[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 153 (Friday, August 7, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47982-47984]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-17325]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-HQ-ES-2020-N071; FXES11130900000-201-FF09E32000; OMB Control
Number 1018-0095]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Endangered and
Threatened Wildlife, Experimental Populations
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, we, the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service (we, Service), are proposing to renew an
existing information collection.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before
September 8, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments on this information collection request
(ICR) 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 1018-0095 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. Individuals who are hearing or speech
impaired may call the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 for TTY
assistance. 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 (PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) 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
[[Page 47983]]
collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired
format.
On February 4, 2020, we published in the Federal Register (85 FR
6212) a notice of our intent to request that OMB approve this
information collection. In that notice, we solicited comments for 60
days, ending on April 6, 2020. We received the following comments in
response to that notice:
Comment 1--Comment received via email on February 26, 2020, from
Jean Public: The commenter did not address the information collection
requirements.
Agency Response to Comment 1: No response required.
Comment 2--Comment received via email on April 6, 2020, from
Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity: This comment
suggested two additional categories of information collection under
this renewal related to depredation-related take. Specifically, Mr.
Robinson suggested collecting information on preventative measures
taken by landowners to protect livestock prior to implementing lethal
take, and to measure the amount of time between a depredation-related
take of an individual of an experimental population and renewed
depredation of the same landowner's livestock.
Agency Response to Comment 2: Mr. Robinson's suggestions for
information collection include data that are already collected and
tracked by Service employees as specified in 50 CFR part 17 subpart H,
as well as in each species-specific final rule issued by the Service
establishing the experimental population. Additionally, the Service
acknowledges the usefulness of this type of information and will take
into consideration this information in future rulemaking actions.
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 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: Section 10(j) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended (ESA, 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), authorizes the Secretary of the
Interior to establish experimental populations of endangered or
threatened species. Because the ESA protects individuals of
experimental populations, the information we collect is important for
monitoring the success of reintroduction and recovery efforts. This is
a nonform collection (meaning there is no designated form associated
with this collection). Regulations at 50 CFR 17.84 contain information
collection requirements for experimental populations of vertebrate
endangered and threatened species. These regulations identify and
describe the three categories of information we collect, which include:
(1) General take or removal. ``Take'' is defined by the ESA as
``[to] harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture,
or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct.'' In this
information collection, take most commonly is considered to be in the
form of human-related mortality, including:
a. Unintentional taking incidental to otherwise lawful activities
(e.g., highway mortalities);
b. Animal husbandry actions authorized to manage the population
(e.g., translocation or providing aid to sick, injured, or orphaned
individuals);
c. Take in defense of human life;
d. Take related to defense of property (if authorized); or
e. Take in the form of authorized harassment.
(2) Depredation-related take. Involves take for management purposes
of documented livestock depredation, and may include authorized
harassment or authorized lethal take of experimental population animals
in the act of attacking livestock. See 50 CFR 17.84 for specific
provisions of harassment for each species within this section.
The information that we collect includes:
a. Name, address, and phone number of reporting party,
b. Species involved,
c. Type of incident,
d. Quantity of take,
e. Location and time of the reported incident, and
f. Description of the circumstances related to the incident.
(3) Specimen collection, recovery, or reporting of dead
individuals. This information documents incidental or authorized
scientific collection. Most of the information collected addresses the
reporting of sightings of experimental population animals or the
inadvertent discovery of an injured or dead individual.
Service recovery specialists use this information to determine the
success of reintroductions in relation to established recovery plan
goals for the experimental populations of vertebrate endangered and
threatened species involved. In addition, this information helps us to
assess the effectiveness of control activities in order to develop
better means to reduce problems with livestock for those species where
depredation is a problem.
Title of Collection: Endangered and Threatened Wildlife,
Experimental Populations, 50 CFR 17.84.
OMB Control Number: 1018-0095.
Form Numbers: None.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals and households, private
sector, and State/local/Tribal governments.
Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
Frequency of Collection: On occasion.
Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: None.
[[Page 47984]]
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Annual number Completion
Requirement of Total annual time per Total annual
respondents responses response burden hours *
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Notification--General Take or Removal
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Individuals..................................... 12 12 .5 6
Private Sector.................................. 7 7 .5 4
Government...................................... 29 29 .5 15
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Notification--Depredation-Related Take
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Individuals..................................... 25 25 .5 13
Private Sector.................................. 2 2 .5 1
Government...................................... 9 9 .5 5
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Notification--Specimen Collection
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Individuals..................................... 3 3 .5 2
Private Sector.................................. 2 2 .5 1
Government...................................... 16 16 .5 8
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Totals...................................... 105 105 .............. 55
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* Rounded.
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: August 4, 2020.
Madonna Baucum,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-17325 Filed 8-6-20; 8:45 am]
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