E8-18338. Information Collection Sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Approval; Alaska Guide Service Evaluation

AGENCY:

Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice; request for comments.

SUMMARY:

We (Fish and Wildlife Service) have sent an Information Collection Request (ICR) to OMB for review and approval. The ICR, which is summarized below, describes the nature of the collection and the estimated burden and cost. We may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

DATES:

You must submit comments on or before September 8, 2008.

ADDRESSES:

Send your comments and suggestions on this ICR to the Desk Officer for the Department of the Interior at OMB-OIRA at [phone] (fax) or [e-mail] (e-mail). Please provide a copy of your comments to Hope Grey, Information Collection Clearance Officer, Fish and Wildlife Service, MS 222-ARLSQ, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203 (mail); [phone] (fax); or [e-mail] (e-mail).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request additional information about this ICR, contact Hope Grey by mail, fax, or e-mail (see ADDRESSES) or by telephone at [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

OMB Control Number: None. This is a new collection.

Title: Alaska Guide Service Evaluation.

Service Form Number(s): 3-2349.

Type of Request: New collection.

Affected Public: Clients of permitted commercial guide service providers.

Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.

Frequency of Collection: One time following use of commercial guide services.

Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 396.

Estimated Total Annual Responses: 396.

Estimated Time Per Response: 15 minutes.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 99.

Abstract: We are proposing to collect information to help us evaluate commercial guide services on our national wildlife refuges in the State of Alaska (State). The National Wildlife Refuge Administration Act of 1966, as amended (16 U.S.C. 668dd-ee), authorizes us to permit uses, including commercial visitor services, on national wildlife refuges when we find the activity to be compatible with the purposes for which the refuge was established. With the objective of making available a variety of quality visitor services for wildlife-dependent recreation on National Wildlife Refuge System lands, we issue permits for commercial guide services, including big game hunting, sport fishing, wildlife viewing, river trips, and other guided activities. We plan to use FWS Form 3-2349 (Alaska Guide Service Evaluation) as a method to:

(1) Monitor the quality of services provided by commercial guides.

(2) Gauge client satisfaction with the services.

(3) Assess the impacts of the activity on refuge resources.

The client is the best source of information on the quality of commercial guiding services. We plan to collect:

(1) Client name.

(2) Guide name(s).

(3) Type of guided activity.

(4) Dates and location of guided activity.

(5) Information on the services received such as the client's expectations, safety, environmental impacts, and client's overall satisfaction.

We will encourage respondents to provide any additional comments that they wish regarding the guide service or refuge experience, and ask whether or not they wish to be contacted for additional information.

The above information, in combination with State-required guide activity reports and contacts with guides and clients in the field, will provide a comprehensive method for monitoring permitted commercial guide activities. A regular program of client evaluation will help refuge managers detect potential problems with guide services so that we can take corrective actions promptly. In addition, we will use this information during the competitive selection process for big game and sport fishing guides to evaluate an applicant's ability to provide a quality guiding service.

We will provide the evaluation form to clients by one of several methods:

(1) The refuge may mail the form to the clients.

(2) On websites of refuges where guide services are permitted.

(3) Upon request.

Comments: On January 22, 2008, we published in the Federal Register (73 FR 3752) a notice of our intent to request that OMB approve this information collection. In that notice, we solicited comments for 60 days, ending on March 24, 2008. We received one comment, which did not address issues surrounding the proposed collection of information. The commenter objected to the issuing of permits for guided hunting services on national wildlife refuges. We did not make any changes to our information collection requirements as a result of this comment.

We again invite comments concerning this information collection on:

(1) whether or not the collection of information is necessary, including whether or not the information will have practical utility;

(2) the accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this collection of information;

(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.

Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of public record. Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment, including your personal identifying information, may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask OMB in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that it will be done.

Dated: June 23, 2008

Hope Grey,

Information Collection Clearance Officer, Fish and Wildlife Service.