[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 246 (Thursday, December 22, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 93951-93952]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-30782]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

U.S. Geological Survey

[GX.16.CG00.GDQ03.00]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments on 
the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Berry Outlook Survey

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

ACTION: Notice of a new information collection, Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta 
Berry Outlook.

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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.

[[Page 93952]]


DATES: To ensure that your comments on this ICR are considered, OMB 
must receive them on or before January 23, 2017.

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: 
([email protected]; identify your submission with `OMB 
Control Number 1028-NEW Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Berry Outlook. Please 
also forward a copy of your comments and suggestions on this 
information collection to the Information Collection Clearance Officer, 
U.S. Geological Survey, [email protected] (email). Please 
reference `OMB Information Collection 1028-NEW: Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta 
Berry Outlook in all correspondence.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nicole Herman-Mercer, National 
Research Program, Central Branch, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver 
Federal Center, Mail Stop 418, Denver, CO 80225 (mail); 303-236-5031 
(phone); or [email protected] (email). You may also find information 
about this ICR at www.reginfo.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Yukon-Kuskokwim (YK) Delta Berry Outlook is a data and observer 
driven ecological monitoring and modeling framework that forecasts 
changes in berry habitat and abundance with climate and environmental 
change. In order to create a monitoring protocol and modeling framework 
we will solicit local knowledge of berry distribution and abundance 
from members of Yukon-Kuskokwim communities. Participants from the 
communities will take part in a survey that asks yes or no questions 
about the timing, abundance, and distribution of three types of berries 
that are important in their communities. Personally Identifiable 
Information (PII) will be limited to four elements: Names, phone 
numbers, emails, and the name of the village they reside in. This PII 
will be collected in order to communicate project results and solicit 
feedback on the project itself for evaluation purposes. Statistical 
analysis will be performed on survey responses in order to ascertain if 
a consensus exists among participants within villages and among 
villages. The survey results will be one source of data used to create 
a model forecasting changes in Tribal food sources.
    The USGS mission is to serve the Nation by providing reliable 
scientific information to describe and understand the Earth. This 
project will collect information from individuals to better understand 
the abundance, distribution, and variability of berry resources in the 
Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region of Alaska. The people of the YK delta rely 
on wild berries for a substantial portion of their diet and hold 
information about the long term distribution and abundance of berries 
that is useful for understanding current and future changes to berry 
habitat due to climate change impacts that will effect both human and 
wildlife populations of the Yukon Delta region and the Yukon Delta 
National Wildlife Refuge.

II. Data

    OMB Control Number: 1028-NEW.
    Title: Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Berry Outlook.
    Type of Request: Approval of new information collection.
    Respondent Obligation: None, participation is voluntary.
    Frequency of Collection: One time.
    Description of Respondents: Individuals; Tribal members that reside 
in the villages of Chevak, Hooper Bay, Kotlik, and Emmonak, Alaska.
    Estimated Total Number of Annual Responses: Forty.
    Estimated Time per Response: We estimate that it will take two 
hours per person to complete the survey.
    Estimated Annual Burden Hours: Eighty hours.
    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. Until the OMB approves a collection 
of information, you are not obliged to respond.
    Comments: On June 14, 2016, we published a Federal Register notice 
(Vol. 81 FR 38733) announcing that we would submit this ICR to OMB for 
approval and soliciting comments. The comment period closed on August 
13, 2016. 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 us and the OMB 
in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from 
public review, we cannot guarantee that it will be done.

Lauren E. Hay,
Acting Branch Chief, National Research Program--Central Branch.
[FR Doc. 2016-30782 Filed 12-21-16; 8:45 am]
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