Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 109 / Tuesday, June 9, 2009 / Notices 27279 

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

Standard Time, Monday through Friday. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

leaders of the Forest Service see benefit 

in merging the Northeastern Area with 

the Eastern Region under the leadership 

of one Regional Forester. The merger of 

the two units will improve forest 

management and enhance technology 

transfer through unified leadership. 

This decision by the ELT will: 

• Integrate existing programs— 

management, discovery and 

applications—to address ecosystem to 

landscape-level questions from a suite 

of contemporary conservation issues. 

• Augment the transfer of science 

developed by the Northern Research 

Station. 

• Deliver to the constituents of the 

Northeast and Midwest a broader suite 

of programs. 

• Enhance capabilities that allow 

national level concerns to be addressed, 

including climate change; using wood 

for energy; land restoration; destructive 

invasive species; and urban natural 

resources stewardship. 

• Improve the agency structure in the 

twenty-state region and overall 

operating efficiencies. 

• Move to a unified Eastern Region, 

led by a Regional Forester. 

Both units currently have strong 

programs. Combining the strengths of 

current resources will provide a 

powerful way to serve the people in the 

region and contribute to national 

priorities. 

Both units will continue to build on 

their collective strengths and will strive 

to develop a model approach for 

effective forest management and 

science-based technology transfer. This 

is important as the Agency continues to 

seek ways to maximize the effectiveness 

of Forest Service programs. The 

potential to help address national 

stewardship issues will be profound. 

Specifically, actions that we envision 

include: 

• Landscape-level stewardship within 

a wide range of land ownerships. 

• More cohesive and integrated 

projects and programs that build on 

current capacity. The Climate Change 

Program is a prominent example. Work 

in the control and management of 

destructive invasive species is another 

example. Urban natural resources 

stewardship offers still another great 

opportunity. 

• A suite of business operation 

practices that more effectively serve all 

the twenty states through one 

organizational mission. 

• A single executive team organized 

and located in a way that best facilitates 

an integrated Landscape Science vision 

and works in harmony with the 

Combined Eastern Leadership Team 

(CELT). 

• The Agency leadership will avoid 

any activity that creates inefficiencies 

and runs contrary to the mission of the 

Forest Service. Accordingly, we will 

strive to minimize the movement of 

current employees and move towards a 

unified Eastern Region as quickly as 

practicable. We will proceed at a pace 

that affords the best possible program to 

be implemented and addresses the 

needs of the people we serve. 

• Begin the formal process of 

combining two organizational units. 

Dated: June 2, 2009. 

Hank Kashdan, 

Associate Chief, U.S. Forest Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–13380 Filed 6–8–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Proposed Information Collection; 

Comment Request; Coastal Zone 

Management Act External Review 

AGENCY: National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Commerce, as part of its continuing 

effort to reduce paperwork and 

respondent burden, invites the general 

public and other Federal agencies to 

take this opportunity to comment on 

proposed and/or continuing information 

collections, as required by the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted on or before August 10, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments 

to Diana Hynek, Departmental 

Paperwork Clearance Officer, 

Department of Commerce, Room 7845, 

14th and Constitution Avenue, NW., 

Washington, DC 20230 (or via the 

Internet at dHynek@doc.gov). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information 

should be directed to Patmarie Nedelka, 

(301) 713–3155 ext. 127 or 

Patmarie.Nedelka@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

As part of its continuing efforts to 

monitor and improve performance of 

programs authorized by the Coastal 

Zone Management Act of 1972, as 

amended (CZMA) NOAA has contracted 

for an independent external review of 

CZMA programs. As part of this review, 

the contractor will conduct telephone 

interviews with representatives from 

Federal, State, local and nongovernmental organizations that work 

for or with State Coastal Zone 

Management Programs or National 

Estuarine Research Reserves. 

II. Method of Collection 

Respondents will be contacted by 

telephone. 

III. Data 

OMB Control Number: None. 

Form Number: None. 

Type of Review: Regular submission. 

Affected Public: State, Local, or Tribal 

Government; not-for-profit institutions. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

100. 

Estimated Time per Response: 

Telephone interviews, 2 hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 160. 

Estimated Total Annual Cost to 

Public: $0. 

IV. Request for Comments 

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether 

the proposed collection of information 

is necessary for the proper performance 

of the functions of the agency, including 

whether the information shall have 

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the 

agency’s estimate of the burden 

(including hours and cost) of the 

proposed collection of information; (c) 

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the 

burden of the collection of information 

on respondents, including through the 

use of automated collection techniques 

or other forms of information 

technology. 

Comments submitted in response to 

this notice will be summarized and/or 

included in the request for OMB 

approval of this information collection; 

they also will become a matter of public 

record. 

Dated: June 4, 2009. 

Gwellnar Banks, 

Management Analyst, Office of the Chief 

Information Officer. 

[FR Doc. E9–13485 Filed 6–8–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–08–P