[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 75 (Friday, April 17, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 021448-2145]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-08121]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-HQ-ES-2019-N164; FF09E41000 190 FXES111609C0000; OMB Control
Number 1018-New]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Policy
Regarding Voluntary Prelisting Conservation Actions
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 in use without an OMB Control Number.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before
May 18, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments on this information collection request
to the Office of Management and Budget's Desk Officer for the
Department of the Interior by email at OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov; or
via facsimile to (202) 395-5806. Please provide a copy of your comments
to the Service Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, MS: PRB (JAO/3W), 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church,
VA 22041-3803 (mail); or by email to Info_Coll@fws.gov. Please
reference OMB Control Number ``1018-VPCA'' in the subject line of your
comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Madonna L. Baucum, Service Information
Collection Clearance Officer, by email at Info_Coll@fws.gov, or by
telephone at (703) 358-2503. You may also view the ICR at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995 and 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), we provide the general public and
other Federal agencies with an opportunity 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.
On August 9, 2019, we published in the Federal Register (84 FR
39362) a notice of our intent to request that OMB approve this
information collection. In that notice, we solicited comments for 60
days, ending on October 8, 2019. We did not receive any comments in
response to that notice.
As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent
burdens, we are again soliciting comments from the public and other
Federal agencies on the proposed ICR that is described below. 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. Before including your address, phone number, email
address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you
should be aware that your that your entire comment--including your
personal identifying information--may be publicly available at any
time. While you can ask us in your comment to
[[Page 21449]]
withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Abstract: The Service is charged with implementing the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The goal
of the Act is to provide a means to conserve the ecosystems upon which
listed species depend and a program for listed species conservation.
Through our Candidate Conservation program, we encourage the public to
take conservation actions for species prior to them being listed under
the Act. Doing so may result in precluding the need to list a species,
may result in listing a species as threatened instead of endangered,
or, if a species becomes listed, may provide the basis for its recovery
and eventual removal from the protections of the Act.
This policy gives landowners, government agencies, and others
incentives to carry out voluntary conservation actions for unlisted
species. It allows the use of any benefits to the species from
voluntary conservation actions undertaken prior to listing under the
Act--by the person who undertook such actions or by third parties--to
mitigate or offset the detrimental effects of other actions undertaken
after listing. The policy requires participating States to track the
voluntary conservation actions and provide this information to us on an
annual basis. We require this information in order to provide the
entities that have taken the conservation actions with proper credit
that can later be used to mitigate for any detrimental actions they
take after the species is listed.
We plan to collect the following information:
Description of the prelisting conservation action being
taken.
Location of the action (does not include a specific
address).
Name of the entity taking the action and their contact
information (email address only).
Frequency of the action (ongoing for X years, or one-time
implementation) and an indication if the action is included in a State
Wildlife Action Plan.
Any transfer to a third party of the mitigation or
compensatory measure rights.
Each State that chooses to participate will collect this
information from landowners, businesses and organizations, and Tribal
and local governments that wish to receive credit for voluntary
prelisting conservation actions. States may collect this information
via an Access database, Excel spreadsheet, or other database of their
choosing and submit the information to the Fish and Wildlife Service
(via email) annually. States will use this information to calculate the
number of credits that the entity taking the conservation action will
receive and will keep track of the credits and notify the entity of how
much credit they have earned. The States will report the number of
credits to the Service, and we will determine how many credits are
needed by the entity to mitigate or offset the detrimental effects of
other actions they take after the species is listed (assuming it is
listed).
Title of Collection: Policy Regarding Voluntary Prelisting
Conservation Actions.
OMB Control Number: 1018-New.
Form Number: None.
Type of Review: Existing collection in use without an OMB Control
Number.
Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals; businesses and
organizations; and State, local, and Tribal governments.
Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.
Frequency of Collection: On occasion for new submissions, ongoing
for recordkeeping requirements, and annually for reporting
requirements.
Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: None.
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Average
Annual number Average number completion Estimated
Requirement of of responses Annual number time per annual burden
respondents each of responses response hours *
(hours)
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State Developed Voluntary
Conservation-Action Program:
Individuals................. 0 0 0 0 0
Private Sector.............. 0 0 0 0 0
Government.................. 1 1 1 320 320
Development of Conservation
Strategy:
Individuals................. 0 0 0 0 0
Private Sector.............. 0 0 0 0 0
Government.................. 1 1 1 200 200
Amendments to Conservation
Strategy:
Individuals................. 0 0 0 0 0
Private Sector.............. 0 0 0 0 0
Government.................. 1 1 1 16 16
Credit Agreement/Transfer of
Credits:
Individuals................. 0 0 0 0 0
Private Sector.............. 0 0 0 0 0
Government.................. 1 1 1 80 80
Annual Reports:
Individuals................. 0 0 0 0 0
Private Sector.............. 0 0 0 0 0
Government.................. 1 1 1 20 20
State Recordkeeping
Requirements:
Individuals................. 0 0 0 0 0
Private Sector.............. 0 0 0 0 0
Government.................. 1 1 1 240 240
State Reports--Voluntary
Prelisting Conservation Actions
Taken Under Program:
Individuals................. 0 0 0 0 0
Private Sector.............. 0 0 0 0 0
Government.................. 1 1 1 .25 0
Site-Level Agreements:
Individuals................. 0 0 0 0 0
[[Page 21450]]
Private Sector.............. 0 0 0 0 0
Government.................. 1 1 1 100 100
Formal Agreements:
Individuals................. 0 0 0 0 0
Private Sector.............. 0 0 0 0 0
Government.................. 1 1 1 4 4
Monitoring Reports:
Individuals................. 0 0 0 0 0
Private Sector.............. 0 0 0 0 0
Government.................. 1 1 1 24 24
Site-Level Reports:
Individuals................. 0 0 0 0 0
Private Sector.............. 0 0 0 0 0
Government.................. 1 1 1 24 24
Management Plans:
Individuals................. 0 0 0 0 0
Private Sector.............. 0 0 0 0 0
Government.................. 1 1 1 120 120
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Totals:................. 12 .............. 12 .............. 1,148
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* Rounded to match ROCIS.
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.).
Dated: April 14, 2020.
Madonna Baucum,
Information Collection Clearance Officer,U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-08121 Filed 4-16-20; 8:45 am]
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