[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 120 (Wednesday, June 23, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33457-33459]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-15987]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Information Collection; Request for Comments; National Forest
Recreation Use
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the
Forest Service announces its intent to extend a previously approved
information collection and add a new component to the collection. The
Forest
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Service uses the currently approved collection to assess customer
satisfaction and agency performance in meeting customer needs. The new
collection will enable the Forest Service to estimate the amount and
type of recreational use that occurs on National Forest System areas.
The revised collection also will help the Forest Service meet the
requirements of the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 and
the National Forest Management Act of 1976. Information will be
collected from people who visit National Forest System lands for
recreational activities.
DATES: Comments must be received in writing on or before August 23,
1999.
ADDRESSES: All comments should be addressed to Donald B.K. English,
Research Social Scientist, Forestry Sciences Laboratory, Forest
Service, USDA, 320 Green St., Athens, GA 30602, or email: denglish/
srs__athens@fs.fed.us.
The public may inspect comments at the offices of Donald English,
Research Work Unit SRS-4901, Forest Service, USDA, 320 Green St.,
Athens, GA.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donald B.K. English, Southern Research
Station, at (706) 559-4268.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 requires that
Federal agencies establish measurable goals and monitor their success
at meeting those goals. Two items the Forest Service has agreed to
measure are: (1) the views and satisfaction level of recreational
visitors to National Forest System lands about the types and quality of
recreational services the agency provides; and (2) the number of
visitors who come to National Forest System lands for recreational
purposes. The agency is often asked for this kind of information from a
variety of organizations that include Congressional Staffs, newspapers,
magazines, and recreational trade organizations.
The currently approved information collection is designed to
evaluate agency performance in meeting the needs of visitors to
individual recreational sites, such as the visitor's level of
satisfaction and evaluation of the agency's ability to meet the
visitor's recreational needs. However, at present, Forest Service
personnel are unable to estimate the number of visitors who visit
National Forest System lands for recreational purposes. The current
information collection is being revised to meet these agency
informational needs.
National Forest System land managers will use the collected
information to better understand their recreational customers, to
improve recreational opportunities and services, and to identify
barriers that prevent the agency from meeting the recreational needs of
its customers. Data from this information collection also will be
considered when revising land and resource management plans for
National Forests, as required by the National Forest Management Act of
1976. The collected information will be shared with all National Forest
System land managers and, upon request, with others. Results from this
collection will be published in agency reports and various research
journals.
Description of Information Collection
The following describes the information collection to be extended:
Title: Customer and Use Survey Techniques for Operations,
Management, Evaluation, and Research.
OMB Number: 0596-0110.
Expiration Date of Approval: December 31, 1999.
Type of Request: Extension, with revision, of a previously approved
information collection.
Abstract: The data from this information collection provides the
agency with information about the characteristics, desires, needs, and
opinions of recreational visitors to selected recreational sites on
National Forest System lands and other public agency lands.
Agency personnel, contract personnel, and volunteers, trained in
conducting face-to-face interviews, will contact people who are
visiting public lands for recreational purposes. Survey questions will
focus on how well the agency meets visitors' expectations for
recreational opportunities, their satisfaction with the recreational
site of their choice, and if they have concerns regarding the agency's
management of the site.
Agency land managers will use the collected information to better
understand their recreational customers, to improve recreational
opportunities and services, and to identify barriers that prevent the
agency from meeting the recreational needs of its customers.
The collected information will be shared with agency land managers
and upon request, with others.
Data gathered in this collection is not available from other
sources.
Estimate of Burden: 10 minutes.
Type of Respondents: People who visit National Forest System land
for recreational purposes.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 9,000.
Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 1,500 hours.
Description of Information Collection
The following describes the new component of a currently
information collection to be extended:
Title: National Forest Recreation Use Survey.
OMB Number: 0596-0110.
Expiration Date of Approval: December 31, 1999.
Type of Request: New information collection.
Abstract: Data from this information collection will be used to
estimate the numbers of recreational visitors to National Forest System
lands, as well as the types of activities in which they participate.
The data also will be used to identify recreational markets and to
estimate the economic values and impacts of recreational visits.
Respondents will be asked questions about the activities in which
they participate while visiting National Forest System lands, the
duration of their visit, how often they visit, what types of items they
have purchased during their visit, and the State in which they live.
Forest Service personnel will interview visitors as they exit
National Forest System land recreational sites. Surveys will be
conducted on about one-fourth of the National Forests each year, so
that complete coverage of agency lands will occur over a 4-year cycle.
Each National Forest will retain a copy of data collected on its
visitors. Results of this study will be published in agency reports and
various research journals.
Data gathered in this collection is not available from other
sources.
Estimate of Burden: 6 minutes.
Type of Respondents: People who visit the National Forest System
lands for recreational purposes.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 80,000.
Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 8,000 hours.
Comment Is Invited
The agency invites comments on the following: (a) Whether the
proposed 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; (b)
the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed
collection of information,
[[Page 33459]]
including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c)
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and (d) 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.
Use of Comment
All comments, including name and address when provided, will become
a matter of public record. Comments received in response to this notice
will be summarized and included in the request for Office of Management
and Budget approval.
Dated: June 17, 1999.
Robert Lewis, Jr.,
Deputy Chief for Research & Development.
[FR Doc. 99-15987 Filed 6-22-99; 8:45 am]
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