[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 119 (Tuesday, June 24, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26780-26781]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-11538]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Information Collection; Information Collection Clearance for the
Stewardship Mapping and Assessment Project (STEW-MAP)
AGENCY: Forest Service, Agriculture (USDA).
ACTION: Notice; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the
Forest Service is seeking comments from all interested individuals and
organizations on the renewal of a currently approved information
collection, Information Collection Clearance for the Stewardship
Mapping and Assessment Project (STEW-MAP).
DATES: Comments must be received in writing on or before August 25,
2025 to be assured of consideration. Comments received after that date
will be considered to the extent practicable.
ADDRESSES: Comments concerning this notice should be addressed to
Lindsay Campbell, USDA Forest Service, NYC Urban Field Station, 431
Walter Reed Rd., Bayside, NY 11359.
Comments also may be submitted via email to
[email protected]. Please put ``Comments RE: STEW-MAP'' in the
subject line.
Comments submitted in response to this notice may be made available
to the public through relevant websites and upon request. For this
reason, please do not include in your comments any information of a
confidential nature, such as sensitive personal information or
proprietary information. If you send an email comment, your email
address will be automatically captured and included as part of the
comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the
internet. Please note that responses to this public comment request
containing any routine notice about the confidentiality of the
communication will be treated as public comments that may be made
available to the public notwithstanding the inclusion of the routine
notice.
The public may inspect the draft supporting statement and/or
comments received at USDA Forest Service, NYC Urban Field Station, 431
Walter Reed Rd., Bayside, NY 11359 during normal business hours.
Visitors are encouraged to call ahead to (718) 225-3061 to facilitate
entry to the building. The public may request an electronic copy of the
draft supporting statement and/or any comments received be sent via
return email. Requests should be emailed to [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lindsay Campbell, Northern Research
Station, at (212) 637-4175 or by email to [email protected].
Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the hearing impaired
may call 711 to reach the Telecommunications Relay Service, 24 hours a
day, every day of the year, including holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Information Collection Clearance for the Stewardship Mapping
and Assessment Project (STEW-MAP).
OMB Number: 0596-0240.
Expiration Date of Approval: January 31, 2026.
Type of Request: Renewal.
Abstract: Local environmental stewardship groups provide support to
forests and other natural areas in regions, towns, and rural areas,
including National Forest System lands and the surrounding areas.
Forests and other natural areas provide a range of benefits and
services including stormwater management, air pollution removal, heat
mitigation, wildlife habitat, recreation opportunities, stress
reduction, aesthetic beauty, noise reduction, and increased property
values. The work of civic environmental stewards leverages the efforts
of local government officials in maintaining these resources,
especially in lean budget times. Civic stewardship organizations,
including nonprofits, faith-based groups, formal and informal community
groups, and collaboratives, are often involved in, for example,
planting trees, maintaining trails, offering environment-themed
classes, and cleaning up parks or forests. People who do this work are
stewards of their local environments, even if they do not normally use
the word ``steward'' or think of what they do as ``stewardship.''
The purpose of this research is to gather information on civic
stewardship groups and their efforts such as where they work, the types
of projects they focus on, and how they are organized. This information
will be summarized and, for the groups agreeing to be represented on a
public map, made publicly available online for use by decision-makers,
land managers, environmental professionals, the general public, the
stewards themselves, and other natural resource management
stakeholders.
There are three phases to a STEW-MAP project:
Phase 1a (Census) is a census of stewardship groups in the
target region, generating a master list of known stewardship groups and
their contact information.
Phase 1b (Focus Groups) is a set of focus groups asking
representatives of stewardship groups to describe their local context
and identify additional organizations working in the region. This phase
is optional and an alternative way to generate a master list of known
stewardship groups and their contact information.
Phase Two (Survey) is a survey that is distributed to all
of the organizations identified in Phase One to collect information
about what they work on, how their group is structured, where they
work, and what other groups they collaborate with.
Phase Three (Follow-Up Interviews) is a follow-up
interview with each key responding organization identified during Phase
Two to collect more detailed information about the organizations and
their histories.
A primary goal of STEW-MAP is to visualize stewardship activities,
which can span across the landscape. The geographic information
provided by stewardship groups on the survey (Phase Two) will allow the
researchers to conduct a spatial analysis of where stewardship groups
are working and provide relevant geographic information, like what
kinds of stewardship groups are working in particular places. This
geographic information will be displayed on maps to show stewards,
local land managers, decision-makers, and other interested stakeholders
how stewardship work is happening across the region with the goal of
encouraging collaboration, building innovative partnerships, increasing
organizational capacities, and
[[Page 26781]]
generally making stewardship efforts more effective and efficient.
Information from STEW-MAP will help planners, natural resource
decision-makers, land managers, and the general public work across
property jurisdictions and organizations to conserve, protect, and
manage natural resources effectively and efficiently. It will also be
used to enhance local resource management efforts by helping public
officials, land managers, and civic stewards connect to local
stewardship groups.
STEW-MAP is being led by Forest Service researchers in partnership
with National Forest System staff, as well as researchers from
universities and nongovernment organizations. The exact makeup of the
research team will vary from location to location where STEW-MAP is
conducted. The Forest Service Research and Development branch is
authorized to conduct basic scientific research to improve the health
of forests and rangelands involving State, Federal, and Tribal
agencies, and private landowners across multiple jurisdictions. The
study is aligned with various collaborative approaches to landscape-
scale resource management that work across jurisdictions and land-use
types. This study seeks to identify opportunities for stewardship
organizations to better collaborate and, thus, be more effective and
efficient in the stewardship of forests and other natural areas.
Due to local geographical differences, and to meet the needs of any
particular collaborative effort, we may tailor the survey and interview
questions to accommodate the unique requirements of individual
communities.
Affected Public: Representatives from civic environmental
stewardship groups, and from State, local, or Tribal governments.
Estimate of Burden per Response: 15 to 60 minutes.
Estimated Annual Number of Respondents per Phase
Phase One (Census): 720.
Phase Two (Survey): 6,000.
Phase Three (Follow-up Interviews): 240.
Estimated Annual Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 3,683 hours.
Comment Is Invited
Comment is invited on: (1) whether this collection of information
is necessary for the stated purposes and the proper performance of the
functions of the Agency, including whether the information will have
practical or scientific utility; (2) the accuracy of the Agency's
estimate of the burden of the 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) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on
respondents, including the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or
other technological collection techniques or other forms of information
technology.
All comments received in response to this notice, including names
and addresses when provided, will be a matter of public record.
Comments will be summarized and included in the package submitted to
the Office of Management and Budget for approval.
Linda S. Heath,
Director, Inventory, Monitoring & Assessment Research.
[FR Doc. 2025-11538 Filed 6-23-25; 8:45 am]
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