81 FR 57929 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments on the Assessing Public Views of Waterfowl-Related Topics To Inform the North American Waterfowl Management Plan

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Geological Survey

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 164 (August 24, 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 and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on this ICR.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 164 (Wednesday, August 24, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57929-57930]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-19879]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

 Geological Survey

[GX16RB00FXBRD00]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments on 
the Assessing Public Views of Waterfowl-Related Topics To Inform the 
North American Waterfowl Management Plan

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

ACTION: Notice of a new information collection, Assessing Public Views 
of Waterfowl-Related Topics to Inform the North American Waterfowl 
Management Plan.

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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 and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to 
comment on this ICR.

DATES: To ensure that your comments on this ICR are considered, OMB 
must receive them on or before September 23, 2016.

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-NEW Assessing Public 
Views of Waterfowl-Related Topics to Inform the North American 
Waterfowl Management Plan'. 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-NEW: Assessing Public Views of Waterfowl-Related Topics 
to Inform the North American Waterfowl Management Plan' in all 
correspondence.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Holly Miller, Fort Collins Science 
Center, U.S. Geological Survey, 2150 Centre Ave., Bldg. C, Fort 
Collins, CO 80526 (mail); 970-226-9133 (phone); or [email protected] 
(email). You may also find information about this ICR at 
www.reginfo.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    I. Abstract
    The North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) is an 
international agreement signed by the United States Secretary of the 
Interior, the Canadian Minister of the Environment, and the Mexican 
Secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources. NAWMP lays out a 
strategy to restore waterfowl populations in North America through 
habitat protection, restoration, and enhancement. The 2012 revised 
goals of

[[Page 57930]]

NAWMP focused for the first time on people as well as waterfowl and 
their habitats. Specifically, the plan states that ``The needs and 
desires of people [as they relate to waterfowl] must be clearly 
understood and explicitly addressed'' and calls for more human 
dimensions research with waterfowl hunters, viewers, and the general 
public. The plan recognizes the interconnectedness of waterfowl, their 
habitat, and stakeholders. Without human dimensions information, NAWMP 
objectives may not reflect stakeholder and societal values, and 
management and policy decisions may lead to actions that could be 
either irrelevant or counter to stakeholder and societal expectations.
    To meet the goals set forth in the 2012 NAWMP revision, the NAWMP 
Human Dimensions Working Group has asked the USGS to conduct a mail 
survey to assess the general public's awareness and perceptions of 
waterfowl and wetlands, as well as measure participation in 
recreational activities, conservation behaviors, how people obtain 
information on nature-related issues, and demographics. Demographics 
voluntarily collected on the survey will include gender, education, 
income, and race/ethnicity. Additionally, a representative sample of 
names and mailing addresses from the general public will be purchased 
from a survey sampling company which uses publically available 
information to construct sample lists. To protect the confidentiality 
and privacy of survey respondents, the demographic information from the 
survey will not be associated with any respondent's name or mailing 
address at any time and will only be analyzed and reported in 
aggregate.
    Demographic information collected on the survey will be used to 
understand if any segments of the American public hold differing views 
on waterfowl and waterfowl-related topics. For example, there may be 
differences in awareness and perceptions of waterfowl and wetlands or 
in participation in recreational activities between men and women. This 
will enable waterfowl managers and policymakers to better understand 
and be more responsive to the varied stakeholders they are serving. The 
data from the survey will be aggregated and statistically analyzed and 
the results will be published in publically available USGS reports.
    The USGS Ecosystems Mission Area is conducting this effort as it 
aligns with their mission to ``work with others to provide the 
scientific understanding and technologies needed to support the sound 
management and conservation of our Nation's biological resources.'' 
Specifically, the Ecosystems Mission Area ``enters into partnerships 
with scientific collaborators to produce high-quality scientific 
information and partnerships with the users of scientific information 
to ensure this information's relevance and application to real 
problems.''

II. Data

    OMB Control Number: 1028-NEW.
    Title: Assessing Public Views of Waterfowl-Related Topics to Inform 
the North American Waterfowl Management Plan.
    Type of Request: Approval of new information collection.
    Respondent Obligation: Voluntary.
    Frequency of Collection: One time only.
    Description of Respondents: General public.
    Estimated Total Number of Annual Responses: 1,400.
    Estimated Time per Response: We estimate that it will take 20 
minutes per person to complete the full survey and 5 minutes per person 
to complete the non-response survey.
    Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 366.
    Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost'' Burden: 
There are no ``non-hour cost'' burdens associated with this collection 
of information.
    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. Until the OMB approves a collection 
of information, you are not obliged to respond.
    Comments: On June 30, 2015, we published a Federal Register notice 
(80 FR 37292) announcing that we would submit this ICR to OMB for 
approval and soliciting comments. The comment period closed on August 
31, 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 the OMB in your 
comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public 
review, we cannot guarantee that it will be done.

    Dated: August 16, 2016.
Rudy Schuster,
Fort Collins Science Center Director (Acting).
[FR Doc. 2016-19879 Filed 8-23-16; 8:45 am]
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