Justification for change

JUSTIFICATION FOR CHANGE

OMB Control Number 0648-0687

Social Values of Ecosystem Services (SolVES) in Marine Protected Areas for Management Decision-Making

This request is to designate the next two survey sites under the information collection requirement currently approved under OMB Control Number 0648-0687 “Social Values of Ecosystem Services (SolVES) in Marine Protected Areas for Management Decision-Making”. The approved information collection was used to benefit managers in the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR). For this survey implementation the researchers have developed a survey instrument to be used for the Sapelo Island NERR (SINERR) and the Gray’s Reef NMS (GRNMS) in 2015. As per OMB guidelines for PRA clearance, the researchers are required to submit a justification statement of one page or less describing the sites selected for the 2015 implementation, and, listing the questions selected from the Core Module for the survey instrument by the representatives at the management areas.

The SINERR, situated along coastal Georgia and covering about 1/3 of Sapelo Island, contains the Duplin River and its estuary and several upland tracts. It comprises 2,110 acres of upland maritime forest and hammock land and 4,000 acres of tidal salt marsh. The island is accessible only by a state-operated passenger ferry vessel, which makes three scheduled runs each day between the island and the mainland seven miles away.

The GRNMS is one of the largest near-shore live-bottom reefs of the southeastern United States. Gray's Reef was designated as a sanctuary on January 16, 1981, and is the only protected natural reef area on the continental shelf off the Georgia coast. The 22 square miles of Gray's Reef protects an area that is recognized nationally and internationally. The mission of GRNMS is to identify, protect, conserve, and enhance the natural and cultural resources, values and qualities of the sanctuary for current and future generations.

After a consultation process was completed, the managers at both the GRNMS and the SINERR agreed on the following changes to the survey instrument, inserting their choice of three of the management modules where, in the survey, it says 10-11: 2-3 Managers’ selections. The approved process was set up so that they could also add to or modify the items within each question. The original set of managers’ modules with example items is attached as a supplementary document.

Note: only those questions deviating from the original “Question Bank” are included below.

Section 6. Public Opinions of Management

10. Public access to coastal waters and waterways has been identified as a priority management issue. From your perspective, how adequate is existing public access to the protected areas on the Georgia coast? For each access type please select the response that best represents your opinion. The possible responses range from “More than Adequate Access” to “Little or No Access.” You may also respond with “Don’t Know.”

	More than Adequate Access	Adequate Access	Neutral	Inadequate Access	Little or No Access	Don't Know
Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary
Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve
Other conservation areas on the Georgia coast Specify:
Environmental educational opportunities
Diving sites (SCUBA or Free)

Section 7. Knowledge / Awareness

10. To help us better understand how local residents understand the characteristics of coastal Georgia, please rate your level of understanding or awareness of the following management dimensions. Please select “Excellent,” “Good,” “Fair,” “Poor,” or “Not sure” for each of the dimensions.

	Excellent	Good	Fair	Poor	Not sure
Local environmental effects of sea level rise

Section 8. Management Goals

10. Managers and stakeholders have identified goals to guide management decisions that affect the numerous environmental areas along the Georgia coast. Please indicate your level of agreement with each of the potential goals listed below. The possible responses range from “Strongly Agree” to “Strongly Disagree.” You may also respond with “Unsure or don’t know.” Please select the response that best represents your opinion of the statement.

	Strongly Agree	Agree	Neutral	Disagree	Strongly Disagree	Unsure or Don’t Know
Improve coastal water quality
Eliminate further damage and restore natural live bottom reef habitats
Eliminate further loss of and restore shoreline and wetland habitats
Conduct scientific research and long term monitoring to enhance the understanding of coastal processes
Increase the resilience of coastal communities to future coastal hazards
Increase the public’s understanding of how natural coastal ecosystems help protect communities from coastal hazards
Increase the public’s understanding of how human development and natural resource use activities impact the long-term sustainability of coastal ecosystems and processes
Create, or increase, areas where commercial and recreational harvest is restricted
Establish areas in coastal Georgia where motorized crafts are limited to no-wake and non-motorized crafts are encouraged

There are no changes to respondent, response or burden numbers; as additional modules were covered in the approved ICR.

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