[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 17 (Tuesday, January 27, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4301-4303]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-01341]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-HQ-MB-2015-N019; FXMB37660900000-14X-FF09M12000]
Information Collection Request Sent to the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) for Approval; Migratory Birds and Wetlands
Conservation Grant Programs
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 January 31, 2015. 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 February 26, 2015.
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_Submission@omb.eop.gov
(email). Please provide a copy of your comments to the Information
Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS BPHC,
5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803 (mail), or
hope_grey@fws.gov (email). Please include ``1018-0100'' in the subject
line of your comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information
about this ICR, contact Hope Grey at hope_grey@fws.gov (email) or 703-
358-2482 (telephone). 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:
Information Collection Request
OMB Control Number: 1018-0100.
Title: Migratory Birds and Wetlands Conservation Grant Programs.
Service Form Number(s): None.
Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Description of Respondents: Domestic and foreign individuals,
businesses, and other for-profit organizations; educational
organizations; not-for-profit institutions; and Federal, State, tribal
and local governments
Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.
Frequency of Collection: On occasion.
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Completion
Number of Number of time per Total annual
Activity respondents responses response burden hours
(hours)
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NAWCA Small Grants--Applications................ 71 71 40 2,840
[[Page 4302]]
NAWCA Small Grants--Reports..................... 99 99 33 3,267
NAWCA U.S. Standard Grants--Applications........ 69 69 203 14,007
NAWCA Canadian and Mexican Standard Grants-- 27 27 80 2,160
Applications...................................
NAWCA Standard Grants--Reports.................. 177 177 30 5,310
NMBCA Grant Applications........................ 84 84 60 5,040
NMBCA Reports................................... 71 71 40 2,840
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Totals...................................... 598 598 .............. 35,464
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Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: None.
Abstract: The Division of Bird Habitat Conservation administers
grant programs associated with the North American Wetlands Conservation
Act (NAWCA), Public Law 101-233, and the Neotropical Migratory Bird
Conservation Act (NMBCA), Public Law 106-247.
North American Wetlands Conservation Act Grants
NAWCA provides matching grants to organizations and individuals who
have developed partnerships to carry out wetlands conservation projects
in the United States, Canada, and Mexico for the benefit of wetlands-
associated migratory birds and other wildlife. There is a Standard and
a Small Grants Program. Both are competitive grants programs and
require that grant requests be matched by partner contributions at no
less than a 1-to-1 ratio. Funds from U.S. Federal sources may
contribute to a project, but are not eligible as a match.
The Standard Grants Program supports projects in Canada, the United
States, and Mexico that involve long-term protection, restoration, and
enhancement of wetlands and associated uplands habitats. In Mexico,
partners may also conduct projects involving technical training,
environmental education and outreach, organizational infrastructure
development, and sustainable-use studies.
The Small Grants Program operates only in the United States. It
supports the same types of projects and adheres to the same selection
criteria and administrative guidelines as the U.S. Standard Grants
Program. However, project activities are usually smaller in scope and
involve fewer project dollars. Grant requests may not exceed $75,000,
and funding priority is given to grantees or partners new to the NAWCA
Grants Program.
We publish notices of funding availability on Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov), as well as in the Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance (https://www.cfda.gov). To compete for grant funds,
partnerships submit applications that describe in substantial detail
project locations, project resources, future benefits, and other
characteristics that meet the standards established by the North
American Wetlands Conservation Council and the requirements of NAWCA.
Materials that describe the program and assist applicants in
formulating project proposals are available on our Web site at http://www.fws.gov/birdhabitat/Grants/NAWCA. Persons who do not have access to
the Internet may obtain instructional materials by mail. We have not
made any major changes in the scope and general nature of the
instructions since OMB first approved the information collection in
1999.
Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act
NMBCA establishes a matching grant program to fund projects that
promote the long-term conservation of neotropical migratory birds and
their habitats in the United States, Canada, Latin America, and the
Caribbean. Principal conservation actions supported are:
Protection and management of populations.
Maintenance, management, protection, and restoration of
habitat.
Research and monitoring.
Law enforcement.
Community outreach and education.
We publish notices of funding availability on Grants.gov as well as
in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. To compete for grant
funds, partnerships submit applications that describe in substantial
detail project locations, project resources, future benefits, and other
characteristics that meet the standards established by the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service and the requirements of NMBCA.
Materials that describe the program and assist applicants in
formulating project proposals for consideration are available on our
Web site at http://www.fws.gov/birdhabitat/Grants/NMBCA. Persons who do
not have access to the Internet may obtain instructional materials by
mail. We have not made any major changes in the scope and general
nature of the instructions since OMB first approved the information
collection in 2002.
Comments Received and Our Responses
Comments: On October 22, 2014, we published in the Federal Register
(79 FR 63159) a notice of our intent to request that OMB renew approval
for this information collection. In that notice, we solicited comments
for 60 days, ending on December 22, 2014. We received one comment. The
commenter objected to the grant programs, but did not address the
information collection requirements. We have not made any changes to
the information collection.
Request for Public Comments
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, email
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.
[[Page 4303]]
Dated: January 21, 2015.
Tina A. Campbell,
Chief, Division of Policy and Directives Management, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-01341 Filed 1-26-15; 8:45 am]
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