Notice2025-15187
Information Collection: Post-Hurricane Research and Assessment of Agriculture, Forestry, and Rural Communities in the U.S. Caribbean
Primary source
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Published
August 11, 2025
Issuing agencies
Agriculture DepartmentForest Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Forest Service is seeking comments from all interested individuals and organizations on the renewal of a currently approved information collection, Post-Hurricane Research and Assessment of Agriculture and Forestry Systems in the U.S. Caribbean (OMB #0596-0246).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 152 (Monday, August 11, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 152 (Monday, August 11, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38621-38622]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-15187]
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Notices
Federal Register
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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 152 / Monday, August 11, 2025 /
Notices
[[Page 38621]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Information Collection: Post-Hurricane Research and Assessment of
Agriculture, Forestry, and Rural Communities in the U.S. Caribbean
AGENCY: Forest Service, Agriculture (USDA).
ACTION: Notice; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the
Forest Service is seeking comments from all interested individuals and
organizations on the renewal of a currently approved information
collection, Post-Hurricane Research and Assessment of Agriculture and
Forestry Systems in the U.S. Caribbean (OMB #0596-0246).
DATES: Comments must be received in writing on or before October 10,
2025 to be assured of consideration. Comments received after that date
will be considered to the extent practicable.
ADDRESSES: Comments concerning this notice should be addressed to
Kathleen McGinley, Social Scientist, USDA Forest Service, International
Institute of Tropical Forestry (IITF), Jard[iacute]n Bot[aacute]nico
Sur, 1201 Calle Ceiba, San Juan, PR 00926. Comments also may be
submitted by email to: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b9d2d8cdd1d5dcdcd797d4daded0d7d5dcc0f9cccaddd897ded6cf"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="046f65706c6861616a2a6967636d6a68617d44717760652a636b72">[email protected]</span></a>. Please include
``Comments re: Post-Hurricane Research'' in the subject line.
Comments submitted in response to this notice may be made available
to the public through relevant websites and upon request. For this
reason, please do not include in your comments information of a
confidential nature, such as sensitive personal information or
proprietary information. If you send an email comment, your email
address will be automatically captured and included as part of the
comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the
internet. Please note that responses to this public comment request
containing any routine notice about the confidentiality of the
communication will be treated as public comments that may be made
available to the public notwithstanding the inclusion of the routine
notice.
The public may request an electronic copy of the draft supporting
statement and/or any comments received be sent via return email.
Requests should be emailed to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b0dbd1c4d8dcd5d5de9eddd3d7d9dedcd5c9f0c5c3d4d19ed7dfc6"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7c171d08141019191252111f1b15121019053c090f181d521b130a">[email protected]</span></a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathleen McGinley, Social Scientist,
USDA Forest Service, 919-600-3108, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#98f3f9ecf0f4fdfdf6b6f5fbfff1f6f4fde1d8edebfcf9b6fff7ee"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ee858f9a86828b8b80c0838d898780828b97ae9b9d8a8fc0898198">[email protected]</span></a>.
Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, deafblind, or have speech
disabilities may call 711 to reach the Telecommunications Relay Service
and provide the phone number of the person named as a contact for
further information.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Post-Hurricane Research and Assessment of Agriculture,
Forestry and Rural Communities in the U.S. Caribbean.
OMB Number: 0596-0426.
Expiration Date of Approval: January 31, 2026.
Type of Request: Renewal without change of a currently approved
information collection.
Abstract: Agriculture and forestry systems in the U.S. Caribbean
provide many goods and services but experience recurrent disturbances
such as hurricanes and tropical storms that can disrupt their
productivity and pose challenges to their effective management. Recent
hurricanes affecting Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, including
Irma and Mar[iacute]a in 2017, Fiona in 2022, and Ernesto in 2024,
underscore the frequency with which hurricanes can occur and their
singular and compounding effects across multiple sectors and scales.
For instance, in 2022, hurricane Fiona resulted in the reported loss of
more than ninety percent of the commercial crops in Puerto Rico, just 5
years after 80 percent of the island's commercial crops had been lost
to hurricanes Irma and Maria. Total damages in Puerto Rico from
hurricane Fiona were reported to exceed $2.7 billion (USD), making
Fiona the third costliest hurricane on record for the island, following
Mar[iacute]a in 2017 and Georges in 1998.
Many laws and policies direct the U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA) and USDA Forest Service to support productive and sustainable
agriculture and natural resource systems that provide benefits to the
American public. Many of these are directly relevant to developing and
disseminating science-based information on agriculture and forest
system response and resilience to disturbances, like hurricanes,
including the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching
Policy Act of 1977, the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978,
the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Research Act of 1978, and
the Rural Development Policy Act of 1980.
Shortly after the passage of hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, the
Forest Service began periodically collecting information on hurricane
effects, response, recovery and adaptive capacity in agricultural and
forestry systems in the U.S. Caribbean. This information has been
collected under Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Approval #0596-
0246, initially authorized by OMB under emergency processing procedures
in 2018, renewed in 2019 under regular approval, and renewed with
revisions that included the expansion of the information collection
instruments to include researcher-implemented surveys in 2022.
The Forest Service seeks to obtain OMB approval for renewal of the
currently approved information collection #0596-0246 to continue to
collect information from farm and forest owners, managers, operators,
advisors, and others with a stake in the agriculture and forestry
sectors in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Renewal of this
information collection and continued research on hurricane effects,
responses, and related changes over time will enable the Forest Service
to provide science-based information critical to the design and
implementation of ongoing recovery work in the U.S. Caribbean and to
longer-term adaptive management strategies there and in other regions
affected by hurricanes or other major disturbances.
Affected Public: Individuals and households, Private sector
businesses, Non-profit and Non-governmental organizations, State and
Local government.
[[Page 38622]]
Estimate of Burden per Response: 15 minutes for surveys, 25 minutes
for interviews.
Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 250.
Estimated Annual Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 110 hours.
Comment is Invited: Comment is invited on: (1) whether this
collection of information is necessary for the stated purposes and the
proper performance of the functions of the Agency, including whether
the information will have practical or scientific utility; (2) the
accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the burden of the collection of
information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions
used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on respondents, including the use of
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection
techniques or other forms of information technology.
All comments received in response to this notice, including names
and addresses when provided, will be a matter of public record.
Comments will be summarized and included in the submission request for
Office of Management and Budget approval.
David Lytle,
Deputy Chief, Research and Development.
[FR Doc. 2025-15187 Filed 8-8-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3411-15-P
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