[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 15, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3023-3024]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-00654]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-HQ-NWRS-2012-0092; FXRS 84510900000-134-FF09R20000]
RIN 1018-AY36
Draft Policy on Donations, Fundraising, and Solicitation
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) proposes to
establish a policy that covers Service procedures for accepting, using,
and recognizing donations. This draft donations policy is an extension
of the Department of the Interior's guidance on donations, found in the
Departmental Manual (DM) at 374 DM 6. It focuses on the ethical
considerations of all types of donations, as opposed to our Fish and
Wildlife Service Manual (FW) guidance, 342 FW 5, Non-Purchase
Acquisition, which covers the acquisition of real property rights by
methods other than purchase, including donation.
If finalized, this draft policy would establish procedures for
reviewing and evaluating potential donors and donations. It lists
delegations of authority for accepting donations and the roles and
responsibilities of the Service's Donations Senior Manager and
employees authorized to accept donations. It provides guidance on
soliciting donations, where appropriate, and provides general guidance
on fundraising by non-Federal entities on the Service's behalf. It also
covers recognition of donors.
We propose to incorporate this draft policy as 212 FW 8 in the Fish
and Wildlife Service Manual (http://www.fws.gov/policy/manuals/).
DATES: To ensure consideration, please send your written comments by
February 14, 2013.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this draft policy by any of the
following methods:
Electronically: Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal:
http://www.regulations.gov. Search for FWS-HQ-NWRS-2012-0092, which is
the docket number for this notice. You may submit a comment by clicking
on ``Comment Now!''
By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail or hand-delivery to:
Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-HQ-NWRS-2012-0092; Division of
Policy and Directives Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401
N. Fairfax Drive, MS 2024-PDM; Arlington, VA 22203.
[[Page 3024]]
We will not accept email 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 Request for Public Comments
under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for more information).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Janet Bruner, 703-358-1713.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The draft guidance document that is the
subject of this notice is available at www.fws.gov/refuges/donations.
Background
The Department of the Interior issued ``ETHICS AND CONDUCT,
Employee Responsibilities and Conduct, Donations'' (374 DM 6), in 2007.
This guidance requires all Interior bureaus to develop their own policy
on donations.
Several authorities allow various types of donations, including
real and personal property, services, and money. These include the Fish
and Wildlife Coordination Act (16 U.S.C. 661 et seq.), which allows
acceptance of funds or lands, pending State approval. A later amendment
to the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 742f) allows the
Service to accept real and personal property donations. Other
authorities cited in this draft donations policy include the
Partnerships for Wildlife Act (16 U.S.C. 3741); Alaska National
Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3101); Migratory Bird
Conservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 715-715r); National Wildlife
Refuge System Volunteer and Community Partnership Enhancement Act of
1998, as amended (16 U.S.C. 742f); Great Lakes Fisheries Act of 1956
(16 U.S.C 932); and the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration
Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd(b)(2)).
In addition to those broader authorities, individual units of the
National Wildlife Refuge System or the National Fish Hatchery System
may have specific legislative authority to accept donations. This draft
donations policy is in keeping with statutory requirements as well as
with the aforementioned Departmental guidance, 374 DM 6.
Draft Policy
We recognize the value of donations, but also the potential
problems with accepting them. This draft policy covers the ethical
considerations for donations, fundraising, and solicitation. While
donations can be a means to further our mission, not all donations are
appropriate. This draft policy provides consistent procedures for
evaluating potential donors and donations to determine if acceptance is
appropriate. The policy also helps the reader determine who has
authority to accept appropriate donations. That authority depends on
the type (real property or non-real property) and the monetary value of
the donation.
This draft policy also covers soliciting donations and fundraising.
Those activities are primarily done by Friends groups, groups of
volunteers who support specific refuges. Requirements for solicitation
of donations by Friends groups are covered in existing Service Manual
chapters 150 FW 1-3. The draft donations policy we are putting out for
comment now will list the limited circumstances when Service employees
may solicit donations. It will describe inappropriate fundraising
activities and also mention grant applications and acceptance.
Recognizing donors is very important. This draft policy also
contains information on that, including a template for a thank-you
letter.
Request for Public Comments
You may submit comment and materials on this notice by any of the
methods listed in the ADDRESSES section. We will not accept comments
sent by email or fax or to an address not listed in the ADDRESSES
section. 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 on http://www.regulations.gov.
Before including personal identifying information in your comment, you
should be aware that we may make your entire comment--including your
personal identifying information--publicly available at any time. While
you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so. We will post all hardcopy comments on http://www.regulations.gov.
Dated: December 21, 2012.
Daniel M. Ashe,
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-00654 Filed 1-14-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P