1028-0103 60-day FRN

Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 149 / Friday, August 4, 2023 / Notices

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working to maintain combined flows at
the Salt and Verde River confluence
below 180,000 cubic ft per second.
Modified Roosevelt Dam’s WCM
identifies when it may be necessary to
temporarily deviate from the established
flood control plan. Planned deviations
are one of three categories identified in
the WCM. Regulations and agreements
establish the process and requirements
for approval of a planned WCM
deviation.
National Environmental Policy Act
Compliance
Issuance of the RHCP amendment
permit is a Federal action that triggers
the need for compliance with NEPA.
Additionally, as noted above, the
proposed RHCP amendment is a
combined ESA section 10(a)(1)(B) and
ESA section 7 approach to ESA
compliance for implementation of
covered activities for non-Federal
(section 10) and Federal (section 7)
participants. In accordance with the
requirements of NEPA, we advise the
public that:
1. We have prepared a draft EA to
evaluate SRP’s RHCP amendment,
which addresses Modified Roosevelt
Dam’s effects from conservation storage
actions on newly listed species and
adds effects to covered species from
flood control operations, including the
Corps’ evaluation of the planned
deviation to the WCM, and potential
permit issuance. We are accepting
comments on the RHCP amendment and
draft EA.
2. The applicant, Service, and Corps
have developed the RHCP amendment,
which describes the measures the
applicant has volunteered to take to
meet the issuance criteria for a permit
associated with the RHCP amendment.
The issuance criteria are found at 50
CFR 17.22(b)(2)(i) and 50 CFR
17.32(b)(2).
3. The applicant would implement
the RHCP amendment, including its
conservation program, and the amended
permit would remain effective until the
expiration of the RHCP in 2053.
4. As described in the RHCP
amendment, anticipated incidental take
of the gartersnake (in the CS, FCS, and
lower Tonto Creek), flycatcher, cuckoo,
and bald eagle (in the FCS) could result
from otherwise lawful activities covered
by the RHCP amendment.
Alternatives
As part of this process, we are
considering two additional alternatives
to the proposed action, the No Action
and No Planned Deviation alternatives.
Under the No Action Alternative, the
Service would not issue the amended

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permit, and SRP would not implement
the RHCP amendment. Under the No
Planned Deviation Alternative, the
Corps would not approve the planned
deviation to the WCM, and SRP would
implement the RHCP amendment with
the addition of normal flood control
activities.
Next Steps
We will evaluate the RHCP
amendment permit application,
amended RHCP, draft EA, and
comments we receive to determine
whether the RHCP amendment
application meets the requirements of
the ESA, NEPA, and implementing
regulations. If we determine that all
requirements are met, we will approve
the RHCP amendment and issue the
amended permit under section
10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531
et seq.) to the applicant. We will not
make our final decision until after the
30-day comment period ends and we
have fully considered all comments
received during the public comment
period.
Public Availability of Comments
All comments we receive become part
of the public record associated with this
action. The Service will handle requests
for copies of comments in accordance
with the Freedom of Information Act,
NEPA, and Service and Department of
the Interior policies and procedures.
Before including your address, phone
number, email address, or other
personal identifying information in your
comment, you should be aware that the
Service may make your entire
comment—including your personal
identifying information—publicly
available at any time. While you can ask
us to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so. The Service will make all
submissions from organizations or
businesses, and from individuals
identifying themselves as
representatives or officials of
organizations or businesses, available
for public disclosure in their entirety.
Authority
We provide this notice under the
authority of section 10(c) of the ESA and
its implementing regulations (50 CFR
17.22 and 17.32) and NEPA (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.) and its implementing
regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
Amy L. Lueders,
Regional Director, Southwest Region, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2023–16663 Filed 8–3–23; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Geological Survey
[GX23BA000AD0100; OMB Control Number
1028–0103]

Agency Information Collection
Activities; USA National Phenology
Network—The Nature’s Notebook Plant
and Animal Observing Program
U.S. Geological Survey,
Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice of information collection;
request for comment.
AGENCY:

In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA), the U.S. Geological Survey
(USGS) is proposing to renew an
information collection.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to
submit comments on or before October
3, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the
information collection request (ICR) by
mail to the U.S. Geological Survey,
Information Collections Clearance
Officer, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive MS
159, Reston, VA 20192; or by email to
[email protected]. Please
reference Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) Control Number 1028–
0103 in the subject line of your
comments.
SUMMARY:

To
request additional information about
this ICR, contact Melanie J. Steinkamp
by email at [email protected], or by
telephone at 703–261–3128.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In
accordance with the PRA, we provide
the general public and other Federal
agencies with an opportunity to
comment on proposed, revised, and
continuing collections of information.
This helps us assess the impact of our
information collection requirements and
minimize the public’s reporting burden.
It also helps the public understand our
information collection requirements and
provide the requested data in the
desired format.
We are soliciting comments on the
proposed ICR that is described below.
We are especially interested in public
comment addressing the following
questions: is the collection necessary to
the proper functions of the USGS? Will
this information be processed and used
in a timely manner? Is the estimate of
burden accurate? How might the USGS
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity
of the information to be collected? How
might the USGS minimize the burden of
this collection on the respondents,
including through the use of
information technology?
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

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51852

Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 149 / Friday, August 4, 2023 / Notices

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 ICR. Before
including your address, phone number,
email address, or other personally
identifiable information (PII) in your
comment, you should be aware that
your entire comment—including your
PII—may be made publicly available at
any time. While you may ask us in your
comment to withhold your PII from
public review, we cannot guarantee that
we will be able to do so.
Abstract: The USA National
Phenology Network (NPN) is a program
sponsored by the USGS that uses
standardized forms for tracking plantand animal activity as part of a project
called Nature’s Notebook. The Nature’s
Notebook forms are used to record
phenology (e.g., timing of leafing or
flowering of plants and reproduction or
migration of animals) as part of a
nationwide effort to understand and
predict how plants and animals respond
to environmental variation and changes
in weather and climate. Contemporary
data collected through Nature’s
Notebook are quality-checked,
described, and made publicly available
and are used to inform decision-making
in a variety of contexts including

agriculture, drought monitoring, and
wildfire-risk assessment. Phenological
information is also critical for the
management of wildlife, invasive
species, and agricultural pests, as well
as for understanding and managing risks
to human health and welfare, including
allergies, asthma, and vector-borne
diseases. Participants may contribute
phenology information to Nature’s
Notebook through a browser-based web
application or via mobile applications
for iPhone and Android operating
systems which meet Government
Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA) and
Privacy Act requirements. The webapplication interface consists of several
components: user registration, a
searchable list of 1,756 observable plant
and animal species, and a ‘‘profile’’ that
contains information about each species
including its description and the
appropriate monitoring protocols. The
application also consists of a series of
interfaces for registering an observer, a
site, and plants and animals found at a
site, and a data-entry page that mimics
downloadable datasheets that can be
taken into the field.
Title of Collection: USA National
Phenology Network—The Nature’s
Notebook Plant and Animal Observing
Program.
OMB Control Number: 1028–0103.

Annual
responses
(projected)

Response type

Form Number: None.
Type of Review: Extension of a
currently approved collection.
Respondents/Affected Public:
Members of the public registered with
Nature’s Notebook, state cooperative
extension employees, and Tribal
members.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Respondents: 6,640.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Responses: 4,094,800.
Estimated Completion Time per
Response: When joining the program,
responders spend 13 minutes each to
register and read guidelines, and 210
minutes to complete the Observer
Certification Course. After that,
responders may spend about two
minutes on each observation and
submission of a phenophase status
record.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Burden Hours: 141,418.
Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary.
Frequency of Collection: On occasion;
depends on the seasonal activity of
plants and animals.
Total Estimated Annual Non-hour
Burden Cost: $11,484
Table: Annual Responses and Burden
Hours: 4,102,436 responses, 141,418
burden hours.

Completion time per response
(minutes)

Annual burden
(hours)

Registrations ....................................
Certification Course * .......................
Observation records ........................

6,640
996
4,094,800

13 minutes (3 minutes to register + 10 minutes to read guidelines) ........
210 minutes (to complete the Observer Certification Course) .................
2 minutes (includes observation and reporting time) ................................

1,439
3,486
136,493

Total ..........................................

4,102,436

....................................................................................................................

141,418

* Note that the Certification Course is optional, and we estimate a completion rate of 15% during the clearance period.

TABLE—ANNUAL NON-HOUR BURDEN COSTS
Cost per unit

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Clipboard ......................................................................
Pencils ..........................................................................
Flags .............................................................................
Markers .........................................................................
Stakes ...........................................................................
Tags ..............................................................................
Popsicle Sticks .............................................................
Average Marking Material Cost ....................................
Cost Per Response ......................................................

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$2.23
0.10
0.05
0.10
0.30
0.30
0.30
0.19
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Estimated number of respondents expected to use

Non-hour
burden cost

1,328 .............................................................................
1,328 .............................................................................
1,328 .............................................................................
1,328 .............................................................................
1,328 .............................................................................
1,328 .............................................................................
1,328 .............................................................................
.......................................................................................
Total Non-Hour Burden Cost ........................................

$2,961
133
66
133
398
398
398
........................
4,489

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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 149 / Friday, August 4, 2023 / Notices
An agency may not conduct or
sponsor, nor is a person required to
respond to, a collection of information
unless it displays a currently valid OMB
control number.
The authorities for this action are the
PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.).
Melanie J. Steinkamp,
Program Coordinator, USGS Species
Management Research Program.
[FR Doc. 2023–16617 Filed 8–3–23; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of the Secretary
[234D0102DM, DS61200000,
DLSN00000.000000, DX61201]

Draft Prospectus for the First National
Nature Assessment
Office of Policy Analysis,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice, request for public
comments.
AGENCY:

With this notice, the U.S.
Global Change Research Program
(USGCRP) seeks public comment on the
proposed themes and framework of the
First National Nature Assessment. Based
on input received from this notice,
USGCRP will begin the next phases of
assessment development.
DATES: Comments must be submitted by
11:59 p.m. on September 18, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Comments from the public
will be accepted electronically via
https://www.globalchange.gov/notices.
Instructions for submitting comments
are available on the website. Submitters
may enter text or upload files in
response to this notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Chris Avery, (202) 419–3474, cavery@
usgcrp.gov, U.S. Global Change
Research Program.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S.
Global Change Research Program
(USGCRP) was created by Congress in
1990 to ‘‘assist the Nation and the world
to understand, assess, predict, and
respond to human-induced and natural
processes of global change.’’ USGCRP
comprises 14 Federal agencies that work
together to carry out its legislative
mandate. USGCRP is conducting the
First National Nature Assessment
(NNA1) to assess changes in nature as
an aspect of global change. With this
notice, the United States Department of
the Interior, on behalf of the USGCRP,
seeks public comment on a prospectus
for NNA1.
The scope of NNA1 is to assess the
status, observed trends, and future

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SUMMARY:

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projections of America’s lands, waters,
wildlife, biodiversity, and ecosystems
and the benefits they provide, including
connections to the economy, public
health, equity, climate mitigation and
adaptation, and national security.
In developing NNA1, USGCRP will
follow the principles of a use-inspired,
knowledge-informed assessment, in
which the design is driven both by the
potential uses of the final products and
by science and other forms of
knowledge. USGCRP recognizes the
importance of lived experiences and
acknowledges Indigenous Knowledge as
an important form of evidence. Across
all phases of NNA1, USGCRP aims to be
inclusive, represent diverse
perspectives, and create products that
are accessible to the widest possible
audience. To achieve these aims,
USGCRP will engage the public and
Tribal Nations multiple times
throughout the development process,
using diverse means to increase
accessibility and inclusion.
I. Development of the First National
Nature Assessment Through a Proposed
Report and Portfolio of Associated
Products
Striving for a use-inspired and
knowledge-informed assessment,
USGCRP initiated NNA1 with requests
for input. This included engagements
with federal agencies, the public, and
Tribal and Indigenous communities.
Input was sought through a Request for
Information (87 FR 65622) on what
specific questions the assessment
should answer, what products should be
created, what engagement processes
should be used, and what knowledge
sources should be drawn from, among
other topics. USGCRP held multiple
public engagement sessions and a
formal Tribal Consultation. Over 3,000
comments were received online and
through the engagement and
Consultation sessions.
The Federal Steering Committee
overseeing the development of NNA1
considered this public and Tribal input
when developing the proposed elements
of the assessment described below. For
example, input showed that different
communities have different questions
relevant to the scope of NNA1 and
would like to use information from the
assessment in different ways. To be
responsive to that input, USGCRP
intends to develop a portfolio of
assessment products of which an NNA1
report will be a core component.
Additional products could include
special issues of peer-reviewed journals;
technical input reports; and communitycreated videos portraying diverse
perspectives of nature, observed

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changes to nature, consequences of
those changes, and the importance of
nature.
II. The First National Nature
Assessment: A Use-Inspired,
Knowledge-Driven Report
The NNA1 will assess the state of
knowledge regarding the status,
observed trends, and future projections
of nature in the United States and the
consequences of those changes
including shifts in the benefits that
nature provides. NNA1 will consider
nature in U.S. states, marine areas (U.S.
Exclusive Economic Zone), territories,
Native or Indigenous lands and waters,
and other affiliated areas (as
appropriate), as well as its significant
interactions with global drivers.
The core product of NNA1 will be a
use-inspired, knowledge-driven report
that addresses a diverse set of questions
received via public and Tribal input.
USGCRP received many questions,
spanning a range of themes, that
potential users posed. This draft
prospectus prioritizes a subset of these
questions for consideration in this
initial assessment. The questions
included in the report will be addressed
in a manner that meets specific Federal
guidelines for information quality,
information tracking, and technical
development required of a Highly
Influential Scientific Assessment.
Findings will be made accessible
through a range of user-specific outputs
as described below. Consistent with
Federal law, the report will support
disability access and inclusion.
III. Overarching Themes of the First
National Nature Assessment
The NNA1 report is currently planned
to be organized around key thematic
interests identified through federal
agency, public, and Tribal engagement
efforts. Those themes are (in
alphabetical order):
• Conservation and Natural Resource
Management
• Economic Interests
• Human Health and Well-Being
• Safety and Security
There are not discrete boundaries
among these themes, and the proposed
report would be structured and
conducted to recognize and explore
interconnections and tradeoffs among
them, as possible. The themes and
related focal questions are described in
greater detail below. Federal agency,
public, and Tribal input identified two
cross-cutting areas that are woven
throughout the other proposed themes
for the NNA1 report:
• Climate Change

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