[Federal Register: June 18, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 118)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 34692-34697]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18jn08-24]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 20
[FWS-R9-MB-2008-0032;91200-1231-9BPP-L2]
RIN 1018-AV62
Migratory Bird Hunting; Supplemental Proposals for Migratory Game
Bird Hunting Regulations for the 2008-09 Hunting Season; Notice of
Meetings
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; supplemental.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), proposed in
an earlier document to establish annual hunting regulations for certain
migratory game birds for the 2008-09 hunting season. This supplement to
the proposed rule provides the regulatory schedule, announces the
Service Migratory Bird Regulations Committee and Flyway Council
meetings, provides Flyway Council recommendations resulting from their
March meetings, and provides regulatory alternatives for the 2008-09
duck hunting seasons.
DATES: You must submit comments on the proposed regulatory alternatives
for the 2008-09 duck hunting seasons and the updated cost/benefit
analysis by June 27, 2008. Following later Federal Register documents,
you will be given an opportunity to submit comments for proposed early-
season frameworks by July 31, 2008, and for proposed late-season
frameworks and subsistence migratory bird seasons in Alaska by August
31, 2008. The Service Migratory Bird Regulations Committee will meet to
consider and develop proposed regulations for early-season migratory
bird hunting on June 25 and 26, 2008, and for late-season migratory
bird hunting and the 2009 spring/summer migratory bird subsistence
seasons in Alaska on July 30 and 31, 2008. All meetings will commence
at approximately 8:30 a.m.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the proposals by one of the
following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Public Comments Processing,
Attn: 1018-AV62; Division of Policy and Directives Management; U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 222; Arlington,
VA 22203.
We will not accept e-mail or faxes. We will post all comments on
http://www.regulations.gov. This generally means that we will post any
personal information you provide us (see the Public Comments section
below for more information).
The Service Migratory Bird Regulations Committee will meet in room
200 of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Arlington Square Building,
4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Arlington, VA.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ron W. Kokel, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Department of the Interior, MS MBSP-4107-ARLSQ, 1849 C Street,
NW., Washington, DC 20240; (703) 358-1714.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Regulations Schedule for 2008
On May 28, 2008, we published in the Federal Register (73 FR 30712)
a proposal to amend 50 CFR part 20. The proposal provided a background
and overview of the migratory bird hunting regulations process, and
dealt with the establishment of seasons, limits, and other regulations
for hunting migratory game birds under Sec. Sec. 20.101 through
20.107, 20.109, and 20.110 of subpart K. This document is the second in
a series of proposed, supplemental, and final rules for migratory game
bird hunting regulations. We will publish proposed early-season
frameworks in early July and late-season frameworks in early August. We
will publish final regulatory frameworks for early seasons on or about
August 17, 2008, and for late seasons on or about September 14, 2008.
Service Migratory Bird Regulations Committee Meetings
The Service Migratory Bird Regulations Committee will meet June 25-
26, 2008, to review information on the current status of migratory
shore and upland game birds and develop 2008-09 migratory game bird
regulations recommendations for these species, plus regulations for
migratory game birds in Alaska, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
The Committee will also develop regulations recommendations for
September waterfowl seasons in designated States, special sea duck
seasons in the Atlantic Flyway, and extended falconry seasons. In
addition, the Committee will review and discuss preliminary information
on the status of waterfowl.
At the July 30-31, 2008, meetings, the Committee will review
information on the current status of waterfowl and develop 2008-09
migratory game bird regulations recommendations for regular waterfowl
seasons and other species and seasons not previously discussed at the
early-season meetings. In addition, the Committee will develop
recommendations for the 2009 spring/summer migratory bird subsistence
season in Alaska. In accordance with Departmental policy, these
meetings are open to public observation. You may submit written
comments to the Service on the matters discussed.
Announcement of Flyway Council Meetings
Service representatives will be present at the individual meetings
of the four Flyway Councils this July. Although agendas are not yet
available, these meetings usually commence at 8 a.m. on the days
indicated.
[[Page 34693]]
Atlantic Flyway Council: July 24-25, Princeton Westin at Forrestal
Village, Princeton, NJ.
Mississippi Flyway Council: July 24-25, Crown Plaza Hotel,
Knoxville, TN.
Central Flyway Council: July 24-25, Holiday Inn, Overland Park, KS.
Pacific Flyway Council: July 25, Red Lion Hotel at the Park,
Spokane, WA.
Review of Public Comments
This supplemental rulemaking describes Flyway Council recommended
changes based on the preliminary proposals published in the May 28,
2008, Federal Register . We have included only those recommendations
requiring either new proposals or substantial modification of the
preliminary proposals and do not include recommendations that simply
support or oppose preliminary proposals and provide no recommended
alternatives. We will publish responses to all proposals and written
comments when we develop final frameworks. In addition, this
supplemental rulemaking contains the regulatory alternatives for the
2008-09 duck hunting seasons. We have included all Flyway Council
recommendations received relating to the development of these
alternatives.
We seek additional information and comments on the recommendations
in this supplemental proposed rule. New proposals and modifications to
previously described proposals are discussed below. Wherever possible,
they are discussed under headings corresponding to the numbered items
identified in the May 28 proposed rule. Only those categories requiring
your attention or for which we received Flyway Council recommendations
are discussed below.
1. Ducks
Duck harvest management categories are: (A) General Harvest
Strategy; (B) Regulatory Alternatives, including specification of
framework dates, season length, and bag limits; (C) Zones and Split
Seasons; and (D) Special Seasons/Species Management.
A. General Harvest Strategy
Council Recommendations: The Upper- and Lower-Region Regulations
Committees of the Mississippi Flyway Council recommended that
regulations changes be restricted to one step per year, both when
restricting as well as liberalizing hunting regulations. Both
Committees further recommended not implementing the western mallard
Adaptive Harvest Management (AHM) protocol.
The Central Flyway Council recommended not implementing the western
mallard AHM protocol.
The Pacific Flyway Council recommended implementing the Service's
proposal for a revised protocol for managing the harvest of mallards in
Western North America. They further recommended inclusion of the
following initial components:
(1) Regulation packages that are currently in place in the Pacific
Flyway and generally described as Liberal, Moderate, Restrictive, and
Closed, with associated target harvest rates of 12, 8, 4, and 0
percent, respectively;
(2) A harvest objective that corresponds to no more than 95 percent
of the Maximum Sustained Yield (MSY) on the yield curve (they further
note that current harvest estimates suggest that the current Pacific
Flyway mallard harvest is at 80 percent of MSY);
(3) Consider use of a weighting factor within the decision matrix
that would soften the knife-edge effect of optimal policies when
regulation changes are warranted;
(4) No change in the duck regulation provisions for Alaska, except
implementation through the western mallard AHM strategy;
(5) An optimization based only on western mallards; and
(6) Clarification of the impacts of removing Alaska from the mid-
continent mallard strategy.
They also requested that the Service explore options of
incorporating mallards and other waterfowl stocks derived from surveyed
areas in Canada important to the Pacific Flyway (e.g. , Alberta,
Northwest Territories) into the decision process in the future.
Service Response: As we stated in the May 28 Federal Register , the
final Adaptive Harvest Management protocol for the 2008-09 season will
be detailed in the early-season proposed rule, which will be published
in mid-July.
B. Regulatory Alternatives
Council Recommendations: The Atlantic Flyway Council recommended
that the current restriction of two hens in the 4-bird mallard daily
bag limit be removed from the ``liberal'' package in the Atlantic
Flyway to allow the harvest of 4 mallards of any sex.
The Upper- and Lower-Region Regulations Committees of the
Mississippi Flyway Council and the Central Flyway Council recommended
that regulatory alternatives for duck hunting seasons remain the same
as those used in 2007.
Service Response: As we stated in the May 28 Federal Register , the
final regulatory alternatives for the 2008-09 season will be detailed
in the early-season proposed rule, which will be published in mid-July.
D. Special Seasons/Species Management
iii. Black Ducks
Council Recommendations: The Atlantic Flyway Council endorsed the
interim international harvest strategy for black ducks, with the
following modifications: (1) the original criteria of a 25 percent
change in the 5-year running average from the long-term (1998-2007)
breeding population (BPOP) should be changed to a 15 percent change
measured by a 3-year running average, and (2) the original criteria of
a 5-year running average to measure parity should be changed to a 3-
year running average.
The Upper- and Lower-Region Regulations Committees of the
Mississippi Flyway Council endorsed the agreement in concept and the
interim approach to the harvest management of black ducks as outlined
by the Black Duck International Management Group.
Service Response: For several years we have consulted with the
Atlantic and Mississippi Flyway Councils, the Canadian Wildlife
Service, and provincial wildlife agencies in eastern Canada concerning
the development of an international harvest strategy for black ducks.
In 2008, U.S. and Canadian waterfowl managers developed a draft interim
harvest strategy that was designed to be employed by both countries
over the next three seasons (2008-09 to 2010-11), allowing time for the
development of a formal strategy based on the principles of Adaptive
Harvest Management. The interim harvest strategy is prescriptive, in
that it would call for no substantive changes in hunting regulations
unless the black duck breeding population, averaged over the most
recent 3 years, exceeds or falls below the long-term average breeding
population by 15 percent or more. It would allow additional harvest
opportunity (commensurate with the population increase) if the 3-year
average breeding population exceeds the long-term average by 15 percent
or more, and would require reduction of harvest opportunity if the 3-
year average falls below the long-term average by 15 percent or more.
The strategy is designed to share the black duck harvest equally
between the two countries; however, recognizing incomplete control of
harvest through regulations, it will allow realized harvest in either
country to vary between 40 and 60 percent. We propose to adopt this
[[Page 34694]]
interim international black duck harvest strategy for the 2008-09,
2009-10, and 2010-11 seasons. To expedite development of a formal
Adaptive Harvest Management strategy, we seek input from the Atlantic
and Mississippi Flyway Councils on an appropriate long-term harvest
management objective.
iv. Canvasbacks
Council Recommendations: The Atlantic Flyway Council recommended
that the canvasback harvest strategy be modified to include a provision
to allow a daily bag limit of 2 canvasbacks when the predicted breeding
population is greater than 750,000 birds.
The Upper- and Lower-Region Regulations Committees of the
Mississippi Flyway Council recommended an alternative canvasback
harvest management strategy that uses threshold levels based on
breeding population size in order to determine bag limits. These
threshold levels would allow 2 canvasbacks per day when the population
is above 800,000, 1 canvasback per day when the population is between
400,000 and 800,000, and close the season when the population drops
below 400,000.
The Central Flyway Council recommended maintaining the current
canvasback harvest strategy and updating harvest predictions in the
current model.
The Pacific Flyway Council requested revision of the canvasback
harvest strategy to include a harvest management prescription for a
two-bird, full season option when the canvasback breeding population
and predicted harvest will sustain the population at or above 600,000.
Service Response: We support modification of the existing
canvasback strategy to allow for a 2-bird daily bag limit when the
projected breeding population in the next year exceeds an established
threshold level. This support is contingent on receiving Flyway Council
and public input regarding the exact threshold level to be employed for
the bag limit increase. Based on our recent biological assessment this
threshold should fall between 600,000 and 750,000 canvasbacks projected
as the next year's breeding population. If the input received fails to
indicate a reasonable consensus on the appropriate value, we propose to
continue using the current canvasback harvest management strategy for
the 2008-2009 hunting season.
v. Pintails
Council Recommendations: The Atlantic Flyway Council recommended
several modifications and considerations for the proposed pintail
derived harvest strategy. They recommended we continue exploration of a
derived strategy versus a prescribed strategy and consider a closure
constraint. They also commented that Flyway-specific bag limits may not
be needed to maintain the desired harvest distribution.
The Upper- and Lower-Region Regulations Committees of the
Mississippi Flyway Council recommended continued use of the current
prescribed northern pintail harvest management strategy until they can
see further modeling results of emphasizing a management objective that
minimizes the frequency of closed and partial seasons.
The Central Flyway Council recommended that the proposed derived
pintail harvest strategy not be adopted and recommended continued use
of the current prescribed strategy.
The Pacific Flyway Council recommended that the current prescribed
harvest management protocol for pintail be continued in 2008.
Service Response: Based on Flyway Council comments and
recommendations, we propose to continue the use of the current pintail
harvest strategy for the 2008-09 season. We will continue to work with
the Flyway Councils to address their concerns on a derived strategy
over the next year.
vi. Scaup
Council Recommendations: The Atlantic Flyway Council recommended
implementation of the proposed scaup harvest strategy in the 2008
conditional upon several modifications:
(1) A harvest management objective that achieves 95 percent of the
long-term cumulative harvest when the breeding population is less than
4.0 million birds;
(2) Seasons remain open when the breeding population is at or above
2 million scaup;
(3) Agreement to use alternative methodology developed by the
Atlantic Flyway Technical Section to predict scaup harvests in the
Atlantic Flyway;
(4) Allow a ``hybrid'' season option for the Atlantic Flyway that
allows for at least 20 days of the general duck season to have a daily
bag limit of at least 2 while the remaining days would have a daily bag
limit of 1;
(5) A ``restrictive'' harvest package in the Atlantic Flyway
consisting of a 20-day season with a daily bag limit of 2, and a 40-day
season with a daily bag limit of 1;
(6) A ``moderate'' harvest package in the Atlantic Flyway
consisting of a 60-day season with a daily bag limit of 2;
(7) A ``liberal'' harvest package in the Atlantic Flyway consisting
of a 60-day season with a daily bag limit of 3;
(8) Designation of the proposed strategy as ``interim'' and subject
to immediate reconsideration if alternative/competing scaup population
models are available that will inform management decisions; and
(9) Reconsideration of the model elements after 3 years.
The Council also urged us to expedite the exploration of
alternative/competing models describing scaup population dynamics that
may be used to inform a harvest management strategy.
The Upper- and Lower-Region Regulations Committees of the
Mississippi Flyway Council recommended we not adopt the proposed scaup
harvest strategy and urged us to delay implementation until some
alternative models can be developed.
The Central Flyway Council recommended that we delay implementation
of the proposed scaup harvest strategy until alternative models are
developed and evaluated.
The Pacific Flyway Council supported the implementation of a scaup
harvest strategy in 2008, with the following conditions:
(1) A ``shoulder'' strategy objective that corresponds to 95
percent of MSY;
(2) Revision of harvest prediction models to provide a greater
capacity to predict Pacific Flyway scaup harvest; and
(3) Revision of flyway harvest allocations to recognize proportions
of greater scaup in flyway harvests.
They also urged us to continue to work on alternative models to
incorporate into the decision framework as soon as possible.
Service Response: We propose to adopt the scaup harvest strategy as
originally proposed last year (June 8 and July 23, 2007, Federal
Register, 72 FR 31789 and 72 FR 40194). We believe that an informed,
scientifically-based decision process is far preferable to any other
possible approach. Further, we have been patient in allowing additional
time for review by the Flyway Councils and general public of the
proposed strategy. We note that no substantive criticisms suggesting
that the proposed approach is not valid have been offered. We
acknowledge and support the comments received that suggest additional
models based on changing
[[Page 34695]]
carrying capacity should be investigated and used if they can be
reasonably developed and are supported by existing scaup population
data. However, we note that we consider all strategies currently
employed for species-specific harvest regulation to be subject to
further analysis, review and improvement as new information becomes
available, and we fully intend to pursue such improvements for the
proposed scaup strategy as well as all of the other species-specific
strategies employed by the Service. We also note that we have requested
specific input from the Councils and the public regarding the specific
harvest management objective that should be employed for the scaup
harvest strategy. Based on input to date, we propose the harvest
management objective be established as 95 percent of the expected MSY
for scaup on an annual basis and we solicit further review and comment
on this objective from the Flyway Councils and public.
viii. Wood Ducks
Council Recommendations: The Atlantic Flyway Council provided the
following comments on the proposed wood duck harvest strategy:
(1) The Council endorses the use of the Potential Biological
Removal method for calculating allowable harvest;
(2) Adult males should be the cohort to monitor;
(3) The management objective should be MSY, with the test criteria
that the upper 95 percent confidence interval of the 3-year running
average of both northern and region-wide adult male observed kill rates
not exceed MSY based on their respective allowable kill rates;
(4) Should monitoring show impact on northern males, the harvest
strategy should revert to a 2-bird daily bag limit;
(5) Bag limits should be allowed to differ between flyways; and
(6) The strategy should be adopted in 2008.
The Upper- and Lower-Region Regulations Committees of the
Mississippi Flyway Council endorsed use of the Potential Biological
Removal method to assess wood duck harvest potential and provided the
following guidance on outstanding wood duck harvest management policy
issues:
(1) Monitor adult male kill rates from the Atlantic and Mississippi
Flyways combined to determine whether actual kill rates exceed
allowable kill rates;
(2) Use the point of Maximum Sustained Yield (\1/2\
rmax), combined with a test criteria requirement that the
upper 95 percent confidence interval of the observed kill rate be below
the allowable kill rate, as the management objective;
(3) Allow wood duck bag limits to differ between the Atlantic and
Mississippi Flyways; and
(4) Implement in the 2008-09 season.
The Central Flyway Council recommended that the Central Flyway be
included in the development and implementation of the wood duck harvest
strategy for the Atlantic and Mississippi Flyways.
Service Response: We support a wood duck harvest strategy based on
the Potential Biological Removal method, with the management objective
of 95 percent confidence that harvest will not exceed maximum sustained
yield. Although we prefer a test criterion based on range-wide kill
rates of adult males, we recognize the Atlantic Flyway Council's
concerns about the potential impacts on northern wood ducks. We do not
endorse implementing the proposed strategy until those concerns have
been addressed to the satisfaction of the Atlantic, Mississippi, and
Central Flyway Councils.
4. Canada Geese
A. Special Seasons
Council Recommendations: The Atlantic Flyway Council recommended
allowing a 10-day experimental extension of the September Resident
Canada goose season in Delaware from September 16 to September 25
consistent with September Canada goose seasons in Atlantic Population
(AP) zones in the adjacent States of Pennsylvania and New Jersey and
other States in the Atlantic Flyway. They requested that this
experimental season be permitted for a 3-year period, at which time an
analysis of direct band recoveries will be conducted to determine if
the harvest of AP Canada geese exceeds 10 percent of the overall goose
harvest during Delaware's 10-day extension of the early season. This
extended season will not incorporate the ``expanded hunting methods''
and would be implemented in 2008.
The Pacific Flyway Council recommended allowing Wyoming to modify
its current framework that allows 4 geese per season to a 4-bird
possession limit.
B. Regular Seasons
Council Recommendations: The Upper- and Lower-Region Regulations
Committees of the Mississippi Flyway Council recommended that the
framework opening date for all species of geese for the regular goose
seasons in Michigan and Wisconsin be September 16, 2008.
9. Sandhill Cranes
Council Recommendations: The Central and Pacific Flyway Councils
recommended using the 2008 Rocky Mountain Population (RMP) sandhill
crane harvest allocation of 1,633 birds as proposed in the allocation
formula using the 3-year running average. They further recommended that
a new RMP greater sandhill crane hunt area be established in Uinta
County, Wyoming.
The Pacific Flyway Council recommended modifying Wyoming's RMP hunt
areas by: (1) expanding the hunt area in Lincoln County to include the
Hams Fork drainage, and (2) expanding Area 6 in the Bighorn Basin to
include all of Park, Bighorn, Hot Springs and Washakie Counties. The
Council also recommended initiating a limited hunt for Lower Colorado
River sandhill cranes in Arizona, with the goal of the hunt being a
limited harvest of 6 cranes in January. To limit harvest, Arizona would
issue permit tags to hunters and require mandatory checking of all
harvested cranes. To limit disturbance of wintering cranes, Arizona
would restrict the hunt to one 3-day period. Arizona would also
coordinate with the National Wildlife Refuges where cranes occur.
16. Mourning Doves
Council Recommendations: The Atlantic Flyway Council and the Upper-
and Lower-Region Regulations Committees of the Mississippi Flyway
Council recommended that States within the Eastern Management Unit
should be offered a 70-day season and 15-bird daily bag limit for the
2008-2009 mourning dove hunting season, and the dichotomous hunting
season structure should be eliminated.
18. Alaska
Council Recommendations: The Pacific Flyway Council recommended
maintaining status quo in the Alaska early-season framework, except for
increasing the daily bag limit for canvasbacks to 2 per day with 6 in
possession, and increasing the daily bag limit for brant to 3 per day
with 6 in possession.
20. Puerto Rico
Council Recommendations: The Atlantic Flyway Council recommended
that Puerto Rico be permitted to adopt a 20-bird bag limit for doves in
the aggregate for the next three hunting seasons, 2008-2010. Legally
hunted dove species in Puerto Rico are the Zenaida dove, the white-
winged dove, and the mourning dove. They also recommended that the 20-
bird aggregate bag limit should include no more than
[[Page 34696]]
10 Zenaida doves and no more than 3 mourning doves.
Public Comments
The Department of the Interior's policy is, whenever practicable,
to afford the public an opportunity to participate in the rulemaking
process. Accordingly, we invite interested persons to submit written
comments, suggestions, or recommendations regarding the proposed
regulations. Before promulgation of final migratory game bird hunting
regulations, we will take into consideration all comments received.
Such comments, and any additional information received, may lead to
final regulations that differ from these proposals.
You may submit your comments and materials concerning this proposed
rule by one of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES section. We will not
consider comments sent by e-mail or fax or to an address not listed in
the ADDRESSES section. Finally, we will not consider hand-delivered
comments that we do not receive, or mailed comments that are not
postmarked, by the date specified in the DATES section.
We will post your entire comment--including your personal
identifying information--on http://www.regulations.gov. If you provide
personal identifying information in your comment, you may request at
the top of your document that we withhold this information from public
review. However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Comments and materials we receive, as well as supporting
documentation we used in preparing this proposed rule, will be
available for public inspection on http://www.regulations.gov, or by
appointment, during normal business hours, at the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Division of Migratory Bird Management, Room 4107,
4501 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203.
For each series of proposed rulemakings, we will establish specific
comment periods. We will consider, but possibly may not respond in
detail to, each comment. As in the past, we will summarize all comments
received during the comment period and respond to them after the
closing date in any final rules.
NEPA Consideration
NEPA considerations are covered by the programmatic document
``Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement: Issuance of Annual
Regulations Permitting the Sport Hunting of Migratory Birds (FSES 88-
14),'' filed with the Environmental Protection Agency on June 9, 1988.
We published Notice of Availability in the Federal Register on June 16,
1988 (53 FR 22582). We published our Record of Decision on August 18,
1988 (53 FR 31341). In addition, an August 1985 environmental
assessment entitled ``Guidelines for Migratory Bird Hunting Regulations
on Federal Indian Reservations and Ceded Lands'' is available from the
address indicated under the caption FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
In a notice published in the September 8, 2005, Federal Register
(70 FR 53376), we announced our intent to develop a new Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement for the migratory bird hunting program.
Public scoping meetings were held in the spring of 2006, as detailed in
a March 9, 2006, Federal Register (71 FR 12216). We have prepared a
scoping report summarizing the scoping comments and scoping meetings.
The report is available by either writing to the address indicated
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT or by viewing on our Web site at
http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds.
Endangered Species Act Consideration
Prior to issuance of the 2008-09 migratory game bird hunting
regulations, we will comply with provisions of the Endangered Species
Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531-1543; hereinafter, the Act), to
ensure that hunting is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence
of any species designated as endangered or threatened, or modify or
destroy its critical habitat, and is consistent with conservation
programs for those species. Consultations under Section 7 of this Act
may cause us to change proposals in this and future supplemental
rulemaking documents.
Executive Order 12866
The Office of Management and Budget has determined that this rule
is significant and has reviewed this rule under Executive Order 12866.
OMB bases its determination upon the following four criteria:
(a) Whether the rule will have an annual effect of $100 million or
more on the economy or adversely affect an economic sector,
productivity, jobs, the environment, or other units of the government.
(b) Whether the rule will create inconsistencies with other Federal
agencies' actions.
(c) Whether the rule will materially affect entitlements, grants,
user fees, loan programs, or the rights and obligations of their
recipients.
(d) Whether the rule raises novel legal or policy issues.
Clarity of the Rule
We are required by Executive Orders 12866 and 12988 and by the
Presidential Memorandum of June 1, 1998, to write all rules in plain
language. This means that each rule we publish must:
(a) Be logically organized;
(b) Use the active voice to address readers directly;
(c) Use clear language rather than jargon;
(d) Be divided into short sections and sentences; and
(e) Use lists and tables wherever possible.
If you feel that we have not met these requirements, send us
comments by one of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES section. To
better help us revise the rule, your comments should be as specific as
possible. For example, you should tell us the numbers of the sections
or paragraphs that are unclearly written, which sections or sentences
are too long, the sections where you feel lists or tables would be
useful, etc.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
The regulations have a significant economic impact on substantial
numbers of small entities under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5
U.S.C. 601 et seq.). We analyzed the economic impacts of the annual
hunting regulations on small business entities in detail as part of the
1981 cost-benefit analysis discussed under Executive Order 12866. This
analysis was revised annually from 1990-95. In 1995, the Service issued
a Small Entity Flexibility Analysis (Analysis), which was subsequently
updated in 1996, 1998, 2004, and 2008. The primary source of
information about hunter expenditures for migratory game bird hunting
is the National Hunting and Fishing Survey, which is conducted at 5-
year intervals. The 2008 Analysis was based on the 2006 National
Hunting and Fishing Survey and the U.S. Department of Commerce's County
Business Patterns, from which it was estimated that migratory bird
hunters would spend approximately $1.2 billion at small businesses in
2008. To make our cost/benefit analysis as complete as possible, we
seek additional information and comments. You must submit comments on
the analysis by June 27, 2008. Copies of the Analysis are available
upon request from the address indicated under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT or from our Web site at http:// www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/
reports/
[[Page 34697]]
reports.html or at http://www.regulations.gov.
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act
This rule is a major rule under 5 U.S.C. 804(2), the Small Business
Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act. For the reasons outlined above,
this rule has an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more.
However, because this rule establishes hunting seasons, we do not plan
to defer the effective date under the exemption contained in 5 U.S.C.
808(1).
Paperwork Reduction Act
We examined these regulations under the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). The various recordkeeping and reporting
requirements imposed under regulations established in 50 CFR part 20,
Subpart K, are utilized in the formulation of migratory game bird
hunting regulations. Specifically, OMB has approved the information
collection requirements of our Migratory Bird Surveys and assigned
control number 1018-0023 (expires 2/28/2011). This information is used
to provide a sampling frame for voluntary national surveys to improve
our harvest estimates for all migratory game birds in order to better
manage these populations. OMB has also approved the information
collection requirements of the Alaska Subsistence Household Survey, an
associated voluntary annual household survey used to determine levels
of subsistence take in Alaska, and assigned control number 1018-0124
(expires 1/31/2010).
A Federal agency may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not
required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a
currently valid OMB control number.
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
We have determined and certify, in compliance with the requirements
of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act, 2 U.S.C. 1502 et seq., that this
rulemaking will not impose a cost of $100 million or more in any given
year on local or State government or private entities. Therefore, this
rule is not a ``significant regulatory action'' under the Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act.
Civil Justice Reform--Executive Order 12988
The Department, in promulgating this proposed rule, has determined
that this proposed rule will not unduly burden the judicial system and
that it meets the requirements of sections 3(a) and 3(b)(2) of
Executive Order 12988.
Takings Implication Assessment
In accordance with Executive Order 12630, this proposed rule,
authorized by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, does not have significant
takings implications and does not affect any constitutionally protected
property rights. This rule will not result in the physical occupancy of
property, the physical invasion of property, or the regulatory taking
of any property. In fact, these rules allow hunters to exercise
otherwise unavailable privileges and, therefore, reduce restrictions on
the use of private and public property.
Energy Effects--Executive Order 13211
On May 18, 2001, the President issued Executive Order 13211 on
regulations that significantly affect energy supply, distribution, and
use. Executive Order 13211 requires agencies to prepare Statements of
Energy Effects when undertaking certain actions. While this proposed
rule is a significant regulatory action under Executive Order 12866, it
is not expected to adversely affect energy supplies, distribution, or
use. Therefore, this action is not a significant energy action and no
Statement of Energy Effects is required.
Federalism Effects
Due to the migratory nature of certain species of birds, the
Federal Government has been given responsibility over these species by
the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. We annually prescribe frameworks from
which the States make selections regarding the hunting of migratory
birds, and we employ guidelines to establish special regulations on
Federal Indian reservations and ceded lands. This process preserves the
ability of the States and tribes to determine which seasons meet their
individual needs. Any State or Indian tribe may be more restrictive
than the Federal frameworks at any time. The frameworks are developed
in a cooperative process with the States and the Flyway Councils. This
process allows States to participate in the development of frameworks
from which they will make selections, thereby having an influence on
their own regulations. These rules do not have a substantial direct
effect on fiscal capacity, change the roles or responsibilities of
Federal or State governments, or intrude on State policy or
administration. Therefore, in accordance with Executive Order 13132,
these regulations do not have significant federalism effects and do not
have sufficient federalism implications to warrant the preparation of a
Federalism Assessment.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 20
Exports, Hunting, Imports, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Transportation, Wildlife.
The rules that eventually will be promulgated for the 2008-09
hunting season are authorized under 16 U.S.C. 703-712 and 16 U.S.C. 742
a-j.
Dated: June 10, 2008.
Mitchell Butler,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks.
[FR Doc. E8-13737 Filed 6-17-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P