16350 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 68 / Friday, April 10, 2009 / Notices 

response to SNPLMA requirements. In 

addition, the Bureau of Land 

Management intends to partner with the 

Forest Service to use the NVUM 

program as its means for estimating the 

volume of visitation and describing key 

visitor characteristics. 

At recreation sites or access points, 

agency personnel or contractors will 

conduct onsite interviews of visitors as 

they complete their visit. Interviewers 

will ask about the purpose and length of 

the visit, the trip origin, activities, 

annual visitation rates, trip-related 

spending patterns, use of recreation 

facilities, satisfaction with agency 

services and facilities, and the 

composition of the visiting party. 

Primary analysis of the information for 

the Forest Service and partnering 

agencies will be performed by Forest 

Service staff in the Washington Office 

and by scientists in one or more of the 

agency’s research stations. 

Estimate of Annual Burden: 9 minutes 

(average). 

Type of Respondents: Visitors to lands 

managed by the US Forest Service, USDI 

Bureau of Land Management, and 

within Clarke County, Nevada to lands 

managed by the USDI—Fish and 

Wildlife Service, and National Park 

Service. 

Estimated Annual Number of 

Respondents: 69,000. 

Estimated Annual Number of 

Responses per Respondent: One. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden on 

Respondents: 9,900 hours. 

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 lead agency, including whether 

the information will have practical or 

scientific utility; (2) the accuracy of the 

lead 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. 

April 6, 2009. 

Richard W. Sowa, 

Acting Associate Deputy Chief, National 

Forest System. 

[FR Doc. E9–8188 Filed 4–9–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Information Collection; Land 

Management Agency Volunteer 

Surveys 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice; request for comment. 

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, the Land Management 

Agency Volunteer Surveys. 

DATES: Comments must be received in 

writing on or before June 9, 2009 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 James 

Absher, Forest Service, U.S. Department 

of Agriculture (Forest Service), 4955 

Canyon Crest Drive, Riverside, CA 

92507. 

Comments also may be submitted via 

facsimile to (951) 680–1501 or by e-mail 

to: jabsher@fs.fed.us. 

The public may inspect comments 

received at Building One Reception, 

4955 Canyon Crest Drive, Riverside, CA 

92507 during normal business hours. 

Visitors are encouraged to call ahead to 

(951) 680–1500 to facilitate entry to the 

building. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

James Absher, Pacific Southwest 

Research Station, Forest Service, (951) 

680–1559. Individuals who use 

telecommunication devices for the deaf 

(TDD) may call the Federal Relay 

Service (FRS) at 1–800–877–8339 

twenty-four hours a day, every day of 

the year, including holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: Land Management Agency 

Volunteer Surveys. 

OMB Number: 0596–New. 

Type of Request: New. 

Abstract: The Forest Service and 

university researchers will contact 

individuals who currently volunteer, or 

have recently volunteered, for selected 

natural resource (land) management 

agencies (LMA). Through a short Webbased survey, respondents will provide 

information regarding how often and 

why they volunteer, the positive and 

negative aspects of that experience, and 

basic socio-demographics. The results of 

this information collection will help 

researchers and managers improve their 

ability to provide land management 

services to the public, as well as 

strengthen volunteers’ experiences at 

their respective agencies. 

Participation in the survey will be 

strictly voluntary. If necessary, 

respondents will be allowed to answer 

via postal mail at their convenience. A 

Forest Service researcher, agency 

technician, or a cooperating university 

researcher will collect and analyze the 

data. The Forest Service and university 

researchers are experts in applied social 

research and survey methods. 

Additionally, in order to ensure 

anonymity, personal information will 

not be stored with contact information 

at any time, and contact information 

will be purged from researcher files 

once data collection is complete. 

Responses will be used to assess 

volunteers’ experience with agencies 

that have a land management function 

such as parks, forests, recreation areas 

or wildlife refuges. Although an 

abundance of research exists regarding 

volunteering in general, there is very 

little rigorous, academic research on 

volunteering as it applies to LMAs, 

largely because there is no reliable, 

uniform, and comprehensive data 

available. Further, it is unknown 

whether the findings emerging from 

other studies of volunteerism are 

applicable in the context of LMAs. 

Because of the enormous role that 

volunteers play in the operations of 

LMAs, clarity and insight into volunteer 

characteristics and experiences is 

imperative. Ultimately, findings will 

help researchers and resource managers 

determine the best ways to involve, 

retain, and manage volunteers. 

The primary beneficiaries of results 

from these surveys will be LMAs, such 

as the Forest Service, and other agencies 

at all levels of government that are 

concerned with enjoyment, 

preservation, and advancement of our 

natural resources. These results will be 

particularly important to LMAs because 

these agencies have recently become 

heavily dependent on volunteer 

support. Without this information 

collection, managers of volunteers in 

LMAs will continue to rely upon 

anecdotal or unreliable information, 

which may perpetuate poor volunteer 

recruitment, retention, and satisfaction. 

The information collected will help 

researchers develop and test models of 

volunteer management, supply 

information to LMA program managers 

and other voluntary action managers 

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 68 / Friday, April 10, 2009 / Notices 16351 

who are focusing their own work on 

natural resource management values 

and objectives, and will facilitate further 

application of findings. The exact 

number of respondents will be 

dependent upon the number of agencies 

that choose to participate. Volunteers 

from up to ten different agencies, or subunits of those agencies, per year will be 

selected to participate. Each will be 

allocated 200–600 surveys, for a 

maximum of 4,000 completed surveys 

per year for the project as a whole. 

Estimate of Annual Burden: 20 

minutes. 

Type of Respondents: Individuals 

who currently volunteer, or who have 

recently volunteered, for a natural 

resources (land) management agency, 

age 18 or older. 

Estimated Annual Number of 

Respondents: 4000. 

Estimated Annual Number of 

Responses per Respondent: 1.0. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden on 

Respondents: 1,333 hours. 

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 lead agency, including whether 

the information will have practical or 

scientific utility; (2) the accuracy of the 

lead 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 

submission request toward Office of 

Management and Budget approval. 

Dated: April 6, 2009. 

Richard W. Sosa, 

Acting Assistant Deputy Chief, National 

Forest System. 

[FR Doc. E9–8187 Filed 4–9–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Bend/Fort Rock Ranger District; 

Deschutes National Forest; Oregon; 

Lava Rock OHV System 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement. 

SUMMARY: The USDA Forest Service will 

prepare an environmental impact 

statement (EIS) on a proposed action to 

designate a motorized off-highway 

vehicle (OHV) trail system on a portion 

the Bend/Fort Rock Ranger District. In 

addition, the project would close and 

decommission roads and unneeded 

trails. The project area encompasses 

140,650 acres and is roughly bounded 

by U.S. Highway 97 to the west; 

Newberry National Volcanic Monument 

to the east, Forest Roads 9701–900 and 

1801–400 to the north, and Forest Road 

22 to the south. The project area is 

approximately six miles south of Bend, 

Oregon. The alternatives will include 

the proposed action, no action, and 

additional alternatives that respond to 

issues generated through the scoping 

process. The agency will give notice of 

the full environmental analysis and 

decision making process so that 

interested and affected people may 

participate and contribute to the final 

decision. 

DATES: Comments concerning the scope 

of the analysis must be received by 30 

days following the date that this notice 

appears in the Federal Register. The 

Draft Environmental Impact Statement 

is expected to be available in July 2009 

and the final environmental impact 

statement is expected September 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to 

Shane Jeffries, District Ranger, Bend/Ft. 

Rock Ranger District, 1230 NE 3 St., 

Suite A–262, Bend, OR 97701. 

Comments may also be sent via e-mail 

to comments-pacificnorthwestdeschutes-bend-ftrock@fs.fed.us, or via 

facsimile to (541) 383–4700. Please put 

‘‘Lava Rock OHV Project’’ in the subject 

line of your e-mail. 

Individuals who use 

telecommunication devices for the deaf 

(TDD) may call the Federal Information 

Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339 

between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern 

Time, Monday through Friday. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Peter Sussmann, Interdisciplinary Team 

Leader, at (541) 383–5594 or via e-mail 

at prsussman@fs.fed.us. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Purpose and Need for Action 

The purpose of the Lava Rock OHV 

Project is to designate appropriate 

motorized trails for Class 1, Class 2 and 

Class 3 OHVs while reducing overall 

road and trail densities within the 

project area. The need for this sitespecific proposal results directly from 

the implementation of the Forest 

Service Travel Management Rule, a 

nationally codified rule that prohibits 

motorized travel off of designated 

routes. The Deschutes National Forest is 

currently in the process of developing 

an EIS to display the effects of 

implementing the rule, which is 

expected to be completed by 2010. 

Recognizing the effect to the OHV 

community once the Rule is 

implemented, the Deschutes and 

Ochoco National Forests worked in 

conjunction with the recommendations 

of the Deschutes Provincial Advisory 

Committee’s Travel Management 

Working Group to identify opportunities 

for trail systems in sustainable 

locations. The Lava Rock OHV area is 

one of three areas identified by the 

working group of participants 

representing motorized and nonmotorized recreation interests that had 

potential community support for a 

designated trail system. 

Additionally, there is a need to meet 

the objectives for recreation as stated in 

the Deschutes National Forest Land and 

Resource Management Plan (‘‘Forest 

Plan’’) and under Forest Service policy. 

The Forest Plan directs land managers 

to provide a full range of recreation 

opportunities, maintain existing trail 

systems, provide additions or 

modifications which will meet 

increasing and changing demands in 

dispersed recreation, and to designate 

trails and areas where OHVs can operate 

legally. Forest Service policy, as stated 

in the Forest Service Manual at FSM 

2355, further directs land managers to 

provide a diversity of off-road 

recreational opportunities when use is 

compatible with established land and 

resource objectives, where use is 

consistent with resource capability and 

suitability, when the off-road 

opportunity is an appropriate National 

Forest Recreation Activity, and when 

there is a demonstrated demand for 

these opportunities. 

Finally, there is an opportunity to 

reduce negative impacts to resources 

within the area that are caused by 

unregulated motorized use. There is a 

need to reduce the density of system 

roads within the project area to reduce 

fragmentation and minimize motorized 

disturbance to wildlife. Additionally, 

there is a need to concentrate motorized