[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 225 (Friday, November 24, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 82396-82397]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-25915]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Geological Survey

[GX23BA000AD0100; OMB Control Number 1028-0103]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; USA National 
Phenology Network--The Nature's Notebook Plant and Animal Observing 
Program

AGENCY: U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is proposing to extend an information 
collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
December 26, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments on this information collection request 
(ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget's Desk Officer for the 
Department of the Interior by email at [email protected]; or 
via facsimile to (202) 395-5806. Please provide a copy of your comments 
to the USGS, Information Collections Clearance Officer, 12201 Sunrise 
Valley Drive MS 159, Reston, VA 20192; or by email to [email protected]. Please reference OMB Control Number 1028-
0103 Nature's Notebook in the subject line of your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information 
about this ICR, contact Melanie J. Steinkamp by email at 
[email protected] or by telephone at 703-261-3128.You may also view 
the ICR at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the PRA, (44 U.S.C. 3501 
et seq.) and 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), all information collections require 
approval. We may not conduct or sponsor, nor are you required to 
respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently 
valid OMB control number.
    A Federal Register notice with a 60-day public comment period 
soliciting comments on this collection of information was published on 
August 4, 2023 (88 FR 51851). No comments were received.
    As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent 
burdens, we invite the public and other federal agencies to comment on 
new,

[[Page 82397]]

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.
    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 the agency might 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. We will include or summarize each comment in our request 
to OMB to approve this ICR. Before including your address, phone 
number, email address, or other personally identifiable information 
(PII) in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--
including your PII--may be made publicly available at any time. While 
you can ask us in your comment to withhold your PII from public review, 
we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
    Abstract: The USA-National Phenology Network is a program sponsored 
by the USGS that uses standardized forms for tracking plant and animal 
activity as part of a project called Nature's Notebook. The Nature's 
Notebook forms are used to record phenology (e.g., the timing of the 
leafing or flowering of plants and the reproduction or migration of 
animals) as part of a nationwide effort to understand and predict how 
plants and animals respond to environmental variation and changes in 
weather and climate. Contemporary data collected through Nature's 
Notebook are quality-checked, described, and made publicly available; 
data are used to inform decision-making in a variety of contexts, 
including agriculture, drought monitoring, and wildfire risk 
assessment. Phenological information is also critical for the 
management of wildlife, invasive species, and agricultural pests, and 
for understanding and managing risks to human health and welfare, 
including allergies, asthma, and vector-borne diseases. Participants 
may contribute phenology information to Nature's Notebook through a 
browser-based web application or via mobile applications for iPhone and 
Android operating systems, meeting Government Paperwork Elimination Act 
(GPEA) and Privacy Act requirements. The web application interface 
consists of several components: User registration; a searchable list of 
1,756 plant and animal species that can be observed; a ``profile'' for 
each species that contains information about the species including its 
description and the appropriate monitoring protocols; a series of 
interfaces for registering as an observer, registering an observation 
site, and registering plants and animals at an observation site; 
generating datasheets to take to the field, and a data entry page that 
mimics the datasheets.
    Title of Collection: USA NATIONAL PHENOLOGY NETWORK--THE NATURE'S 
NOTEBOOK PLANT AND ANIMAL OBSERVING PROGRAM.
    OMB Control Number: 1028-0103.
    Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Members of the public registered with 
Nature's Notebook, State Cooperative Extension employees, and Tribal 
members.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 6,598.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 4,102,388.
    Estimated Completion Time per Response: Upon joining the program, 
each of the 6,598 respondents is expected to spend 13 minutes to 
register and read guidelines for an annual burden of 1,430 hours. New 
and existing respondents are expected to spend about two minutes on 
each observation and submission of a phenophase status record. Given a 
projection of 4,102,388 phenophase status responses each year, annual 
burden of observation and submission of records is 136,746 hours. Thus, 
the Total Estimated Annual Burden is 138,176 hours.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Frequency of Collection: On occasion; depends on the seasonal 
activity of plants and animals.
    Non-hour burden costs may be incurred for optional items such as 
clipboards, pencils, flags, markers, stakes, tags and/or popsicle 
sticks. We estimate that only 20% of users (i.e., 1,320) will incur 
these costs, at an estimated cost of $2.52 per user, for a Total 
Estimated Annual Non-hour Burden cost of $3,327.
    An agency may not conduct or sponsor, nor is a person required to 
respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently 
valid OMB control number.
    The authority for this action is the PRA of 1995.

Melanie J. Steinkamp,
Species Management Research Program Coordinator, Ecosystems Mission 
Area, U.S. Geological Survey.
[FR Doc. 2023-25915 Filed 11-22-23; 8:45 am]
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