Request for Approval

Request for Approval under the “DOI Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery”

OMB Control Number: 1090-0011

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Pre- and Post-Assessment of Alaska’s Urban Youth and their Experiences with Fishing

PURPOSE:

The purpose of the feedback is to inform future efforts to engage youth in outdoor activities that directly or indirectly help the FWS accomplish its conservation mission. Participation in fishing is a gateway to caring about the fisheries resources in the US that the FWS and others help manage and conserve. We are interested in finding out basic information regarding the challenges youth face in urban Alaska to participating and what their basic understanding, if any, is of Alaska fisheries resources.

We are including two questions about gender and race to determine if there are any major differences in barriers faced in different segments of the Anchorage populations. Anchorage is Alaska’s largest urban center and has the most diverse school district in the United States with over 100 languages spoken. The USFWS nationally is intending to engage more diverse audiences and we feel it is necessary to understand how to best engage these different segments based on their experiences to date, barriers, and interests. We are also including additional options for the kids to categorize themselves rather than just male/female in order to be as inclusive as possible for the diverse population we're working with.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

Boys and Girls Club youth participating in fishing/aquatic education events led by FWS employees/DFP fellows in Anchorage Alaska. Age range is late elementary through high school.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

[ ] Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form [ ] Customer Satisfaction Survey

[ ] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software) [X] Small Discussion Group

[ ] Focus Group [ ]

CERTIFICATION:

I certify the following to be true:

1. The collection is voluntary.

2. The collection is low-burden for respondents and low-cost for the Federal Government.

3. The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other federal agencies.

4. The results are not intended to be disseminated to the public.

5. Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy decisions.

6. The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience with the program or may have experience with the program in the future.

Name: Katrina Liebich

To assist review, please provide answers to the following questions:

Personally Identifiable Information:

1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [ ] Yes [X] No

2. If Yes, is the information that will be collected included in records that are subject to the Privacy Act of 1974? [ ] Yes [ ] No

3. If Applicable, has a System or Records Notice been published? [ ] Yes [ ] No

Gifts or Payments:

Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants? [ ] Yes [X] No (If yes, please explain.)

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondents	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden
Individuals or households	~300	20 min	100

FEDERAL COST: The estimated cost to the Federal government is $850. The primary person conducting the focused discussion with youth is an 11 week Fellow equivalent to ~GS-7. He will be spending approximately 40 hours total over the course of the summer on this aspect of the larger project to connect Anchorage youth to nearby fisheries/habitat.

If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please provide answers to the following questions:

The selection of your targeted respondents

1. Do you have a customer list or something similar that defines the universe of potential respondents and do you have a sampling plan for selecting from this universe? [ ] Yes [X] No

If the answer is yes, please provide a description of both below (or attach the sampling plan). If the answer is no, please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them.

We plan to meet the kids at the club twice a week for 5-6 hours during which time there will be opportunities to ask them questions (in an outdoor setting) about their prior exposure to fishing and knowledge about Alaska’s native fish and what they need to survive. We don’t plan on collecting any PII, just get a general sense of how connected these Anchorage youth are to nature. We don’t plan on publishing any specific statistics – there will likely be opportunity for internal presentation to FWS staff and partners about the project generally and challenges youth face when it comes to accessing the outdoors in Alaska.

Administration of the Instrument

1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)

[ ] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[ ] Telephone

[X] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain

2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [ ] Yes [X] No

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