[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 206 (Friday, October 23, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67558-67559]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-23499]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-HQ-NWRS-2020-N096; FXRS126109HD000-201-FF09R23000; OMB Control 
Number 1018-New]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Programmatic 
Clearance for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Social Science Research

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, we, the U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are proposing a new information 
collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
November 23, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments and suggestions on the information 
collection requirements 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 the Service Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB (JAO/3W), 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls 
Church, VA 22041-3803 (mail); or by email to [email protected]. Please 
reference OMB Control Number ``1018-Programmatic'' in the subject line 
of your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Madonna L. Baucum, Service Information 
Collection Clearance Officer, by email at [email protected], or by 
telephone at (703) 358-2503. Individuals who are hearing or speech 
impaired may call the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 for TTY 
assistance. You may also view the ICR at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) and 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), we 
provide the general public and other Federal agencies with an 
opportunity to comment on new, proposed, revised, and continuing 
collections of information. This helps us assess the impact of our 
information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting 
burden. It also helps the public understand our information collection 
requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format.
    On April 17, 2020, we published in the Federal Register (86 FR 
21450) a notice of our intent to request that OMB approve this 
information collection. In that notice, we solicited comments for 60 
days, ending on June 16, 2020. No comments were received in response to 
that notice.
    As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent 
burdens, we are again soliciting comments from the public and other 
Federal agencies on the proposed ICR that is described below. We are 
especially interested in public comment addressing the following:
    (1) Whether or not the collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including 
whether or not the information will have practical utility;
    (2) The accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this collection 
of information, including the validity of the methodology and 
assumptions used;
    (3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
    (4) How might the agency minimize the burden of the collection of 
information on those who are to respond, including through the use of 
appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., 
permitting electronic submission of response.
    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 us in your comment to withhold your personal 
identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we 
will be able to do so.
    Abstract: Improving customer experience with Federal services is 
part of the President's Management Agenda (OMB Circular A-11, Section 
280, ``Managing Customer Experience and Improving Service Delivery''). 
The collection of information is necessary to enable the Service to 
garner customer and stakeholder feedback in an efficient, timely 
manner, in accordance with our commitment to improving service 
delivery. Additionally, this new programmatic clearance is needed in 
order to be more responsive to Secretarial Orders 3356 (hunting and 
fishing opportunities), 3362 (big game habitat), and 3366 (outdoor 
recreation). This proposed new collection of information will also 
allow the Service to improve customer service delivery and response. 
This is important because OMB Circular A-11 designates the Service as a 
High-Impact Service Provider.
    The programmatic clearance applies to social science surveys, 
interviews, and focus groups designed to provide information to Service 
managers and practitioners to improve quality and utility of agency 
programs, services, and planning efforts. To ensure continuous 
improvement, Service activities and projects require ongoing systematic 
assessment of their design, implementation, and outcomes. Data from 
collections undertaken through the proposed programmatic clearance 
would provide information for planning, monitoring, and evaluating 
National Wildlife Refuge System efforts as well as efforts of other 
Service programs. The scope of this programmatic clearance includes 
individual surveys, focus groups, and interviews of refuge visitors, 
potential visitors, and residents of communities near Service-managed 
units, and stakeholders and partners, including tribal interests.
    To qualify for the generic programmatic review process, survey 
questions must show a clear tie to Service management needs. The 
programmatic review may only be used for noncontroversial information 
collections that are unlikely to attract or include topics of 
significant public interest. We must obtain OMB approval of all surveys 
developed using the pre-approved suite of questions before the survey 
can be initiated. This suite of questions will be used to develop 
customer experience and satisfaction surveys to meet requirements of 
OMB Circular A-11, as well as commitments to respond to the above-named 
Secretarial Orders.

[[Page 67559]]

    Title of Collection: Programmatic Clearance for U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service Social Science Research.
    OMB Control Number: 1018-New.
    Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: New.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Persons visiting units managed by the 
Service; potential visitors, including ``virtual visitors'' who access 
content from a Service website; local community members; educators 
taking part in programs both on and off Service lands; government 
officials representing the local area; landowners; partners; 
stakeholders; and tribal interests.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Frequency of Collection: On occasion.
    Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: None.

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                                                                                 Annual estimates
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
                                                                                    Completion
                              Mode                                   Number of       time per      Burden Hours
                                                                    respondents   response (avg.        **
                                                                                     minutes)
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On-site, mail, internet surveys *...............................          20,333              20           6,778
Telephone surveys...............................................             833              25             347
All non-response surveys........................................             784               5              65
Focus groups/In-person interviews...............................              59              60              59
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Annual Total................................................          22,009  ..............           7,249
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    3 Year Total................................................          66,027  ..............          21,747
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* Includes 2-minute contact time for some surveys, interviews, and focus groups, and approximately 2,500
  electronic surveys.
** All figures are rounded.

    An agency 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.
    The authority for this action is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

    Dated: October 20, 2020.
Madonna Baucum,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-23499 Filed 10-22-20; 8:45 am]
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