[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 158 (Thursday, August 17, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56044-56046]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-17715]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R7-FAC-2023-0094; FF07CAAN00/234/FXFR133407AFWFP; OMB
Control Number 1018--New]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Yukon River Watershed
Ecosystem Action Plan
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we,
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are proposing a new
information collection.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before
October 16, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the information collection request
(ICR) by one of the following methods (please reference OMB Control No.
1018-Yukon River Clearinghouse in the subject line of your comment):
Internet (preferred): https://www.regulations.gov. Follow
the instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R7-FAC-2023-
0094.
Email: [email protected].
U.S. mail: Service Information Collection Clearance
Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: PRB
(JAO/3W); Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Madonna L. Baucum, Service Information
Collection Clearance Officer, by email at [email protected], or by
telephone at (703) 358-2503. Individuals in the United States who are
deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial
711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay
services. Individuals outside the United States should use the relay
services offered within their country to make international calls to
the point-of-contact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction
Act (PRA; 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) and its implementing regulations in
the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 5 CFR 1320, all information
collections require approval under the PRA. We may not conduct or
sponsor and you are not required to respond to a collection of
information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.
As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent
burdens, we invite the public and other Federal agencies to comment on
new, proposed, revised, and continuing collections of information. This
helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements
and minimize the public's reporting burden. It also helps the public
understand our information collection requirements and provide the
requested data in the desired format.
We are especially interested in public comment addressing the
following:
(1) Whether or not the collection of information is necessary for
the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including
whether or not the information will have practical utility;
(2) The accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this collection
of information, including the validity of the methodology and
assumptions used;
(3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and
(4) How might the agency minimize the burden of the collection of
information on those who are to respond, including through the use of
appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological
collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g.,
permitting electronic submission of response.
Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of
public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request
to OMB to approve this ICR. Before
[[Page 56045]]
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 us in your
comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public
review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Abstract: Under the authority of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination
Act (16 U.S.C. 661-666), the Service cooperates with Federal, State,
and public or private agencies and organizations in the development,
protection, rearing, and stocking of all species of fish and wildlife,
resources thereof, and their habitat, in controlling losses of the same
from disease or other causes, in minimizing damages from overabundant
species. In order to accomplish this purpose, the Service has the
authority to conduct surveys and investigations of the wildlife of the
public domain, including lands and waters or interests therein acquired
or controlled by any agency of the United States. This work will focus
on Yukon River Pacific Salmon, which is an interjurisdictional fish and
thus a Federal trust species of the public domain.
The Yukon River runs about 2,000 miles from its headwaters in
British Columbia to the Bering Sea, flowing through dozens of
communities and an international border along the way. Wild native
salmon have been a mainstay of the diet of local people since time
immemorial and are vital to supporting the health, culture, and economy
of rural communities in the Yukon Watershed today. Salmon stock
declines resulting in subsistence fishery closures are therefore of
grave concern; habitat alteration, climate change, and fishing are
likely contributing factors. The goal of this project is to prepare a
watershed ecosystem action plan (WEAP) that is directed by local
communities, informed by traditional ecological knowledge (TEK),
reviewed by experts, and catalyzes meaningful action.
The people of the Yukon River rely heavily on the watershed's
natural resources to feed their families and support their culture. The
Yukon River Drainage Fisheries Association (YRDFA) will consult
directly with Yukon River watershed communities and incorporate TEK to
complete a comprehensive assessment and prioritization of habitat
restoration needs, to be documented in a watershed-wide action plan.
This project will employ residents of the rural Yukon villages to carry
out this effort to the greatest extent possible. This project will take
place over a 5-year time period and will result in a WEAP that can be
used to understand and develop actions to address the ongoing crisis of
salmon declines.
The YRDFA plans to kick this project off by consulting with local
communities and TEK. On-the-ground assessments will also be completed
by local community members. The information collected will be used to
draft an action plan that prioritizes the known threats to the
watershed. The WEAP will identify specific restoration projects that
are likely to improve the health of the watershed. The Service's
Habitat Restoration Program will provide technical support to create
scopes of work and cost estimates for the highest priority projects
that are identified by the WEAP. The identification of specific, high-
priority projects with scoping and cost documents will allow project
partners to work with landowners to pursue funding from both public and
private sources to improve the health of the watershed.
We developed these surveys in consultation with the Yukon River
Drainage Fisheries Association, an organization created to conserve
Yukon salmon runs by giving a voice to the Alaska Native people who
have managed the resource for thousands of years; the Yukon River
Inter-Tribal Watershed Council, an Indigenous grassroots non-profit
organization, consisting of 73 First Nations and Tribes, dedicated to
the protection and preservation of the Yukon River watershed; and the
State of Alaska. This survey proposes to collect the following
information from community members who voluntarily attend community
meetings and Elders within the Alaska Native communities, to address
growing concerns about the health of the Yukon River watershed and to
generate a historical timeline of observed changes that affect Yukon
River salmon:
1. Community meeting surveys will ask for respondents to provide
their top three concerns for the health of the watershed, to
identify community organizations who are working on these concerns,
and to provide locations for their concerns, if appropriate. This
information will be used to identify actions that can be taken to
improve the health of the habitats in the watershed which support
Pacific Salmon and to partner with communities to address their
highest priority needs.
2. Using a qualitative semi-structured interview protocol, we
will ask respondents general questions about their background and
fishing experiences, followed by questions about their observations
of changes in the environment and in the salmon populations. The
protocol will continue with questions about their ways of knowing
when the salmon will arrive, how to predict salmon health and run
strength, and any concerns they may have. This information will be
used to generate a historical timeline of observed changes that may
affect salmon on the Yukon River.
In addition to participating in the interviews, respondents are
also requested to complete a consent form. The consent form provides
the respondent with the name and contact number for the project leads
and requests personally identifiable information (name, mailing
address, and phone number). This informed consent provides basic
information about the project includes the purpose of the research, the
funder, information about what we will do with the results, and the
fact that participation in the interview is voluntary and they can
participate anonymously.
The surveys will be conducted for a 5-year period, beginning in
2023. This project is funded by the Service, the State of Alaska, and
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. The information
produced through these interviews will be used to provide a holistic
and long-term understanding of Yukon River salmon, their environment,
and threats to their sustainability.
The public may request a copy of the proposed survey instrument,
interview protocol, and consent form in this information collection by
sending a request to the Service Information Collection Clearance
Officer (see ADDRESSES).
Title of Collection: Yukon River Watershed Ecosystem Action Plan.
OMB Control Number: 1018--New.
Form Number: None.
Type of Review: New.
Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals/households.
Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
Frequency of Collection: On occasion.
Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: None.
[[Page 56046]]
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Average Number of
Collection type/form number Number of number of annual Average time per response Total annual
respondents responses each responses burden hours *
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Yukon Watershed TEK Interviews
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Individuals.................................... 140 1 140 1 hour................................. 140
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Yukon Watershed Community Survey
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Individuals.................................... 280 1 280 .25 hour............................... 70
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Totals..................................... 420 .............. 420 ....................................... 210
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An 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.
The authority for this action is the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
Madonna Baucum,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-17715 Filed 8-16-23; 8:45 am]
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