[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 101 (Friday, May 26, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24392-24393]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-10832]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-VRP-WS-22697; PPWOVPADW0, PPMPRLE1Y.LB0000 (177)]


Agency Information Collection Activities: OMB Control Number 
1024-0022; Backcountry/Wilderness Use Permit

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We (National Park Service, NPS) have sent an Information 
Collection Request (ICR) to OMB for review and approval. We summarize 
the ICR below and describe the nature of the collection and the 
estimated burden and cost. This information collection is scheduled to 
expire on May 31, 2017. 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. However, under OMB 
regulations, we may continue to conduct or sponsor this information 
collection while it is pending at OMB.

DATES: You must submit comments on or before June 26, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments and suggestions on this information 
collection to the Desk Officer for the Department of the Interior at 
OMB-OIRA at (202) 395-5806 (fax) or [email protected] 
(email). Please provide a copy of your comments to Tim Goddard, 
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. You may review the ICR online at http://www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to review Department of the 
Interior collections under review by OMB.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information 
about this IC, contact Roger Semler, Chief, Wilderness Stewardship 
Division, Visitor & Resource Protection Directorate, U.S. Department of 
the Interior, Room 2462, 1849 C St. NW., Washington, DC 20240 (mail); 
or [email protected] (email). Please include ``1024-0022'' in the 
subject line.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    In 1976, the NPS initiated a backcountry and wilderness use 
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 implemented to 
prevent adverse impacts to natural and cultural resources and/or in 
response to public safety hazards related to high fire danger, flood, 
wind, water, snow or ice hazards, bear or other wildlife 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 and park regulations 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 and/or emergency 
medical 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 
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/

[[Page 24393]]

wilderness areas including those areas that require a reservation and 
permit 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, 2017.
    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 units of the national park system.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.
    Frequency of Collection: On occasion.

 
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                                                                                    Completion
                                                     Number of       Number of       time per      Total annual
                    Activity                        respondents       annual         response     burden hours *
                                                                     responses       (minutes)
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                               Form 10-404, Backcountry/Wilderness Use Application
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Individuals.....................................         172,928         172,928               8          23,057
Private Sector..................................           5,376           5,376               8             717
Government......................................             896             896               8             119
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                             Form 10-404A, Backcountry/Wilderness Use Permit Hangtag
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Individuals.....................................         135,100         135,100               5          11,258
Private Sector..................................           4,200           4,200               5             350
Government......................................             700             700               5              58
    Totals......................................         319,200         319,200  ..............          35,559
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* Rounded.

    Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: None.

III. Comments

    On September 14, 2016, we published in the Federal Register (81 FR 
63204) a Notice of our intent to request that OMB renew approval for 
this information collection. In that Notice, we solicited comments for 
60 days, ending November 14, 2016. We received one (1) comment in 
response to that Notice:

    Email from: Rob Windmiller (Received October 4, 2016)

    ``Ms. Baucum--I live near the Grand Canyon. It is about one 
hundred miles from my house to the back country permit office. The 
current system does not work for me because it requires a trip to 
the office to find out if there are available permits. That means 
the better part of the day driving and adding to traffic at the 
canyon just to find out if I can get one. Usually when I am looking 
for a permit it is for the North rim which is also a long drive 
South rim. I would be very happy if I could find out if there were 
available permits online and could get one, online. The current 
system causes extra traffic and keeps people out of the park who 
should be able to use it. Sincerely, Robert Windmiller''
    NPS Response/Action Taken: [The National Park Service is in the 
process of establishing a service-wide online advance reservation 
system through the Recreation.gov program that would accommodate 
backcountry permit requests. In the meantime, Grand Canyon National 
Park offers the following options for obtaining a backcountry 
permit:
    1. Fax request to the Backcountry Information Center, 928-638-
2125.
    NOTE: You can send a fax 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days 
a year--HOWEVER the first day of every month we receive many faxes 
and the number may be busy.
    2. Mail request to Grand Canyon National Park, Permits Office, 
1824 S. Thompson St., Suite 201, Flagstaff AZ, 86001.
    3. Bring request to the Backcountry Information Center, located 
inside the park on both the South Rim and the North Rim. The South 
Rim Backcountry Information Center is open daily, year round, for 
walk-in visitors from 8 a.m. to noon and 1-5 p.m. Mountain Standard 
Time. The North Rim Backcountry Information Center (located in the 
administrative building) is open daily mid-May to mid-October for 
walk-in visitors from 8 a.m. to noon and 1-5 p.m. Mountain Standard 
Time.

    Please note: Permit requests are not accepted by telephone or by 
email.

Thank you for your interest in National Park Service backcountry 
recreational opportunities. If you have additional questions 
regarding Grand Canyon National Park please consult their 
backcountry permit Web page at https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/backcountry-permit.htm]

We again 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. 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 OMB in your comment to withhold your personal 
identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that it 
will be done.

    Authority: The authorities for this action are the National Park 
Service Organic Act of 1916 (54 U.S.C. 100101 et seq.; Pub. L. 113-
287) and the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et 
seq.).

Timothy Goddard,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, National Park Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-10832 Filed 5-25-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P