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:

American Ginseng Outreach Questionnaire and Materials Inventory

PURPOSE:

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – International Affairs Program – Division of Scientific Authority convened a meeting of Federal – State – Tribe American Ginseng Coordinators in July 2017 in Morganton, WV. The purpose of the meeting was to facilitate connectivity and consistency between States and Tribes that manage wild or cultivated ginseng for export within the framework of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). A key outcome of the meeting was the decision to form working groups to address priority issues.

An outreach working group was subsequently formed in October 2017. The goal of the working is to identify, consolidate, and share ginseng outreach tools in order to improve communication and consistency among State and Tribe ginseng conservation programs and educate and inform key stakeholder groups. The outreach working group consists of 4 State employees and 1 Federal employee. By March 2018, we seek to develop an outreach toolkit that includes key messages and other materials within a shareable platform for the use of the broader Federal – State – Tribe American Ginseng Coordinators meeting attendees.

As a first step in developing the toolkit, we seek to survey the Federal – State – Tribe American Ginseng Coordinators to learn what ginseng outreach materials already exist, and to find out what messages and materials they want to see in an outreach toolkit. ,The survey will support our effort to ensure that whatever new materials we recommend or choose to develop ourselves will pull from the best existing resources and will complement and enhance, rather than duplicate, previous efforts.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

Respondents will include the thirty one members of the Federal – State – Tribe American Ginseng Coordinators group, which includes personnel from State, Tribe, and Federal offices whose work includes managing wild or cultivated ginseng within the context of CITES, as well as as several additional employees of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service International Affairs Program and Regional offices whose work includes ginseng conservation and/or stakeholder outreach, and one ethnobotany expert from academia.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form Customer Satisfaction Survey

Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software Small Discussion Group

Focus Group Other: Email solicitation of recommendations of outreach materials.

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: /s/ Keri Parker

Fish & Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

International Affairs Program

Office of Outreach and Communication

Personally Identifiable Information:

1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? Yes 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 If “Yes”, please include the SORN title, number, and Federal Register citation for the publication:

Gifts or Payments:

Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants? Yes No

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Total Hour Burden
Individual	36	30 minutes	18

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is $1,264.76.

If we receive 36 submissions and it takes 30 minutes to process and implement each one, then the total burden is $1,246.68, assuming a GS-12 step 5 is processing the submissions ($43.29/hour X 1.6 to account for benefits = $69.26 fully burdened).

Please note, however, we are requesting approval of custom form “Ginseng Outreach Materials Inventory” (see attached Excel spreadsheet) as a tool meant to accept submissions in a standard format, rather than through the freeform submissions we would otherwise receive. Thus, approval of the use of this Excel form by OMB actually saves the government by standardizing submissions and decreasing the workload of processing each one.

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 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.

Please see the attached list of Federal – State – Tribe American Ginseng Coordinators.

Additionally, we plan to request a response from:

• Levi Novey, Outreach and Education Specialist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – International Affairs Program – Office of Outreach and Communications

• Dr. Rosemarie Gnam, Chief, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – International Affairs Program – Division of Scientific Authority

• Danielle Kessler, Chief, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – International Affairs Program – Office of Outreach and Communications

• Gary Peeples, Public Affairs Specialist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Asheville Ecological Services Field Office

• Dr. Sunshine Brosi, Associate Professor, Frostburg State University (Dr. Brosi has expertise in economic botany and ethnobotany education.)

Administration of the Instrument

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

Web-based or other forms of Social Media

Telephone

In-person

Mail

Other, Explain

Respondents will be asked to complete a short questionnaire and add information to the Excel spreadsheet attached to this request. Respondents will be asked to return the questionnaire and spreadsheet by email.

3. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? Yes No

Please make sure that all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

Please see the attached.

4