Information Collections Request
A Non-substantial Change to an Approved OMB Collection
OMB#0596-0200
Evaluating Community Knowledge, Beliefs, Attitudes and Preferences
Concerning Fire and Fuels Management in Southwestern
Forest, Woodland and Grassland Ecosystems
(Short title: Public Input in Fire and Fuels Management)
December 7, 2007
The objective of the original data collection effort was to obtain information regarding the beliefs, attitudes and preferences regarding wildfire-risk-reduction behaviors and policy preferences for homeowners living in USDA Forest Service Southwest Region (Region 3). The proponent is currently in the process of collecting and analyzing the data collected under the existing approval. An important next step in the research is to extend the analysis to include information from those identified as Federal and non-Federal experts in the area of wildfire risk behaviors. The Federal experts that the proponent intends to interview are from the USDA Forest Service in Region 3. The non-Federal experts consist of state representatives from Arizona and New Mexico, local government officials at the county and city level that are charged with implementing wildfire mitigation programs, and private sector individuals that are considered experts in wildfire risk mitigation actions.
This phase of the project will involve the following four steps:
Development of a preliminary list of experts within the USDA Forest Service in Region 3;
Use ‘snowball’ sampling technique to develop a more extensive list of non-Federal experts in Arizona and New Mexico;
Interview approximately 20 Federal and 30 non-Federal experts at various locations in Arizona and New Mexico. Wherever possible these interviews will be conducted in a focus group format with 5 to 7 participants;
The results of the interviews will assist in the development of a more detailed survey instrument for implementation in future research. The future research will statistically verify that there is/is not a statistically significant difference between the experts in wildfire management and homeowners in Arizona and New Mexico. Prior to implementing such a survey, the proponent would return to OMB for approval.
The interviews or focus groups will be open-ended discussions lasting approximately 1 hour per interview or 2 hours per focus group. The discussions will be focused on the topics covered in sections A through E in the survey instrument that was approved (OMB#0596-0200). These sections of the survey focus on wildfire risk management options for reducing risks to homeowners, the effectiveness of each option, the responsibilities of the various parties for risk reduction actions, and the perceived knowledge of the homeowners regarding wildfire risks.
Given the extensive role that USDA Forest Service experts play in risk reduction efforts, we expect that at least 30 percent of the experts interviewed will be employees of the USDA Forest Service and another 10 percent employees other Federal agencies, such as the Bureau of Indian Affairs or the Bureau of Land Management.
Approximately 60 percent of the individuals interviewed will be individuals, as well as state and local government officials. Interviews are expected to take one hour per person, though the burden would be less if proponents were able to organize several focus groups instead of relying on one-on-one interviews.
Total burden increase calculated as:
30 individuals x 1 hour per individual = 30 burden hours per year
Current approved burden: 1640 individuals, 564 burden hours
Total anticipated burden with requested increase:
1670 individuals
594 burden hours
| File Type | application/msword |
| File Title | Information Collections Request |
| Author | Wade Martin |
| Last Modified By | FSDefaultUser |
| File Modified | 2007-12-26 |
| File Created | 2007-12-26 |