Federal Register: June 23, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 119)
DOCID: fr23jn09-18 FR Doc E9-14715
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Docket ID: [Docket No. APHIS-2009-0044]
NOTICE: NOTICES
DOCID: fr23jn09-18
DOCUMENT ACTION: Extension of approval of an information collection; comment request.
SUBJECT CATEGORY:
Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Beetle Busters Survey; Asian Longhorned Beetle Cooperative Eradication Program
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before August 24, 2009.
DOCUMENT SUMMARY:
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's intention to request an extension of approval of an information collection associated with the Asian longhorned beetle cooperative eradication program.
SUMMARY:
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
Title: Beetle Busters Survey; Asian Longhorned Beetle Cooperative Eradication Program.
OMB Number: 05790311.
Type of Request: Extension of approval of an information collection.
Abstract: The Asian longhorned beetle (ALB, Anoplophora glabripennis), an insect native to China, Japan, Korea, and the Isle of Hainan, is a destructive pest of hardwood trees. It attacks many healthy hardwood trees, including maple, horse chestnut, birch, poplar, willow, and elm. The beetle bores into the heartwood of a host tree, eventually killing the tree. Immature beetles bore into tree trunks and branches, causing heavy sap flow from wounds and sawdust accumulation at tree bases. They feed on, and overwinter in, the interiors of trees. Adult beetles emerge in the spring and summer months from round holes approximately threeeighths of an inch in diameter (about the size of a dime) that they bore through branches and trunks of trees. After emerging, adult beetles feed for 2 to 3 days and then mate. Adult females then lay eggs in oviposition sites that they make on the branches of trees. A new generation of ALB is produced each year. If this pest moves into the hardwood forests of the United States, the nursery, maple syrup, and forest product industries could experience severe economic losses. In addition, urban and forest ALB infestations will result in environmental damage, aesthetic deterioration, and a reduction in public enjoyment of recreational spaces. If the ALB were to become established in North America, approximately 1.2 billion trees would be at risk of being infested, resulting in potential losses of up to $669 billion.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service (APHIS) has administered an ALB Cooperative
Eradication Program (the program) since 1996 to eradicate this
destructive pest from the United States. Areas found to be infested are
quarantined, and the movement of host material from the area is
restricted to prevent the spread of the ALB. Infested host material is
removed or treated. Successful eradication efforts have resulted in a
number of infested areas being removed from quarantine, and, over the
years, the program has made steady progress. However, the ALB [[Page 29658]]
continues to be a serious threat, and APHIS believes that public support is crucial to eradication efforts.
In this regard, APHIS enlists the public's assistance in reporting the presence or absence of the ALB in their local areas. APHIS invites members of the public to report the results of any surveys they conduct using a simple online form on the Internet to record sightings and nonsightings. Such reports of surveys for the ALB conducted by members of the general public, nature organizations, school groups, garden clubs, and others help APHIS develop a history of the ALB's presence and activity in particular areas and supplement the work done by the program's surveyors. If the public reports signs of the ALB, APHIS takes appropriate steps to determine whether the ALB is indeed present in the area and to what extent. In turn, negative reports help APHIS affirm the absence of ALB in a particular area and facilitate progress towards deregulation of the area.
We are asking the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve our use of this information collection activity for an additional 3 years.
The purpose of this notice is to solicit comments from the public
(as well as affected agencies) concerning our information collection. These comments will help us:
(1) Evaluate whether the collection of information is necessary for
the proper performance of the functions of the Agency, including whether the information will have practical utility;
(2) Evaluate the accuracy of our estimate of the burden of the
collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
(4) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those
who are to respond, through use, as appropriate, of automated,
electronic, mechanical, and other collection technologies; e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.
Estimate of burden: The public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 0.1129774 hours per response.
Respondents: General public, nature organizations, school groups, and garden clubs.
Estimated annual number of respondents: 5,000.
Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 1.0002.
Estimated annual number of responses: 5,001.
Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 565 hours. (Due to averaging, the total annual burden hours may not equal the product of the annual number of responses multiplied by the reporting burden per response.)
All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the request for OMB approval. All comments will also become a matter of public record.
Done in Washington, DC, this 17th day of June 2009. Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. [FR Doc. E914715 Filed 62209; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 341034P
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
For information on the Beetle Busters Survey, contact Ms. Suzanne Bond, Assistant Director, Public Affairs, LPA, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 51, Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 734 5175. For copies of more detailed information on the information collection, contact Mrs. Celeste Sickles, APHIS' Information Collection Coordinator, at (301) 8512908.