Notice2026-00758
Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
January 15, 2026
Issuing agencies
Agriculture Department
Full Text
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 10 (Thursday, January 15, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1738-1739]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-00758]
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Notices
Federal Register
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This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
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Federal Register / Vol. 91, No. 10 / Thursday, January 15, 2026 /
Notices
[[Page 1738]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request
The Department of Agriculture has submitted the following
information collection requirement(s) to OMB for review and clearance
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13. Comments
are requested regarding: whether the collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency,
including whether the information will have practical utility; the
accuracy of the agency's estimate of burden including the validity of
the methodology and assumptions used; ways to enhance the quality,
utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to
minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are
to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques
and other forms of information technology.
Comments regarding this information collection received by February
17, 2026 will be considered. Written comments and recommendations for
the proposed information collection should be submitted within 30 days
of the publication of this notice on the following website
<a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>. Find this particular information
collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for
Public Comments'' or by using the search function.
An agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information
unless the collection of information displays a currently valid OMB
control number and the agency informs potential persons who are to
respond to the collection of information that such persons are not
required to respond to the collection of information unless it displays
a currently valid OMB control number.
Forest Service
Title: Community Forest and Open Space Conservation Program.
OMB Control Number: 0596-0227.
Summary of Collection: The Forest Service is authorized to
implement the Community Forest and Open Space Program (CFP) under
Section 8003 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Pub. L.
110-246; 122 Stat. 2043), which amends the Cooperative Forestry
Assistance Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2103d). On October 20, 2011, the
Forest Service issued regulations (36 CFR part 230, subpart A) to
govern the rules and procedure for the Community Forest Program. The
final rule was revised on April 2, 2021.
Need and Use of the Information: The information requirements will
be used to help the Forest Service in the following areas: (1) To
determine that the applicant is eligible to receive funds under the
program, (2) to determine if the proposal meets the qualifications in
the law and regulations, (3) to evaluate and rank the proposals based
on standard, consistent information; and (4) to determine if the
projects costs are allowable and sufficient cost share is provided.
Local governmental entities, Tribal Governments, and qualified
nonprofit organizations are the only entities eligible for the program
and therefore are the only organizations from which information will be
collected.
Description of Respondents: Non-profit Organizations; State, Local
and Tribal Governments.
Number of Respondents: 60.
Frequency of Responses: Annually; Quarterly; Reporting and Record
Keeping.
Total Burden Hours: 3,810.
Forest Service
Title: The Stewardship Mapping and Assessment Project (STEW-MAP).
OMB Control Number: 0596-0240.
Summary of Collection: The Forest Service's mandate includes
providing science-based information to land managers and decision-
makers in regions across the country to support their management of
natural resources and to provide the most possible benefits to local
populations. The knowledge developed from stewardship mapping can
support the development of strategic partnerships in support of land
management, wildfire adaptation, responsible recreation, and rural
economies. This Information Collection will help the Forest Service
better support expanding partnerships and volunteerism so that we can
fulfill our role of guiding stewardship of forests and associated
natural resources across the landscape in collaboration with a broad
suite of partners. Since the last approval, STEW-MAP has successfully
been applied on and around multiple national forests, helping to inform
public outreach and engagement strategies, partnership and network
development, and coordination at the landscape scale--particularly on
the complex issue of wildfire adaptation and management.
Need and Use of the Information: The information will initially be
collected once in each location. Ideally, data collection will then be
repeated every 5-10 years so that stewardship groups can update their
information and additional groups can have an opportunity to
participate. For research purposes, collecting the information every 5-
10 years allows analysis of how stewardship organizations and
stewardship patterns change over time. STEW-MAP locations may elect to
conduct yearly updates or hold open seasons where surveys are collected
more often than every 5-10 years, to give initial nonrespondents an
opportunity to reply. We estimate that these yearly/open season updates
would add no more than 10% of the total number of responses at a given
time.
Description of Respondents: Business or other for-profit; Not-for-
profit institutions; State, Local or Tribal Governments.
Number of Respondents: 13,600.
Frequency of Responses: Reporting: Annually.
Total Burden Hours: 3,892.
Forest Service
Title: Post-Hurricane Research and Assessment of Agriculture,
Forestry, and Rural Communities in the U.S. Caribbean.
OMB Control Number: 0596-0246.
Summary of Collection: Agriculture and forestry systems in the U.S.
Caribbean provide a vast range of goods and services but experience
recurrent disturbances like hurricanes and tropical storms that can
disrupt productivity and pose challenges to
[[Page 1739]]
effective management. Recent hurricanes affecting Puerto Rico and the
U.S. Virgin Islands, including Irma and Maria (2017), Fiona (2022), and
Ernesto (2024), underscore the frequency with which these types of
disturbances can occur and their singular and compounding effects
across multiple sectors and scales. For instance, in 2022, over 90
percent of Puerto Rico's commercial crops were lost to the effects and
associated impacts of hurricane Fiona, just five years after damages
from hurricanes Irma and Maria were reported to have destroyed 80
percent of the island's commercial crops (Rodr[iacute]guez Serrano et
al., 2024). Farms, forests, and the surrounding rural communities,
which together comprise a large portion of the landscape in the U.S.
Caribbean, have been particularly hard hit by hurricanes and other
extreme weather events in recent years, resulting in widespread losses
and damages that compromise commodity production, food security, and
the provision and protection of ecosystem services ([Aacute]lvarez et
al., 2021, McGinley et al., 2022, Rodr[iacute]guez Serrano et al.,
2024). However, there remains limited information and understanding of
hurricane preparedness, response, and recovery in these sectors and
systems and the internal and external factors that help to explain
related risks and response capacity. Therefore, this Information
Collection Request seeks approval to continue to collect information on
and extend knowledge of hurricane readiness, response, and recovery in
agriculture, forestry, and rural communities in the U.S. Caribbean.
Need and Use of the Information: Information will be collected from
a purposively selected, non-probability sample of individuals who own,
lease, or otherwise actively manage agricultural and forest land in
Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands through a researcher-
administered questionnaire. A non-probability, purposive sample is
necessary for this research because a complete and accessible sampling
frame of the populations of interest is not available. Available data
on the agriculture and forest sectors in Puerto Rico and the U.S.
Virgin Islands will be used by researchers to identify major production
sectors (such as coffee, bananas/plantains, row crops, poultry,
livestock, etc.), range in and average total landholding area held by
farm and forest owners (for example, from Agriculture Census, Forest
Inventory and Analysis), and other key criteria for selecting
respondents. Researchers will use farm and forest owner and operator
databases maintained by USDA agencies, Puerto Rico Department of
Agriculture and Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, and
U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture, seeking representation
across subregional geographies, production sectors, landholding size,
and other key factors. Although data from a non-probability sample
cannot be used to make statistical inferences or generalizations about
the populations of interest, planned variation among participants is
designed to capture a broad range of characteristics and perspectives
approximating these populations.
Description of Respondents: Non-profit Organizations and Non-
Federal Government entities.
Number of Respondents: 250.
Frequency of Responses: Reporting; Quarterly.
Total Burden Hours: 146.
Levi S. Harrell,
Departmental Information Collection Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2026-00758 Filed 1-14-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-15-P
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