81 FR 1197 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Geological Survey

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 6 (January 11, 2016)

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 to take this opportunity to comment on this ICR. This collection is scheduled to expire on January 31, 2016.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 6 (Monday, January 11, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1197-1198]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-00266]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

 Geological Survey

[GX16BA02EEW0200]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments

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

ACTION: Notice of extension of a currently approved information 
collection, (1028-0103).

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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 to take this opportunity to comment on this ICR. This 
collection is scheduled to expire on January 31, 2016.

DATES: To ensure that your comments on this ICR are considered, OMB 
must receive them on or before February 10, 2016.

[[Page 1198]]


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]); or by fax (202) 395-5806; and identify 
your submission with `OMB Control Number 1028-0103 USA National 
Phenology Network--The Nature's Notebook Plant and Animal Observing 
Program'. Please also forward a copy of your comments and suggestions 
on this information collection to the Information Collection Clearance 
Officer, U.S. Geological Survey, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive MS 807, 
Reston, VA 20192 (mail); (703) 648-7195 (fax); or [email protected] (email). Please reference `OMB Information 
Collection 1028-0103: USA National Phenology Network--The Nature's 
Notebook Plant and Animal Observing Program' in all correspondence.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jake Weltzin, U.S. Geological Survey, 
325 BioSciences East, 1311 East 4th Street, Tucson, AZ 85721 (mail); 
(520) 626-3821 (phone); or [email protected] (email). You may also find 
information about this ICR at www.reginfo.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The USA National Phenology Network (USA-NPN) 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., timing of leafing or 
flowering of plants and 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 GPEA requirements. The web application interface 
consists several components: User registration, a searchable list of 
1,016 plant and animal species which 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 a site, 
registering plants and animals at a site, generating datasheets to take 
to the field, and a data entry page that mimics the datasheets.

II. Data

    OMB Control Number: 1028-0103.
    Form Number: Various (12 forms).
    Title: USA National Phenology Network--The Nature's Notebook Plant 
and Animal Observing Program.
    Type of Request: Extension without change of a currently approved 
information collection.
    Respondent Obligation: Voluntary.
    Frequency of Collection: On occasion. During the Spring and Fall 
seasons when phenology is changing quickly, we recommend respondents 
make observations once or twice per week as conditions allow.
    Description of Respondents: Members of the public, and state and 
local government workers.
    Estimated Total Number of Annual Responses: We project that 6,378 
responders will register with Nature's Notebook, and of those 638 will 
watch the training videos. The same 6,378 responders will contribute 
2,407,120 observation records. In total, this will result in 2,414,136 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: When joining the program, responders 
spend 13 minutes each to register and read guidelines and 83 minutes to 
watch all training videos. After that responders may spend about 2 
minutes per record to observe and submit phenophase status record.
    Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 82,502.
    Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost'' Burden: 
$11,274.
    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.
    Comments: On August 7, 2015, we published a Federal Register notice 
(80 FR 47511) announcing that we would submit this ICR to OMB for 
approval and soliciting comments. The comment period closed on October 
6, 2015. 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.

Jake Weltzin,
Program Manager, Status & Trends Program and Executive Director, USA 
National Phenology Network.
[FR Doc. 2016-00266 Filed 1-8-16; 8:45 am]
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