[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 39 (Thursday, February 27, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11121-11122]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-04319]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-HQ-MB-2014-N034: FF09M21200-134-FXMB1231099BPP0]
Information Collection Request Sent to the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) for Approval; Federal Fish and Wildlife Permit
Applications and Reports--Migratory Birds and Eagles
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 February 28, 2014. 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 March 31, 2014.
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 Service
Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, MS 2042-PDM, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203
(mail), or hope_grey@fws.gov (email). Please include ``1018-0022'' 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: 1018-0022.
Title: Federal Fish and Wildlife License/Permit Applications and
Reports, Migratory Birds and Eagles, 50 CFR 10, 13, 21, and 22.
Service Form Numbers: 3-200-6 through 3-200-9, 3-200-10a through 3-
200-10f, 3-200-12 through 3-200-16, 3-200-18, 3-200-67, 3-200-68, 3-
200-71, 3-200-72, 3-200-77, 3-200-78, 3-200-79, 3-200-81, 3-200-82, 3-
202-1 through 3-202-17, 3-186, and 3-186A.
Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Description of Respondents: Individuals; zoological parks; museums;
universities; scientists; taxidermists; businesses; utilities; and
Federal, State, tribal, and local governments.
Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.
Frequency of Collection: On occasion for applications; annually or
on occasion for reports.
Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 61,623.
Estimated Completion Time per Response: Varies from 15 minutes to
452 hours, depending on activity.
Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 106,661.
Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: $1,520,525 for permit
application fees.
Abstract: Our Regional Migratory Bird Permit Offices use
information that we collect on permit applications to determine the
eligibility of applicants for permits requested in accordance with the
criteria in various Federal wildlife conservation laws and
international treaties, including:
(1) Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703 et seq.).
(2) Lacey Act (16 U.S.C. 3371 et seq.).
(3) Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 668).
Service regulations implementing these statutes and treaties are in
chapter I, subchapter B of title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations
(CFR). These regulations stipulate general and specific requirements
that, when met, allow us to issue permits to authorize activities that
are otherwise prohibited.
All Service permit applications are in the 3-200 series of forms,
each tailored to a specific activity based on the requirements for
specific types of permits. We collect standard identifier information
for all permits. The information that we collect on applications and
reports is the minimum necessary for us to determine if the applicant
meets/continues to meet issuance requirements for the particular
activity.
This ICR also includes the burden for permit applications and
report forms for long-term eagle take permits that is currently
approved under OMB Control Number 1018-0151. Once OMB takes action on
this IC, we will discontinue OMB Control No. 1018-0151.
Comments Received and Our Responses
On November 13, 2013, we published in the Federal Register (78 FR
68086) 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 January 13, 2014. We received one comment from the
American Bird Conservancy (ABC).
The commenter stressed that while ``there are ways that the
quality, utility and clarity of the information to be collected can be
enhanced and ways that a system can be streamlined to minimize burden
of the collection of information on respondents. . .,'' he emphasized
that ``the minimum amount of information to be collected must allow the
USFWS to make a valid determination that the proposed action is
permissible under the law. Information regarding impact on wild
populations, proposed use of the specimens, and explanations of
necessary mitigation/compensation, when required are thus critical for
allowing the USFWS to do its important job of protecting our public
trust resources for the benefit of all.''
We appreciate ABC's comments because they recognize the importance
of collecting sufficient information from applicants and permittees to
ensure that the applicant qualifies for the permit, that issuance of
the permit meets
[[Page 11122]]
issuance criteria, and that report information is sufficient to allow
both enforcement of the permits, and, particularly where wild birds are
concerned, that the report information collected contributes to our
knowledge of the impacts of utilities and other entities on migratory
birds, including eagles.
A significant change we are making is to convert the report form
for Special Purpose Utility permits (3-202-17) from paper to electronic
format. These permits allow utilities such as electric, wind, and solar
companies to collect birds found dead on their property. The data will
be housed in the Avian Injury/Mortality Reporting System (AIMRS). Our
goal is to make reporting more convenient for permittees, but
electronic submission will be particularly beneficial for the Service,
because it will make the data accessible for analysis without staff
having to enter it manually. This will make the data on this important
source of mortality readily available to biologists who are monitoring
the impacts of incidental take and working with industry to identify
best practices to reduce those impacts.
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.
Availability of Public Comments
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.
Dated: February 24, 2014.
Tina A. Campbell,
Chief, Division of Policy and Directives Management, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-04319 Filed 2-26-14; 8:45 am]
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