Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 10, 2006 / Notices 59521 

period will begin at approximately 11 

a.m. and the meeting will adjourn at 

approximately 3:30 p.m. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mark Jacobsen, Public Affairs Specialist, 

Miles City Field Office, 111 Garryowen 

Road, Miles City, Montana, 59301. 

Telephone: (406) 233–2831. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 15- 

member Council advises the Secretary 

of the Interior, through the Bureau of 

Land Management, on a variety of 

planning and management issues 

associated with public land 

management in Montana. 

At this meeting, topics to discuss 

include: 

Field Manager Updates 

The Miles City Field Office and Billings 

Field Office Updates 

Subcommittee working sessions 

—and other topics the council may 

raise. 

All meetings are open to the public. 

The public may present written 

comments to the Council. Each formal 

Council meeting will also have time 

allocated for hearing public comments. 

Depending on the number of persons 

wishing to comment and time available, 

the time for individual oral comments 

may be limited. Individuals who plan to 

attend and need special assistance, such 

as sign language interpretation, tour 

transportation or other reasonable 

accommodations, should contact the 

BLM as provided above. 

Dated: October 3, 2006. 

Theresa Hanley, 

Field Manager. 

[FR Doc. E6–16669 Filed 10–6–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–$$–P 

DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR 

National Park Service 

60-Day Notice of Intention To Request 

Clearance of Collection of Information; 

Opportunity for Public Comment 

AGENCY: Department of the Interior, 

National Park Service. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: Under provisions of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and 5 

CFR part 1320, Reporting and 

Recordkeeping Requirements, the 

National Park Service (NPS) invites 

public comments on a proposed new 

collection of information (OMB # 1024–

XXXX), 

DATES: Public comments will be 

accepted on or before December 11, 

2006. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments to: Susan 

Johnson, National Park Service Air 

Resources Division, U.S. National Park 

Service, 12795 W. Alameda Parkway, 

P.O. Box 25287, Denver, Colorado 

80225; phone: (303) 987–6694; e-mail: 

Susan_Johnson@nps.gov., or fax at 303/ 

969–2822. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Megan McBride, National Park Service 

Social Science Program, 1201 ‘‘Eye’’ St., 

NW., Washington, DC 20016; phone: 

(202) 513–7190; e-mail: 

Megan_McBride@contractor.nps.gov., or 

fax at 202/371–2131. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: 

Visibility Valuation in National Parks 

and Wilderness Areas: Pre-test and Pilot 

Test. 

Bureau Form Number: None. 

OMB Number: To be requested. 

Expiration Date: To be requested. 

Type of Request: New collection. 

Description of Need: The Clean Air 

Act includes provisions designed to 

maintain and enhance visibility at 

national parks and wilderness areas 

(Sections 169A, 169B, and 110(a)(2)(j)). 

The National Park Service is directed by 

its Organic Act to ‘‘conserve the scenery 

* * * unimpaired for the enjoyment of 

future generations’’ (16 U.S.C. a-1); and 

the Clean Air Act charges the NPS with 

an ‘‘affirmative responsibility to protect 

air quality related values (including 

visibility)’’ (42 U.S.C. 7475(d)(2)(B)). 

Therefore, the NPS believes it is 

imperative that the value of visibility 

changes is adequately represented in 

cost-benefit analyses related to state and 

federal efforts that may affect visibility 

(including the Regional Haze Rule, 40 

CFR part 51). Although several studies 

were conducted to estimate visibility 

benefits in the 1970s and 1980s, 

methodologies for estimating the 

benefits of improvements in 

environmental goods have advanced 

significantly since that time. 

Furthermore, baseline visibility 

conditions in national parks and 

wilderness areas have changed 

significantly over the last few decades. 

As a result, updated estimates of 

visibility benefits are required. 

NPS plans to conduct a nationwide 

stated-preference survey to estimate the 

value of visibility changes in national 

parks and wilderness areas. Statedpreference surveys use carefully 

designed questions to elicit 

respondents’ willingness to pay for 

improvements in environmental quality. 

A general population stated-preference 

survey is required in this case, as many 

U.S. citizens may be willing to pay to 

improve or maintain visibility at 

national parks and wilderness areas, 

even if they do not use these areas. 

Stated-preference surveys are the only 

methodology available to estimate these 

non-market-based values. But to ensure 

that the nationwide survey is unbiased 

and readily understood by respondents 

and that the likely effect of nonresponse on benefit estimates is known, 

the pre-test and pilot test must first be 

conducted. 

The pre-testing will be done through 

focus groups, which will be used to 

develop and refine a survey instrument 

for the pilot study. Twelve focus groups 

will be conducted, with approximately 

10 participants in each group (120 in 

total). Thus, a sufficient number of 

responses will be gathered to evaluate 

the information presentation, reliability, 

internal consistency, response 

variability, and other properties of the 

draft survey. Results will be used to 

make improvements to the survey 

instrument. NPS will proceed 

iteratively, modifying the draft survey 

instrument after each focus group to 

ensure that the wording of the questions 

is clear and unbiased and effectively 

addresses the relevant issues. 

The pilot study will be designed to 

account for the potential impact of mail 

survey non-response on benefit 

estimates. The pilot study will involve 

a split-sample comparison between a 

mail and an in-person survey. 

Respondents will be asked to complete 

the survey instrument developed during 

the pre-testing stage. The results will 

ultimately be used to adjust the benefit 

estimates obtained in the nationwide 

survey for potential non-response bias. 

The final content of the pilot survey 

instrument will depend on the pretesting results. At a minimum, the 

survey will describe the characteristics 

of various visibility improvement 

programs and ask respondents to select 

a preferred program. The survey will 

also include socio-demographic 

questions and questions designed to 

evaluate the respondents’ motivation in 

selecting a preferred program. Surveys 

will be conducted with approximately 

800 individuals. 

For this pilot study, 16 neighborhoods 

will be selected in two metropolitan 

areas (Phoenix, AZ and Syracuse, NY). 

Each neighborhood sample will be split 

into two groups, with 50 households 

assigned to a mail survey group and 50 

households assigned to an in-person 

survey group. The in-person survey will 

be conducted in a manner that 

minimizes the differences between the 

two survey modes. NPS specifically 

requests comments on: (1) The practical 

utility of the information being 

gathered; (2) the accuracy of the burden 

hour estimate; (3) ways to enhance the 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
59522 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 10, 2006 / Notices 

quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; and (4) 

ways to minimize the burden to 

respondents, including use of 

automated information collection 

techniques or other forms of information 

technology. 

Automated data collection: No 

automated data collection will be used 

in this study. 

Description of respondents: Pre-test—

adults from Atlanta, GA, Sacramento, 

CA, and Chicago, IL who are contacted 

by telephone and agree to participate in 

focus groups in those cities. Pilot test—

adult residents of 16 neighborhoods in 

Phoenix, AZ and Syracuse, NY who live 

in owner-occupied homes. 

Estimated average number of 

respondents: 920 (120 for focus groups; 

800 for pilot survey). 

Estimated average number of 

responses: 920 (120 for focus groups; 

800 for pilot survey). 

Estimated average burden hours per 

response: 2.5 hours for focus group 

respondents, 1⁄3 hour for pilot survey 

respondents. 

Frequency of response: 1 time per 

respondent. 

Estimated annual reporting burden: 

567 hours. 

Dated: September 27, 2006. 

Leonard E. Stowe, 

NPS, Information Collection Clearance 

Officer. 

[FR Doc. 06–8564 Filed 10–6–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4312–52–M0 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

National Park Service 

Notice of Availability of a Final 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the General Management Plan, 

Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National 

Historic Site 

SUMMARY: The National Park Service 

(NPS) announces the availability of the 

Final Environmental Impact Statement 

(FEIS) for the General Management Plan 

(GMP) for Abraham Lincoln Birthplace 

National Historic Site, Kentucky. This 

document will be available for public 

review pursuant to Section 102(2)(C) of 

the National Environmental Policy Act 

of 1969 and NPS policy in Director’s 

Order Number 2 (Park Planning) and 

Director’s Order Number 12 

(Conservation Planning, Environmental 

Impact Analysis, and Decision-making). 

The authority for publishing this notice 

is 40 CFR 1506.6. 

The document provides a framework 

for management, use, and development 

of the historic site by the NPS for the 

next 15 to 20 years. The document 

describes four management alternatives, 

including a No-Action Alternative and 

the NPS’s preferred alternative. The 

anticipated environmental impacts of 

those alternatives are also analyzed. 

Public comment on the draft plan was 

considered when preparing the final. 

DATES: The NPS will execute a Record 

of Decision no sooner than 30 days 

following the Environmental Protection 

Agency’s notice in the Federal Register. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of the FEIS and GMP 

are available from the Superintendent, 

Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National 

Historic Site, 2995 Lincoln Farm Road, 

Hodgenville, Kentucky 42748–9707; 

telephone: 270–358–3137. An electronic 

copy of the document is available on the 

Internet at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/ 

. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The 

Superintendent, Abraham Lincoln 

National Historic Site, at the address 

and telephone number shown above, 

Matthew Safford at 303–969–2898, or 

Amy Wirsching at 404–562–3124, 

extension 607. 

The responsible official for the FEIS is 

Patricia A. Hooks, Regional Director, 

Southeast Region, National Park 

Service, 100 Alabama Street SW., 1924 

Building, Atlanta, Georgia 30303. 

Dated: August 28, 2006. 

Patricia A. Hooks, 

Regional Director, Southeast Region. 

[FR Doc. E6–16686 Filed 10–6–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–5C–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

National Park Service 

Draft Environmental Impact Statement 

for General Management Plan; Olympic 

National Park; Notice of Extension of 

Public Comment Period 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) 

of the National Environmental Policy 

Act of 1969 (Pub. L. 91–190 as 

amended), the National Park Service, 

Department of the Interior, has prepared 

a Draft Environmental Impact Statement 

(DEIS), which will serve as the 

‘‘blueprint’’ to guide management, 

research, and other activities in 

Olympic National Park, Washington, 

during the next 15–20 years. The park’s 

Notice of Availability of the DEIS was 

published in the Federal Register on 

July 14, 2006, with the original public 

review period set to conclude on 

September 15, 2006. In response to 

public interest expressed to date and 

with regard for the timing of the original 

release, the public review period has 

been extended two additional weeks. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Interested 

individuals, organizations, and agencies 

are encouraged to provide written 

comments—to be considered any 

response must now be postmarked or 

transmitted no later than September 30, 

2006. Persons wishing to comment may 

do so by one of several ways. Responses 

are encouraged online using the 

electronic comment form accessed at the 

NPS Park Planning website (http:// 

parkplanning.nps.gov), or by e-mail to 

olym_gmp@nps.gov. Written comments 

can be mailed to Olympic National Park 

General Management Plan, National 

Park Service, Denver Service Center, 

P.O. Box 25287, Denver, Colorado 

80225; or faxed to (303) 969–2736. 

Comments may be hand delivered 

during normal business hours to the 

headquarters office of Olympic National 

Park located at 600 East Park Avenue, 

Port Angeles, WA 98362. To obtain a 

copy of the DEIS please contact the park 

at the address noted above, or via 

telephone at (360) 565–3004. 

Our practice is to make comments, 

including names, home addresses, home 

phone numbers, and email addresses of 

respondents, available for public 

review. Individual respondents may 

request that we withhold their names 

and/or home addresses, etc., but if you 

wish us to consider withholding this 

information you must state this 

prominently at the beginning of your 

comments. In addition, you must 

present a rationale for withholding this 

information. This rationale must 

demonstrate that disclosure would 

constitute a clearly unwarranted 

invasion of privacy. Unsupported 

assertions will not meet this burden. In 

the absence of exceptional, 

documentable circumstances, this 

information will be released. We will 

always make submissions from 

organizations or businesses, and from 

individuals identifying themselves as 

representatives of or officials of 

organizations or businesses, available 

for public inspection in their entirety. 

Dated: August 24, 2006. 

Patricia L. Neubacher, 

Acting Regional Director, Pacific West Region. 

[FR Doc. E6–16664 Filed 10–6–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4312–KY–P 


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