Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 248 / Monday, December 29, 1997 / Notices 67655

Type of Request: Request for new

clearance.

Description of Need: NPS needs

information concerning park visitor

demographics and visitor opinions

about the fee demonstration program

that the National Park Service is testing.

The information proposed to be

collected from visitors and park

managers in these 13 parks to meet

these needs is not available from

existing records, sources, or

observations.

Automated Date Collection: At the

present time, there is no automated way

to gather this information, since it

includes asking visitors to react to fees,

park management, and visitor services

at the parks they are visiting. The

intrusion on visitors is minimized by

contacting them only once during their

visit to the park.

Description of Respondents: A sample

of visitors to each park.

Estimated Average Number of

Respondents: 300 visitors per park at

ten of the parks and 400 visitors per

park at the other three parks.

Estimated Average Number of

Responses: Each respondent will

respond only one time, so the number

of responses will be the same as the

number of respondents.

Estimated Average Burden Hours Per

Response: 20 minutes at each of the 10

parks and 30 minutes at each of the

remaining 3 parks.

Frequency of Response: 1 time per

respondent.

Estimated Annual Reporting Burden:

The total for all parks is estimated to be

1,600 hours.

Diane M. Cooke,

Information Collection Clearance Officer,

WASO Administrative Program Center,

National Park Service.

[FR Doc. 97–33727 Filed 12–24–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–70–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE 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, and 11 Units of

the National Park System.

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: The Cooperative Park Studies

Unit of the University of Minnesota is

proposing to conduct five projects at up

to eleven parks during FY 98:

NPS unit

Estimated

number responses

Estimated burden hours

(1) Hopewell Culture National Historical Park ......................................................................................................... 800 270

(2) Canyonlands National Park, Green and Colorado Rivers ................................................................................. 1,200 600

(3) Voyageurs National Park .................................................................................................................................... 600 300

(4) Perry’s Victory & International Peace Memorial ................................................................................................ 400 135

(5) Great Plains Prairie Cluster parks, including:

Agate Fossil Beds National Monument ............................................................................................................ 250 85

Effigy Mounds National Monument ................................................................................................................... 250 85

Homestead National Monument of America ..................................................................................................... 250 85

Mount Rushmore National Memorial ................................................................................................................ 250 85

Pipestone National Monument .......................................................................................................................... 250 85

Scotts Bluff National Monument ....................................................................................................................... 250 85

Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield ................................................................................................................... 250 85

Totals ......................................................................................................................................................... 4,750 1,900

Under provisions of the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995 and 5 CFR Part

1320, Reporting and Record Keeping

Requirements, the National Park Service

is soliciting comments on the need for

gathering the information in the

proposed visitor studies listed above.

The NPS is also asking for comments on

the practical utility of the information

being gathered; the accuracy of the

burden hour estimate; ways to enhance

the quality, utility, and clarity of the

information to be collected; and ways to

minimize the burden to respondents,

including use of automated information

collection techniques or other forms of

information technology.

The NPS goal in conducting these

surveys generally is to identify

characteristics, use patterns,

perceptions, preferences and opinions

of visitors about management and

services in these parks. Each project will

have a slightly different focus. Project 1,

Hopewell Culture National Historical

Park, also will involve a survey mailed

to community members to identify

characteristics, perceptions and

attitudes of people who do not visit the

park. This information will help the

park be more responsive to, and better

serve, the local community. Projects 2

and 3, the Green and Colorado Rivers in

Canyonlands National Park and parkwide in Voyageurs National Park, will

obtain visitor reactions to managing

conflicting uses, management strategies

used in the parks, and definitions of

standards for quality visitor experiences

on both the Green and Colorado Rivers

that flow through Canyonlands NP.

Project 4, Perry’s Victory and

International Peace Memorial, will

obtain vistor reactions to recent changes

made in park management based on past

research in the park. Project 5, Great

Plains Prairie Cluster parks, will ask

visitors to provide information that will

contribute to the development of

protocols for future monitoring to

identify trends. Results of all the

surveys at all of the parks will be used

by NPS managers in their ongoing

planning and management activities to

improve vistor services, protect park

resources, and better serve the park’s

current and future visitors.

DATES: Public comments will be

accepted on or before February 27, 1998.

Send Comments To: Dr. David W.

Lime, Senior Research Associate,

Cooperative Park Studies Unit, College

of Natural Resources, 115 Green Hall,

University of Minnesota, 55108, phone:

612–624–2250.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

David W. Lime. Voice: 612–624–2250,

Fax: 612–625–5212, Email:

<dlime@forestry.umn.edu>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Visitor and Related Surveys at

up to 11 Parks.

Bureau Form Number: None.

OMB Number: To be requested.
67656 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 248 / Monday, December 29, 1997 / Notices

Expiration Date: To be requested.

Type of Request: Request for new

clearance.

Description of Need: NPS needs

information concerning park visitor

demographics and visitor opinions

about the services that the National Park

Service provides. For Project (1),

Hopewell Culture National Historical

Park Visitor and Community Survey,

NPS also needs information about the

perceptions of people who do not visit

the park to help the park be more

responsive to community needs. For

Projects 2&3, Canyonlands National

Park (Green and Colorado Rivers)

Visitor Study, and Voyageurs National

Park Visitor Study, NPS also needs

information about visitor perceptions of

standards for achieving quality visitor

experiences. For Project 4, Perry’s

Victory and International Peace

Memorial Visitor Study, NPS also needs

information about how visitors are

reacting to changes made in park

management based on past research in

the park. For Project 5, Great Plains

Prairie Cluster Visitor Studies at 7

parks, NPS also needs information about

visitor perceptions of standards for

achieving quality visitor experiences.

The information proposed to be

collected from visitors in these parks

and from community residents to meet

these needs is not available from

existing records, sources, or

observations.

Automated Data Collection: At the

present time, there is no automated way

to gather this information, since it

includes asking visitors to react to

management and services at the parks

they are visiting. The intrusion on

visitors is minimized by contacting

them only once during their visit to the

park.

Description of Respondents: Project 1:

A sample of visitors to the park and a

sample of individuals from Ross

County, Ohio. Projects 2&3: A sample of

visitors on the Green and Colorado

Rivers and at Voyageurs National Park.

Projects 4&5: A sample of visitors to

each park.

Estimated Average Number of

Respondents: Project 1: 400 visitors

contacted at the park and 400 residents

of Ross county. Projects 2&3: 600 at each

location. Project 4: 400. Project 5: 250 at

each park.

Estimated Average Number of

Responses: Each respondent will

respond only one time, so the number

of responses will be the same as the

number of respondents.

Estimated Average Burden Hours Per

Response: Projects 1, 4, and 5: 20

minutes. Projects 2&3: 30 minutes.

Frequency of Response: 1 time per

respondent.

Estimated Annual Reporting Burden:

Project 1: 270 hours. Projects 2&3: 900

hours. Project 4: 135 hours. Project 5: 85

hours at each park for a total of 595

hours.

Diane M. Cooke,

Information Collection Clearance Officer,

WASO Administrative Program Center,

National Park Service.

[FR Doc. 97–33728 Filed 12–24–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–70–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[DES 97–46]

Availability of the Draft Environmental

Impact Statement for the AT&T

Corporation P140 Coaxial Cable

Removal Project, Soccoro County,

New Mexico, Clark County, Nevada,

and Kern and San Bernardino

Counties, California

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

of the National Environmental Policy

Act of 1969 the National Park Service

announces the availability of the Draft

Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).

The Superintendent of Mojave National

Preserve, is the Department of the

Interior’s designated lead federal agency

official in accordance with 516 DM

2.4(A), the Bureau of Land Management,

Riverside District Office, is the

designated cooperating agency; and the

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

(USFWS), Ventura Office, is a

coordinating agency. This notice also

announces public meetings for the

purpose of receiving public comments

on the DEIS.

The National Park Service (NPS) and

the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)

received a request from AT&T Corp. to

remove portions of a

telecommunications system, that is nonsupportive to their fiber optic network

and to relinquish associated rights-ofway easements. As jurisdictional

agencies of federal Iands crossed by the

project, the NPS and the BLM are

responsible for determining terms and

conditions of any removal activity and

rehabilitation actions to promote

restoration of the land. AT&T owns and

maintains approximately 709 miles of

coaxial communications cable and

equipment generally between Mojave,

California and Socorro, New Mexico

known as the P140 cable system

consisting of underground cable,

repeater huts, manholes, cable markers,

other electronic equipment and access

corridor. The project addresses a 220

mile portion of the system including 7.7

miles in New Mexico, 7.4 miles in

Nevada, and 205.2 miles in California.

Alternatives

The DEIS describes and analyzes four

alternatives in response to AT&T’s

request to remove cable and to terminate

the associated rights-of-way. The

original right-of-way grants for public

and state lands in New Mexico and

private and state lands in California

provide AT&T a right to remove cable

and equipment; so it was necessary to

assume cable and equipment removal in

these areas. The proposed action, and

two additional action alternatives have

been developed to reduce or avoid

adverse effects on desert vegetation,

wilderness, the desert tortoise and

recreational access. The No Action

alternative is included as a baseline for

comparison of the action alternatives.

To varying degrees all action

alternatives include cable and structure

removal along with rehabilitation of the

access corridor and repeater hut sites.

The No Action Alternative includes

no cable or structural removal nor any

rehabilitation action. AT&T would

retain its right-of-way easements and

would continue to patrol and maintain

the access corridor. The Proposed

Action-Alternative A, includes the

removal of 174.5 miles of cable, repeater

huts and manholes along 220 miles of

the right-of-way. Removal of marker

posts along 174.2 miles and elimination

of 39.8 miles of the access corridor and

4 miles of dual track. In addition, the

proposed action includes rehabilitation

actions to promote restoration and

habitat recovery at the repeater hut sites

and along portions of the access

corridor. Alternative B, was developed

to protect desert tortoise critical habitat

on federal lands by not removing cable

from these areas and eliminating more

of the access corridor within critical

habitat. Cable would be removed along

113.7 miles outside of critical habitat on

federal lands, repeater huts and

manholes would be removed along

174.7 miles, and 51.6 miles of the access

corridor and 4 miles of dual track would

be eliminated and rehabilitated.

Alternative C, was developed to

minimize construction related impacts

on desert vegetation and desert tortoise

on federal lands by not removing any

cable on federal lands and by

eliminating the access corridor in

wilderness areas only. Cable would be

removed along 72.3 miles on primarily

state and private lands. Repeater huts

and manholes would be removed along

220 miles, marker posts would be

removed along 174.7 miles, and 5.4

miles of the access corridor and 4 miles