[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 25 (Monday, February 7, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6629-6631]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-2541]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R9-MB-2010-N022; 91200-1231-00WH-M3]
Information Collection Sent to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) for Approval; OMB Control No. 1018-0023, Migratory Bird
Surveys
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) have sent an Information
Collection Request (ICR) to OMB for review and approval. We summarize
the ICR below and describe the nature of the collection and the
estimated burden and cost. This information collection is scheduled to
expire on February 28, 2011. We 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. However, under OMB
regulations, we may continue to conduct or sponsor this information
collection while it is pending at OMB.
DATES: You must submit comments on or before March 9, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Send your comments and suggestions on this information
collection to the Desk Officer for the Department of the Interior at
OMB-OIRA at (202) 395-5806 (fax) or OIRA_DOCKET@OMB.eop.gov (e-mail).
Please provide a copy of your comments to the Service Information
Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS 222-
ARLSQ, 4401
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North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203 (mail), or INFOCOL@fws.gov (e-
mail). Please include 1018-0023 in the subject line of your comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information
about this ICR, contact Khristi Wilkins at (301) 497-5557 (telephone)
or Khristi_A_Wilkins@fws.gov (e-mail). You may review the ICR online
at http://www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to review
Department of the Interior collections under review by OMB.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
OMB Control Number: 1018-0023.
Title: Migratory Bird Surveys.
Service Form Number(s): 3-165, 3-165A--E, and 3-2056J--N.
Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Description of Respondents: States and migratory game bird hunters.
Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
Frequency of Collection: Annually or on occasion.
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Number of Number of Completion time per Total annual
Activity respondents responses response burden hours
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Migratory Bird Harvest Information 49 686 185 hours.................. 126,910
Program.
Migratory Bird Hunter Survey:
Form 3-2056J................... 37,100 37,100 5 minutes.................. 3,092
Form 3-2056K................... 23,100 23,100 4 minutes.................. 1,540
Form 3-2056L................... 11,700 11,700 4 minutes.................. 780
Form 3-2056M................... 12,300 12,300 3 minutes.................. 615
Parts Collection Survey:
Form 3-165..................... 6,500 117,000 5 minutes.................. 9,750
Form 3-165A.................... 6,000 6,000 1 minute................... 100
Form 3-165B.................... 3,000 4,500 5 minutes.................. 375
Form 3-165C.................... 400 400 1 minute................... 7
Form 3-165D.................... 2,600 2,600 1 minute................... 43
Form 3-165E.................... 2,600 3,900 5 minutes.................. 325
Sandhill Crane Harvest Survey:
Form 3-2056N................... 8,300 8,300 3.5 minutes................ 484
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Total...................... 113,649 227,586 ........................... 144,021
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Abstract: The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703-711) and the
Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 742d) designate the Department
of the Interior as the key agency responsible for (1) the wise
management of migratory bird populations frequenting the United States,
and (2) setting hunting regulations that allow appropriate harvests
that are within the guidelines that will allow for those populations'
well-being. These responsibilities dictate that we gather accurate data
on various characteristics of migratory bird harvest. Based on
information from harvest surveys, we can adjust hunting regulations as
needed to optimize harvests at levels that provide a maximum of hunting
recreation while keeping populations at desired levels.
Under the Migratory Bird Harvest Program, State licensing
authorities collect the name and address information needed to provide
a sample frame of all licensed migratory bird hunters. Since Federal
regulations require that the States collect this information, we are
including the associated burden in our approval request to OMB.
The Migratory Bird Hunter Survey is based on the Migratory Bird
Harvest Information Program, under which each State annually provides a
list of all migratory bird hunters in the State. We randomly select
migratory bird hunters and ask them to report their harvest. The
resulting estimates of harvest per hunter are combined with the
complete list of migratory bird hunters to provide estimates of the
total harvest for the species surveyed.
The Parts Collection Survey estimates the species, sex, and age
composition of the harvest, and the geographic and temporal
distribution of the harvest. Randomly selected successful hunters who
responded to the Migratory Bird Hunter Survey the previous year are
asked to complete and return a postcard if they are willing to
participate in the Parts Collection Survey. We provide postage-paid
envelopes to respondents before the hunting season and ask them to send
in a wing or the tail feathers from each duck or goose they harvest, or
a wing from each mourning dove, woodcock, band-tailed pigeon, snipe,
rail, or gallinule they harvest. We use the wings and tail feathers to
identify the species, sex, and age of the harvested sample. We also ask
respondents to report on the envelope the date and location of harvest
for each bird. We combine the results of this survey with the harvest
estimates obtained from the Migratory Bird Hunter Survey to provide
species-specific national harvest estimates.
The combined results of these surveys enable us to evaluate the
effects of season length, season dates, and bag limits on the harvest
of each species, and thus help us determine appropriate hunting
regulations.
The Sandhill Crane Harvest Survey is an annual questionnaire survey
of people who obtained a sandhill crane hunting permit. At the end of
the hunting season, we randomly select a sample of permit holders and
ask them to report the date, location, and number of birds harvested
for each of their sandhill crane hunts. Their responses provide
estimates of the temporal and geographic distribution of the harvest as
well as the average harvest per hunter, which, combined with the total
number of permits issued, enables us to estimate the total harvest of
sandhill cranes. Based on information from this survey, we adjust
hunting regulations as needed.
Comments: On June 18, 2010, we published in the Federal Register
(75 FR 34758) a notice of our intent to request that OMB renew this
ICR. In that notice, we solicited comments for 60 days, ending on
August 17, 2010. We received one comment. The commenter did not address
the information collection requirements, but did express opposition to
hunting and to the surveys. Our long-term objectives continue to
include providing opportunities to harvest portions of certain
migratory game bird populations and limit harvest to levels compatible
with each population's ability to maintain healthy, viable numbers. Our
harvest surveys are an integral part of our monitoring programs, which
provide the information that we need to
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ensure harvest levels are commensurate with the current status of
migratory game bird populations and long-term population goals. We did
not make any changes to the information collection.
We again invite comments concerning this information collection on:
Whether or not the collection of information is necessary,
including whether or not the information will have practical utility;
The accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this
collection of information;
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 respondents.
Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of
public record. Before including your address, phone number, e-mail
address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you
should be aware that your entire comment, including your personal
identifying information, may be made publicly available at any time.
While you can ask OMB in your comment to withhold your personal
identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that it
will be done.
Dated: January 31, 2011.
Tina A. Campbell,
Chief, Division of Policy and Directives Management, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-2541 Filed 2-4-11; 8:45 am]
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