2020-24997. Information Collection: Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program

AGENCY:

Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION:

Notice; request for comment.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) is seeking comments from all interested individuals and organizations on the renewal and revision of the information collection, Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program.

DATES:

Comments must be received in writing on or before January 11, 2021 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: [e-mail]. 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, Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program Coordinator, Forest Management, Range Management, and Vegetation Ecology, can be reached by phone at 503-808-2810, or by email at [e-mail]. 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: Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program.

OMB Number: 0596-0245.

Expiration Date of Approval: January 31, 2021.

Type of Request: Renewal with Revisions.

Abstract: The Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP) is a 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. Partners work with the USFS to implement restoration work and multi-party monitoring of landscape restoration treatments.

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 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 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 CFLRP landscapes and collaborative participants.

Gaining information from individuals who work or live in the geographic area of the CFLRP projects 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 CFLRP project, 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 and a mail-in, on-line, and hard copy survey of residents. 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 Selected CFLRP landscapes in Forest Service Regions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9.

Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 5,250.

Estimated Annual Number of Responses per Respondent: 7.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours on Respondents: 2,700 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.

Paul Strong,

Acting Director, Forest Management, Range and Vegetation Ecology, National Forest System.