. Baucum,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, National Park Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-22010 Filed 9-13-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-EH-P