[Federal Register: April 22, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 76)]
[Notices]
[Page 18395-18396]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22ap09-67]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R4-R-2009-N0084] [41510-1261-0000-4A]
Proposed Information Collection; Economic Valuation and Visitor
Satisfaction Survey, Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We (Fish and Wildlife Service) will ask the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the information collection (IC)
described below. As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and
as part of our continuing efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent
burden, we invite the general public and other Federal agencies to take
this opportunity to comment on this IC. We may not conduct or sponsor
and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information
unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.
DATES: Your comments must be received by June 22, 2009.
ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the IC to Hope Grey, Information
Collection Clearance Officer, Fish and Wildlife Service, MS 222-ARLSQ,
4401 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203 (mail); hope_
grey@fws.gov (e-mail).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information
about this IC, contact Hope Grey by mail or e-
[[Page 18396]]
mail (see ADDRESSES) or by telephone at (703) 358-2482.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
The Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge is developing a
Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP), a 15-year planning document, to
chart the course of future management options on the refuge. The refuge
was established in 1983 for the purpose of protecting the Florida
manatee, an endangered species.
Citrus County, where the refuge is located, is heavily dependent on
manatee ecotourism as a source of tourist revenue. Local tour operators
conduct manatee-human interactions in the form of ``swim with'' the
manatee programs, which have become enormously popular over the years.
Citrus County widely advertises and encourages visitors to come from
around the world to have this unique experience. We manage ecotourism
activities cooperatively with local tour operators through special use
permits that impose conditions on activities conducted within the
refuge. One condition is that operators must provide educational
materials to their customers related to manatee-human interactions.
We have signed a challenge cost-share agreement with the Department
of Community Services, Citrus County, to conduct a survey to obtain
information to:
(1) Evaluate present and future use levels by the public, and
(2) Determine the quality and viability of manatee ecotourism
experiences.
The county will contract with a private consulting firm to develop
and conduct the survey, analyze the data, and provide the results to
the Service and the county. The proposed survey will gather information
from visitors regarding their experience while visiting Citrus County
and the purpose for their visit, including specific questions related
to manatee viewing. The report will not include any personal
information about the participants and will only include information
regarding the present and future public use levels on the refuge, as
well as a determination of the quality and viability of manatee
ecotourism experiences. The information collected will provide data to:
(1) Support future refuge decisions to ensure protection of
manatees while providing quality experiences for visitors.
(2) Aid local business interests in providing quality ecotourism
experiences.
II. Data
OMB Control Number: None. This is a new collection.
Title: Economic Valuation and Visitor Satisfaction Survey, Crystal
River National Wildlife Refuge.
Service Form Number(s): None.
Type of Request: New.
Affected Public: Visitors to Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge
and Citrus County, Florida.
Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
Frequency of Collection: One time.
Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 500.
Estimated Total Annual Responses: 500.
Estimated Time Per Response: 15 minutes.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 125.
III. Request for Comments
We invite comments concerning this IC on:
(1) whether or not the collection of information is necessary,
including whether or not the information will have practical utility;
(2) the accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this collection
of information;
(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.
Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of
public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request
to OMB to approve this IC. Before including your address, phone number,
e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your
comment, you should be aware that your entire comment, including your
personal identifying information, may be made publicly available at any
time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal
identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we
will be able to do so.
Dated: April 15, 2009
Hope Grey,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. E9-9284 Filed 4-21-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-S