Justificat of Change for Addition of an Application Form for a Youth Membership on a National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council

JUSTIFICATION FOR CHANGE
ADDITION OF ANAPPLICATION FORM FOR A YOUTH MEMBERSHIP ON
A NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY COUNCIL
OMB CONTROL NO. 0648-0397
Section 315 of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 1445a) allows the
Secretary of Commerce to establish one or more advisory councils to provide advice to
the Secretary regarding the designation and management of national marine sanctuaries.
Councils are individually chartered for each sanctuary to meet the needs of that specific
site; fourteen councils are established as of 03/20/09. Once a council has been chartered,
the sanctuary superintendent starts a process to recruit members for that council by
providing a notice to the public and asking interested parties to apply for the available
seats. A council member application form has been developed to help ease the
application process for the public and facilitate the review process for the sanctuary
superintendent; the application form will continue to be used for all seats except the
youth seat. Council members (except youth seats) must be age 18 or older.
This request is to allow Councils to include a non-voting “youth seat” for students ages
14 - 17. The current application form is not geared towards younger individuals. The
Youth Application Form will be utilized in the recruitment process for the youth seat
only.
The availability of youth seats on a council will be announced by the appropriate
sanctuary through various public channels, including a Federal Register notice, local
press releases, announcements at local meetings, and posting on the sanctuary’s web
page. Interested students can request the application kit (containing the application form,
a copy of the council’s charter, the council handbook and some information about the
sanctuary itself) by phone, fax or email. The applicant then completes and returns the
form to the sanctuary office, by mail, fax or electronically. The concept of a youth seat is
new. Currently only one sanctuary advisory council is expected to have a youth seat;
other councils may choose to add a youth seat and use the youth application over time.
The specific information requested by the youth application will be used in the
following ways:
™ Name, addresses and phone numbers: This is basic contact information that is
necessary in order to notify the applicant about whether he or she will serve on the
council; if the applicant becomes a member of the council, this information is used to
keep them informed of meeting dates, upcoming events, etc.
™ Parent/Guardian Acknowledgement: Confirms the parent/guardian is aware of and in
support of the student’s application.
™ Question 1-2: Reasons for interest in serving on the council: This information is
used to help the sanctuary superintendent determine the nature of the applicant’s
views on the protection and management of marine and/or Great Lakes resources.

OMB Control No.0648-0397
Expires 03/31/2012

NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY ADVISORY COUNCIL
YOUTH APPLICATION FORM
Before applying for advisory council membership, please review:
(1) the advisory council charter provided in your application kit, and;
(2) the ONMS Sanctuary Advisory Council Implementation Handbook available online at
http://www.sanctuaries.noaa.gov/management/ac/acref.html (or you may obtain a copy
from your local sanctuary – see contact information below).
The council charter outlines the purposes and governs the operation of the council; the
handbook provides broader operational requirements for councils. In applying for council
membership, you are agreeing to abide by the terms of the charter and the handbook if you are
selected as a member or alternate.
As a part of the selection process, please note the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
(ONMS) will conduct a LEXIS/NEXIS check and a departmental bureau check for potential
conflict of interest and other issues in your background.
Review the information provided at the end of this form; it contains important guidance with
regard to the information you submit on this form and its availability under federal law. Note that
the terms “youth” and “student” are interchangeable in this application form.
Students filling the youth seat must:
™ Be a minimum of 14 years of age when they apply;
™ Attend a school, including home schools, in the area affected by the sanctuary;
™ Have proven ability to communicate and network with other students within their school, in
other schools within his/her community, and/or with home schooled students.
™ Possess an interest in sanctuary resource protection and management;
™ Have experience and/or knowledge regarding public uses and activities in the sanctuary;
™ Be able to travel to and attend council meetings and retreats (parent/guardian or student
provides transportation);
™ Provide written recommendation from one or more teachers; and
™ Serve a maximum of two years, until they reach their 18th birthday, or graduate from high
school, whichever comes first.
Once selected, [insert site] NMS staff will contact students to provide:
™ Parent/guardian permission*; and
™ School permission*.
* Note: This will grant blanket permission for all council meetings and retreats.

Procedure for Application:
Step 1: Please provide your contact information and respond to the questions below.
Step 2: Have parent/guardian sign to acknowledge he/she is aware of and in support of your
application.
Step 3: The application deadline is [date]. Please return all pages of this application to [insert
local contact information].

Date: _____________
First Name*:____________________ Middle _____________ Last _____________________
* Please include full first, middle and last names.
Seat applying for: _____ Youth Seat (non-voting)
Home Address:_________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Home Phone:___________________________________________________________
Home Fax: _____________________________________________________________
Parent/Guardian E-mail: _________________________________________________
Student E-mail: ________________________________________________________

Parent/Guardian Acknowledgement:
I acknowledge that I am aware of and support my son/daughter or ward applying for and
potentially serving on the [insert site] National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council.
Parent/Guardian Printed Name: ___________________________________________
Parent/Guardian Signature: ______________________________________________

Please thoroughly address each of the following:
1. Explain why you are interested in serving on the council.
2. Explain your views regarding the protection and management of marine or Great Lake
resources, both natural (fish, coral reefs, etc) and cultural (shipwrecks).

3. Describe what you think the role of the council is, and how you will work to best support the
sanctuary while on the council.
4. Describe the unique knowledge and/or experience you offer the council.
5. Include the length of time you have lived in the community near the sanctuary.
6. List other groups you belong to or affiliations you have (e.g. student council, science club,
soccer team, hiking club, scouts, employment).
7. Describe how much time you have to give to the council.
8. Describe how you will consult and share information with your peers in the community.
9. Include other qualifications or information that would benefit the council.

Individuals 18 years of age and older are not eligible to apply for the sanctuary advisory
council’s youth seat, but may apply for other council seats as they become open and are
advertised.
The information obtained through this application process will be used to determine the
qualifications of the applicant for membership on the sanctuary advisory council. The ONMS
intends affirmatively to disclose the applications only to ONMS staff and other members of the
review panel. However, the ONMS may be required to disclose the applications in response to
a court order, a congressional request, or a request from the public under the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA).
If disclosure is requested under the FOIA, the ONMS will endeavor to protect the privacy of
applicants by withholding personal information such as home addresses and telephone
numbers. In contrast, statements of philosophy or opinions contained in the application would
likely be released. Applying for membership on the council is voluntary.
Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average one hour per
response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources,
gathering the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send
comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information,
including suggestions for reducing this burden to Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, 1305
East West Highway, N/ORM6, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is required to respond to, nor shall any
person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with, a collection of information subject to the
requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act, unless that collection of information displays a
currently valid OMB Control Number.

™ Questions 2 – 8: This information is used to determine the qualifications of the
applicant for the seat for which he or she is applying, relative to those of other
applicants for the same seat.
™ Question 9: Other qualifications or information. This information allows the
applicant to provide additional information about his or her qualifications for the
seat that might not be readily apparent elsewhere in the application.
The concept of a youth seat is new. Currently only one sanctuary advisory council is
expected to have a youth seat so initially the number of youth applications will be
limited. Over time, other councils may choose to add a youth seat and will then use the
youth application.
Eventually, the ONMS expects to have an average of 20 applicants per year, with an
estimated time per applicant of one hour for obtaining, completing and returning the
application, for a total additional annual response time of 20 hours. We are requesting
this higher number of hours now, to cover the possibility that more applications will be
received than expected in the first few years.
The ONMS expects applications to cost about $2.00 per person for the cost of a phone
call or email request for the application and the cost of electronically returning or mailing
the completed application, for a total additional annual cost to the public of $40.00.