[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 49 (Tuesday, March 12, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17868-17869]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-05185]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-HQ-JAO-2024-0029; FXGO16621010070-245-FF10G13100; OMB
Control Number 1018-New]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Improving Our
Understanding of How Trout Anglers Differ in Their Valuations Between
Wild and Hatchery Trout
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
May 13, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the information collection request
(ICR) by one of the following methods (please reference ``1018-Trout
Angler Survey'' in the subject line of your comments):
Internet (preferred): https://www.regulations.gov. Follow
the instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-HQ-JAO-2024-
0029.
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: To request additional information
about this ICR, 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 at 5
CFR 1320.8(d)(1), 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 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: The Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 742(a)-754)
establishes a comprehensive national fish and wildlife policy and
authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to take steps required for the
development, management, advancement, conservation, and protection of
fisheries resources and wildlife resources through research,
acquisition of refuge lands, development of existing facilities, and
other means. The Service, working with others, is responsible for
conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish and wildlife and their
habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people through
Federal programs relating to migratory birds, endangered species,
interjurisdictional fish and marine mammals, and inland sport
fisheries.
Pursuant to this mission, the Service acts as a trustee for injured
natural resources when oil or hazardous substances are spilled or
released into the environment. Through data collected, scientific
assessment techniques, and extrapolated through economic analyses,
trustees seek to identify the natural resources injured from oil or
hazardous substances, determine the extent of the injuries, recover
damages from those responsible, and plan and carry out restoration
activities. The primary benefit of the Service's Natural Resource
Damage Assessment and Response (NRDAR) program is to achieve
restoration of injured resources for the benefit of the American
people, and at no cost. This program seeks compensation from
responsible parties to restore natural resources for all and allows all
Americans to enjoy clean and safe public rivers and lands.
One aspect of the NRDAR program relates to releases of oil or
hazardous substances that result in the loss of wild trout populations.
When wild trout populations are killed or injured during a release
event, one remedy includes using hatchery trout to replace wild trout
populations. The potential problem with this approach is that there is
substantial anecdotal evidence that trout anglers view and value
catching wild trout and hatchery trout differently. If anglers value
wild trout lost in a spill or release more highly than hatchery trout,
then they may not have been made fully whole by a restoration action
that substitutes hatchery trout for wild trout.\1\ An examination of
existing trout angler valuation studies found that, in the
[[Page 17869]]
majority of cases, no attempt was made to distinguish between angler
values associated with fishing for hatchery vs. wild trout. This
collection proposes a random survey of licensed anglers designed to
elicit data sufficient to estimate any differences in preferences and
values associated with fishing for wild vs. hatchery trout. The data
generated through the proposed information collection will provide
theoretically sound and statistically defensible estimates of angler
experience values for use in gauging required compensation levels for
lost or injured trout resources. For the current collection, State-
licensed angler populations from three States are included, focusing on
three distinct trout fishing regions of the United States.
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\1\ Department of the Interior regulations at 43 CFR 11.83 state
that trustees may recover the replacement and/or acquisition of
equivalent natural resources capable of providing such services (as
injured) along with the compensable value of the services lost to
the public through the completion of the baseline restoration,
rehabilitation, replacement, and/or acquisition of equivalent
natural resources.
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Legal and administrative justifications for this collection can be
found under 43 CFR part 11, Natural Resource Damage Assessments,
through the authority of the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act, as amended, (CERCLA; 42 U.S.C. 9601 et
seq.), and the Clean Water Act (CWA; 33 U.S.C. 1251-1376), which gives
Federal agencies authority to assess damages to natural resources
resulting from a release of a hazardous substance or a discharge of oil
covered under CERCLA or the CWA and to seek recovery for those damages.
The proposed collection and subsequent analysis will be used by the
Service and other NRDAR trustees to improve methods used to properly
compensate trout anglers for fishery injuries. The surveys will be
designed to support the estimation of the appropriate ``compensation
ratio'' between lost wild trout and hatchery trout used in restoration
activities. This information will be used specifically by economists
and other analysts tasked with assessing damages and scaling
restoration activities.
Further, while the primary goal of the collection is limited to
estimating the appropriate compensation ratio between wild and hatchery
trout, valuation data will also be collected to allow further
refinement of this ratio by area of the Nation, type of water fished,
type of fishing gear used, and consumptive vs. catch-and-release
fishing, to allow results to be applied in future NRDAR cases across
different geographies and demographics.
This study includes a repeat contact mail-back/electronic survey of
a random sample of licensed anglers drawn from three representative
U.S. States (yet to be determined). We plan to contact a total of 3,000
licensed anglers (1,000/State). Based on previous survey efforts using
similar methods, we expect an average response rate of 40 percent
across the 3 States, yielding 1,200 completed responses. The total
burden for this one-time collection is estimated to be 300 hours.
Mail/Online Follow-up Visitor Survey: The current collection
benefits from and builds on a successful Minnesota (MN) 2021 survey
instrument \2\ which incorporated a very similar structure, length, and
willingness to pay elicitation question format. This MN random
household mail survey was anticipated to have a 14-to-16 percent
response rate--typical for this type of unsolicited random household
survey. The final response rate for the MN survey was 21 percent, which
was considered very good given the methodology and protocol used. This
response rate also reflects the interest the general public has in the
subject matter. For the Service's mail-back/internet surveys, the
population (licensed anglers being asked about fishing) is much more
targeted and engaged than the population for general random household
surveys. The potential respondents are already engaged in the activity
being surveyed, and, based on previous National Park Service (NPS)
research that the project team has been involved in, are predisposed to
cooperate with the survey effort. For this reason and based on the NPS
visitor Socioeconomic Monitoring Program (SEM) mail-back response
rates, it is anticipated that response rates for the Service's mail-
back/online survey will be 40 percent. Assuming a 40 percent response
rate (n=1,200; 400/State) with a completion time of 15 minutes, the
mail-back/online survey will result in a total burden of 300 hours.
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\2\ The Minnesota survey and associated report were prepared
for: Western Transportation Institute, College of Engineering,
Montana State University and Nevada Department of Transportation
NAS-NRC, for the following larger project: Wildlife Vehicle
Collision (WVC) Reduction and Habitat Connectivity Task 1--Cost
Effective Solutions Transportation Pooled-Fund Project TPF-5(358)
(Administered by: Nevada Department of Transportation).
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Title of Collection: Improving Our Understanding of How Trout
Anglers Differ in Their Valuations Between Wild and Hatchery Trout.
OMB Control Number: 1018-New.
Form Number: None.
Type of Review: New.
Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals/households (licensed
anglers drawn from three representative U.S. States).
Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 1,200 (400
respondents from 3 States).
Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 1,200.
Estimated Completion Time per Response: 15 minutes.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 300.
Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
Frequency of Collection: One time.
Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: None.
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. 2024-05185 Filed 3-11-24; 8:45 am]
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