82 FR 12428 - Information Collection: Southwestern Crown of the Continent Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Project

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 41 (March 3, 2017)

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Forest Service is seeking comments from all interested individuals and organizations on the proposed new information collection, Southwestern Crown of the Continent Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Project.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 41 (Friday, March 3, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12428-12429]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-04153]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Information Collection: Southwestern Crown of the Continent 
Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Project

AGENCY: Forest Service, 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 proposed new information collection, Southwestern 
Crown of the Continent Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration 
Project.

DATES: Comments must be received in writing on or before May 2, 2017 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 Buchanan, Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program 
Coordinator, 1220 SW 3rd Ave., Portland, Oregon, 97204. Comments may 
also be submitted by email to: [email protected]. The public 
may inspect comments received at 1220 SW 3rd Ave., Portland, Oregon 
97204, during normal business hours. Visitors are encouraged to call 
ahead to 503-808-2810 to facilitate entry to the building.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lindsay Buchanan, 503-808-2810. 
Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD) may 
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339, 
twenty-four hours a day, every day of the year, including holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Southwestern Crown of the Continent Collaborative Forest 
Landscape Restoration Project.
    OMB Number: 0596--NEW.
    Expiration Date of Approval: Not Applicable--new request.
    Type of Request: New.
    Abstract: The Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program 
(CFLRP) is a U.S. Forest Service (USFS) program started in 2010 to 
encourage collaborative groups of neighboring landowners, to work with 
the Forest Service to find common ground pertaining to forest 
restoration. Such collaborative neighboring landowners include State, 
local and Tribal government representatives, businesses, interest 
groups, and non-profit organizations. The Southwestern Crown 
Collaborative (SWCC) is one of 23 Collaborative Forest Landscape 
Restoration (CFLR) projects across the nation currently. In the SWCC, 
partners work with the USFS to implement restoration work and multi-
party monitoring of landscape restoration treatments across four 
counties and three National Forests in western Montana.
    The Forest Landscape Restoration Act (FLRA) of 2009 (16 U.S.C. 
7303), which enabled the CFLRP, requires monitoring ``to assess the 
positive or negative

[[Page 12429]]

ecological, social, and economic effects of projects implementing a 
selected proposal for not less than 15 years after project 
implementation commences.'' This Information Collection Request (ICR) 
will help meet the SWCC's obligation for monitoring the social impacts 
on residents and stakeholders of activities conducted under the CFLRP. 
The scope of the ICR includes residents of communities within and 
adjacent to the SWCC landscape and collaborative participants.
    Gaining information from individuals who work or live in the 
geographic area of the SWCC provides valuable information to partners 
and land management decision makers. To ensure the USFS is informed 
about the opinions of participants of collaborative processes and 
public members living in or around the SWCC, the USFS seeks to obtain 
approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) of an ICR to 
collect both qualitative and quantitative feedback from stakeholders on 
management decisions, forest restoration work, monitoring activities, 
and land management planning. The information will be collected through 
a census survey of participants of the Southwestern Crown Collaborative 
and a mail-in, on-line, and hard copy survey of residents of the 
Southwestern Crown of the Continent Landscape. Through the collection 
of this information, managers and planners will obtain valuable 
information to inform future decisions. USFS public affairs staff, 
social scientists, and economists may also use this information, and 
USFS, academic, and other researchers may use or cite the results or 
data collected in publications.
    Without the collection of this information, the USFS will be unable 
to determine whether it is meeting the requirements of the Forest 
Landscape Restoration Act, nor if they are fully incorporating partner 
and public input into forest project, implementation, monitoring and/or 
planning processes as required by law.
    Type of Respondents: Residents within the Southwestern Crown CFLRP 
landscape (4,429 occupied dwellings) and Southwestern Crown 
Collaborative participants (150 participants on email list).
    Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 750.
    Estimated Annual Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours on Respondents: 386 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 submission request for 
OMB approval.

    Dated: February 15, 2017.
Jeanne Higgins,
Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest System.
[FR Doc. 2017-04153 Filed 3-2-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3411-15-P