[Federal Register: March 3, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 41)]

[Notices]               

[Page 10024-10026]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr03mr03-77]                         



=======================================================================

-----------------------------------------------------------------------



DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR



Fish and Wildlife Service



 

Information Collection To Be Submitted to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for Approval Under the Paperwork Reduction 

Act; Alaska Subsistence Household Survey



AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.



ACTION: Notice; request for comments.



-----------------------------------------------------------------------



SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will submit the collection 

of information listed below to OMB for approval under the provisions of 

the Paperwork Reduction Act. A copy of the information collection 

requirement is included in this notice. If you wish to obtain copies of 

the proposed information collection requirement, related forms, and 

explanatory material, contact the Service Information Collection 

Officer at the address listed below.



DATES: Submit comments on or before May 2, 2003.



ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the requirement to Anissa Craghead, 

Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service, MS 222-ARLSQ, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203.



FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request a copy of the information 

collection request, explanatory information, and related forms, contact 

Anissa Craghead by phone at (703) 358-2445 or by e-mail at anissa--

craghead@fws.gov.



SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 

regulations at 5 CFR 1320, which implement provisions of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), require that interested 

parties and affected agencies have an opportunity to comment on 

information collection and recordkeeping activities (see CFR 

1320.8(d)). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (we, or the Service) 

plans to submit a request to OMB for approval of a collection of 

information related to the subsistence migratory bird harvest in 

Alaska. We a requesting a 3-year term of approval for this collection 

activity.

    Federal agencies 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 Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703-712) 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 the management of migratory 

bird populations frequenting the United States and for the setting of 

harvest regulations that allow for the conservation of those 

populations. These responsibilities include gathering accurate 

geographical and temporal data on various characteristics of migratory 

bird harvest. We use that data to promulgate harvest regulations. 

Annually, we adjust harvest regulations as needed to provide a maximum 

of subsistence harvest opportunity while keeping migratory bird 

populations at desired levels.

    The Migratory Bird Treaty Act Protocol Amendment (1995) (Amendment) 

provides for the customary and traditional use of migratory birds and 

their eggs for subsistence use by indigenous inhabitants of Alaska. The 

Amendment, however, states that it is not the intent of the Amendment 

to cause significant increases in the take of species of migratory 

birds relative to their continental population sizes. A May 20, 1996, 

letter of submittal from the Department of State to the White House, 

which officially accompanied the Amendment, specifies the need for 

harvest monitoring and states that harvest estimates will be collected 

cooperatively by the Service, the State



[[Page 10025]]



Department of Fish and Game, and Native organizations within the 

subsistence eligible areas. Harvest survey data help ensure that 

customary and traditional use of migratory birds and their eggs for 

subsistence use by indigenous inhabitants of Alaska does not 

significantly increase the take of species of migratory birds relative 

to their continental population sizes.

    We have monitored the subsistence harvest in Alaska for the past 14 

years through the use of annual household surveys in the most heavily 

used subsistence harvest areas (e.g., Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta). 

Continuation of this monitoring would enable tracking of any 

significant changes or trends in levels of harvest and user 

participation after legalization of the harvest. The harvest survey 

method and forms that we used to collect information were not approved 

by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). We are initiating the 

process to request OMB approval of these forms through this publication 

and to request public comment on this information collection. We will 

not conduct or sponsor any surveys until we obtain OMB approval of this 

information collection.

    This collection helped, and would help, us gather information on 

the annual subsistence harvests of 49 species of birds, including 

geese, ducks, swans, cranes, loons, seabirds, shorebirds, and upland 

game birds. The survey was, and would be, conducted by local village 

resident surveyors in the subsistence-eligible areas of Alaska, under 

the guidance of Service employees and contractors (such as native 

organizations and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game). The local 

village surveyors annually provided, and would provide, us lists of all 

households in each village. Randomly selected households then received, 

and would receive, survey forms from the village surveyor. The 

household either completed, and would complete, the form independently, 

or the village surveyor helped, and would help, the household complete 

the form. Forms were then, and would be, turned in to us. The resulting 

estimates of harvest per household were, and would be, combined with 

the complete list of households in the subsistence-eligible areas to 

provide estimates of the total annual harvest of the 49 species of 

birds.

    We used, and would use, four forms to collect this information. 

They are described below.

    Title: List of All Occupied Households, with Hunting Category 

Noted.

    Approval Number: 1018-xxxx.

    Form number: 7-FW-100.

    Frequency of Collection: Once per year.

    Description of Respondents: Local village surveyors.

    Total Annual Responses: 188. We estimate one form for each of the 

188 communities, which amounts to 188 forms annually.

    Total Annual Burden Hours: 433 hours. We estimate the reporting 

burden at one minute for each of the total 26,000 households in 188 

communities, or 433 hours total.



    Note: This form is maintained by the local village surveyor. 

This form does not record, nor is it arranged or retrieved, by 

personal identifier.



    Title: Households Separated by Hunting Category.

    Approval Number: 1018-xxxx.

    Form number: 7-FW-101.

    Frequency of Collection: Once per year.

    Description of Respondents: Local village surveyors.

    Total Annual Responses: 188. We estimate one form for each of the 

188 communities, which amounts to 188 forms annually.

    Total Annual Burden Hours: 94 hours. We estimate it takes each 

surveyor an average of one-half hour to transfer the information from 

Form 7-FW-100 to Form 7-FW-101. With an estimated 188 surveyors in up 

to 188 communities, we estimate 94 hours total annual burden.



    Note: The local village surveyor provides this form to us. This 

form does not record, nor is it arranged or retrieved, by personal 

identifier.



    Title: Permission Slip for Participation in the Survey.

    Approval Number: 1018-xxxx.

    Form number: 7-FW-102.

    Frequency of Collection: Once per year.

    Description of Respondents: Households within the subsistence 

eligible areas of Alaska (Alaska Peninsula, Kodiak Archipelago, the 

Aleutian Islands, or in areas north and west of the Alaska Range (50 

CFR part 92.5)).

    Total Annual Responses: 16,000. We estimate up to 13,000 of the 

approximately 26,000 households in the subsistence eligible areas, will 

participate in the survey. Up to 16,000 households will have to be 

asked permission in order to get a sample size of 13,000 households.

    Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,333 hours. It will take the surveyor 

an average of 5 minutes per household to determine whether or not that 

household agrees to participate in the subsistence harvest survey. With 

an estimated 16,000 households responding to the permission slip, this 

amounts to 1,333 hours total annual burden.



    Note: This form is maintained by the local village surveyor. The 

surveyor asks each household if that household will participate in 

the subsistence harvest survey. The surveyor then notes a ``yes'' or 

a ``no'' on a permission slip. Each household with a ``yes'' 

permission slip is given a survey form (described below). This form 

does not record, nor is it arranged or retrieved, by personal 

identifier.



    Title: Migratory Bird Subsistence Harvest Household Survey.

    Approval Number: 1018-xxxx.

    Form number: 7-FW-103.

    Frequency of Collection: Three times per year--spring, summer, and 

fall.

    Description of Respondents: Households within the subsistence 

eligible areas of Alaska (Alaska Peninsula, Kodiak Archipelago, the 

Aleutian Islands, or in areas north and west of the Alaska Range (50 

CFR part 92.5)).

    Total Annual Responses: 13,000. We estimate up to 13,000 of the 

approximately 26,000 households in the subsistence eligible areas will 

participate in the survey.

    Total Annual Burden Hours: 3,250 hours. We estimate the reporting 

burden to average 5 minutes per respondent for the Migratory Bird 

Subsistence Harvest Household Survey. With an estimated 13,000 

respondents filling out the form three times annually, the annual 

burden hours total 3,250 hours.



    Note: The local village surveyor provides completed survey forms 

to us. The survey form consists of three pages, one page each for 

spring, summer, and fall. Each page has 51 bird illustrations, with 

spaces beside each illustration to mark down numbers of birds and 

eggs taken. This form does not record, nor is it arranged or 

retrieved, by personal identifier; the household number is written 

on each page of the survey form, along with a village number. The 

results of this annual survey help us understand the effect of 

subsistence hunting on migratory bird populations, while also 

evaluating the effects of newly established spring/summer season 

dates, species closures, and methods and means prohibitions.



    We invite comments on this proposed information collection on the 

following: (1) Whether the collection of information is necessary for 

the proper performance of the function of the agency, including whether 

the information will have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of our 

estimate of the burden of the collection of information; (3) ways to 

enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be



[[Page 10026]]



collected; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection on 

respondents.



    Dated: February 24, 2003.

Anissa Craghead,

Information Collection Officer, Fish and Wildlife Service.

[FR Doc. 03-4876 Filed 2-28-03; 8:45 am]



BILLING CODE 4310-55-P