[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 8 (Friday, January 12, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1486-1487]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-361]


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Notices
                                                Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________

This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, 
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency 
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents 
appearing in this section.

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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 8 / Friday, January 12, 2007 / 
Notices

[[Page 1486]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Information Collection; Trends in Use and Users in the Boundary 
Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, MN

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 new information collection entitled, Trends in Use 
and Users in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Minnesota.

DATES: Comments must be received in writing on or before March 13, 2007 
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 Alan 
E. Watson, Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute, USDA Forest 
Service Rocky Mountain Research Station, 790 E. Beckwith Ave., 
Missoula, MT 59801.
    Comments also may be submitted via facsimile to (406) 542-4196 or 
by e-mail to: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#28495f495c5b4746684e5b064e4d4c065d5b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7c1d0b1d080f13123c1a0f521a191852090f">[email protected]</span></a>.
    The public may inspect comments received at the Aldo Leopold 
Wilderness Research Institute, USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain 
Station, 790 E. Beckwith Ave., Missoula, MT 59801 during normal 
business hours. Visitors are encouraged to call ahead to (406) 542-4197 
to facilitate entry to the building.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alan E. Watson, Aldo Leopold 
Wilderness Research Institute at (406) 542-4197. Individuals who use 
TDD may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339, 24 
hours a day, every day of the year, including holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Trends in Use and Users in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area 
Wilderness, Minnesota.
    OMB Number: 0596-NEW.
    Type of Request: New.
    Abstract: The Wilderness Act of 1964 directs the National 
Wilderness Preservation System (System) be managed to protect natural 
wilderness conditions and to provide outstanding opportunities for the 
public to find solitude or primitive and unconfined types of 
recreational experiences.
    To meet the requirements of the Act and help the Forest Service 
enhance visitors' recreational experiences at the Boundary Waters Canoe 
Area Wilderness in Minnesota, agency scientists periodically monitor 
and report, to managers and the public, changes in visitor use and user 
characteristics over time. Forest Service personnel use the collected 
information to mitigate the impact of visitors' recreational activities 
on the natural resources of the National Wilderness Preservation 
System. The agency intends to record visitor responses in 2007 for 
comparison to similar surveys in 1969 and 1991, and expand the scope of 
the survey to include things that have potentially influenced visits 
since 1991. Potential influences include new recreation fees, 
widespread natural disturbances (e.g., fire and wind thrown trees) and 
changes in agency policies. The data from this information collection 
will be stored at the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute in 
Missoula, Montana. Scientists working at the Research Institute will 
conduct the data analysis.
    The Forest Service will use information from this collection to:
    (1) Understand changes in:
    a. Individual visitor demographics, frequency of wilderness visits, 
and residence, and
    b. changes in recreational visits such as group size, difficulty in 
finding campsites, evaluations of conditions encountered, etc. since 
previous studies;
    (2) Gain an understanding of how the agency's management of the 
National Wilderness Preservation System influences a visitor's 
wilderness experience;
    (3) Help understand how to educate visitors, so they may enjoy 
their wilderness experience without leaving permanent reminders of 
their visits, such as damaged vegetation, litter, and polluted lakes 
and streams; and
    (4) Provide information that will assist in planning management 
direction for many other wilderness areas managed by the Forest 
Service.
    Respondents will be visitors to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area 
Wilderness. Forest Service or university cooperator personnel will 
conduct face-to-face, on-site interviews with visitors as they enter 
the System and will send mail-back survey forms to visitors at their 
homes, using addresses that visitors voluntarily provide when 
interviewed.
    Interview questions will cover number of visits, length of visits, 
and plans (if any) for future visits. Visitors will be asked:
    <bullet> Number of times they have visited, length of visits, and 
plans (if any) for future visits;
    <bullet> If they are part of a group, and if so, the size of the 
group;
    <bullet> Whether they use equipment, such as stoves, or use wood 
for fires while visiting;
    <bullet> Preferences for social conditions (i.e. acceptance of 
crowded conditions designed to limit negative effects to the natural 
resources); and
    <bullet> Ideas for reducing the burden of information collected 
(i.e. suggestions for distribution of permits and collection of fees); 
and protecting resources.

Data collected in this information collection are not available from 
other sources.
    The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is one of four areas, in 
different regions of the country, where more than one study has 
occurred in the past. The studies have sought to understand how use and 
user characteristics are changing. Periodic evaluations of responses by 
visitors about conditions and experiences, contributes to a systematic 
effort to understand the effects of management policies and societal 
influences on wilderness protection.
    Estimate of Annual Burden: 20 minutes for each respondent.
    Type of Respondents: Visitors to the Boundary Waters Canoe 
Wilderness Area, Minnesota.
    Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 500.
    Estimated Annual Number of Responses per Respondent: Once.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 167 hours.

[[Page 1487]]

    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 request for Office of 
Management and Budget approval.

    Dated: January 4, 2007.
Ann M. Bartuska,
Deputy Chief for Research & Development.
 [FR Doc. E7-361 Filed 1-11-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-P


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