Federal Register: April 22, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 76)
DOCID: fr22ap09-67 FR Doc E9-9284
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
FWS ID: [FWS-R4-R-2009-N0084] [41510-1261-0000-4A]
NOTICE: NOTICES
DOCID: fr22ap09-67
DOCUMENT ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
SUBJECT CATEGORY:
Proposed Information Collection; Economic Valuation and Visitor Satisfaction Survey, Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge
DATES: Your comments must be received by June 22, 2009.
DOCUMENT 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.
SUMMARY:
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
I. Abstract
The Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge is developing a Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP), a 15year 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 manateehuman 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 manateehuman interactions.
We have signed a challenge costshare 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,
email 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. E99284 Filed 42109; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 431055S
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) 3582482.