[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 244 (Friday, December 18, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 82501-82503]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-27887]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-HQ-MB-2020-N151; FF09M21200-201-FXMB1231099BPP0; OMB Control
Number 1018-0171]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Establishment
of Annual Migratory Bird Hunting Seasons
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 to renew an
information collection.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before
January 19, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular
information collection by selecting ``Currently under Review--Open for
Public Comments'' or by using the search function. 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 1018-0171 in the
subject line of your comments.
[[Page 82502]]
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 information collection request (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 collection
requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format.
On April 2, 2020, we published in the Federal Register (85 FR
18532) a proposed rule to begin the process of establishing migratory
bird hunting regulations for certain Tribes on Federal Indian
reservations, off-reservation trust lands, and ceded lands for the
2020-21 migratory bird hunting season. That Federal Register document
also contained notice of our intent to request that OMB approve this
related information collection. In that notice, we solicited comments
for 60 days, ending on June 1, 2020. We did not receive any comments in
response to that proposed rule.
Additionally, on May 1, 2020, the Migratory Bird Program shared the
proposed rule document with the Flyway Council representatives to
solicit their feedback on the information collection requirements. We
extended the comment period for the Flyway Councils to provide comments
until October 30, 2020, so that they could share the information during
their annual August/September Flyway Council meetings. We did not
receive any comments in response to that additional comment
opportunity.
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 information collection request (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: Migratory game birds are those bird species so designated
in conventions between the United States and several foreign nations
for the protection and management of these birds. Under the Migratory
Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703-712), the Secretary of the Interior is
authorized to determine when ``hunting, taking, capture, killing,
possession, sale, purchase, shipment, transportation, carriage, or
export of any * * * bird, or any part, nest, or egg'' of migratory game
birds can take place, and to adopt regulations for this purpose. These
regulations are written after giving due regard to ``the zones of
temperature and to the distribution, abundance, economic value,
breeding habits, and times and lines of migratory flight of such
birds'' and are updated annually (16 U.S.C. 704(a)). This
responsibility has been delegated to the Service as the lead Federal
agency for managing and conserving migratory birds in the United
States. However, migratory game bird management is a cooperative effort
of State, Tribal, and Federal governments. Migratory game bird hunting
seasons provide opportunities for recreation and sustenance; aid
Federal, State, and Tribal governments in the management of migratory
game birds; and permit harvests at levels compatible with migratory
game bird population status and habitat conditions.
The Service develops migratory game bird hunting regulations by
establishing the frameworks, or outside limits, for season lengths, bag
limits, and areas for migratory game bird hunting. Acknowledging
regional differences in hunting conditions, the Service has
administratively divided the Nation into four Flyways for the primary
purpose of managing migratory game birds. Each Flyway (Atlantic,
Mississippi, Central, and Pacific) has a Flyway Council, a formal
organization generally composed of one member from each State and
Province in that Flyway. The Flyway Councils, established through the
Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, also assist in researching
and providing migratory game bird management information for Federal,
State, and Provincial governments, as well as private conservation
entities and the general public.
We request the following information to establish annual migratory
bird hunting seasons:
Information Requested To Establish Annual Migratory Bird Hunting
Seasons
As a result of the incremental annual rulemaking process explained
above, the information requested from States is solicited during a
different point in the overall rulemaking process than the information
requested from Tribal governments. However, the final rules published
at the end of the rulemaking process each year incorporate all
information received from the State and Tribal governments. Therefore,
this ICR incorporates both the annual requests for Tribal proposals in
the proposed rules and the information requested annually from the
States during subsequent proposed rules (all under the same Regulatory
Identifier Number; we post all rules electronically on the Service's
website (https://www.fws.gov/policy/frsystem/default.cfm). State and
Tribal governments are aware of this process that affords them the
opportunity to provide comments on the information collection
requirements identified in the PRA section of each rule.
The information identified below, necessary to establish annual
migratory bird hunting seasons, is solicited annually from State
(including U.S. territory) and Tribal governments. The required
information, received at various times in the year prior to the actual
hunting season as part of the rulemaking process described above, is
used by the Service as part of the final rulemaking process necessary
to open
[[Page 82503]]
annual hunting seasons otherwise closed by law.
Details Needed From States and U.S. Territories
State and U.S. territory governments that wish to establish annual
migratory game bird hunting seasons are required to provide the
requested dates and other details for hunting seasons in their
respective States or Territories. The information is provided to the
Service in a non-form format, usually via letter or spreadsheet, in
response to solicitations for the information sent to the State
governments each year via an emailed letter and as part of the first
final rule (for the frameworks).
Details Needed From Tribal Governments
Tribes that wish to use the guidelines (published June 4, 1985, 50
FR 23459--copy uploaded to ROCIS) to establish special hunting
regulations for the annual migratory game bird hunting season are
required to submit a proposal that includes:
(1) The requested migratory game bird hunting season dates and
other details regarding the proposed regulations;
(2) Harvest anticipated under the proposed regulations; and
(3) Tribal capabilities to enforce migratory game bird hunting
regulations.
For those situations where it could be shown that failure to limit
Tribal harvest could seriously impact the migratory game bird resource,
we also request information on the methods employed to monitor harvest
and any potential steps taken to limit level of harvest.
A Tribe that desires the earliest possible opening of the migratory
game bird season for nontribal members should specify this request in
its proposal, rather than request a date that might not be within the
final Federal frameworks. Similarly, unless a Tribe wishes to set more
restrictive regulations than Federal regulations will permit for
nontribal members, the proposal should request the same daily bag and
possession limits and season length for migratory game birds that
Federal regulations are likely to permit the States in the Flyway in
which the reservation is located.
Reports (50 CFR part 20): The following reports are requested from
the States and are submitted either annually or every 3 years as
explained in the following text.
Reports From Experimental Hunting Seasons and Season Structure Changes
(Required)
Atlantic Flyway Council
Delaware--Experimental tundra swan season (Yearly updates
and Final report).
Florida (Completed)--Experimental teal-only season (Yearly
updates and Final report).
Mississippi Flyway Council
Alabama--Experimental sandhill crane season (Yearly
updates and Final report).
Central Flyway Council
Nebraska (Completed)--Experimental teal season (Yearly
updates and Final report).
New Mexico--Sandhill crane season in Estancia Valley:
Yearly updates and Final report. This report was changed from
experimental to operational. Annual data are still required, but there
is not a final report, since this monitoring will occur in perpetuity
(or as long as the State has that hunt area).
Wyoming--Split (three-way) season for Canada geese (Final
report only).
Pacific Flyway Council
California--Zones and split season for white-fronted geese
(Final report only).
Additional State-Specific Annual Reports
State-Specific
Arizona--Sandhill crane racial composition of the harvest
conducted at 3-year intervals.
North Carolina and Virginia--Tundra swan harvest and
hunter participation data (Yearly).
Montana (Central Flyway portion), North Dakota, and South
Dakota--Tundra swan harvest and hunter participation data (Yearly).
Montana (Pacific Flyway portion)--Swan harvest-monitoring
program to measure species composition (Yearly).
Montana (Pacific Flyway portion), Utah, and Nevada--Swan
harvest-monitoring program to measure the species composition and
report detailing swan harvest, hunter participation, reporting
compliance, and monitoring of swam populations in designated hunt areas
(Yearly).
Reports and monitoring are used for a variety of reasons. Some are
used to monitor species composition of the harvest for those areas
where species intermingling can confound harvest management, and
potential overharvest of one species can be of management concern.
Others are used to determine overall harvest for those species and/or
areas that are not sampled well by our overall harvest surveys due to
either the limited nature/area of the hunt or season, or where the
harvest needs to closely monitored. Experimental season reports are
used to determine whether the experimental season is achieving its
intended goals and objectives, without causing unintended harm to other
species and ultimately whether the experimental season should proceed
to operational status. Most experimental seasons are 3-year trials with
yearly reports and a final report. Most of the other reports and
monitoring are conducted either annually or at 3-year intervals.
Title of Collection: Establishment of Annual Migratory Bird Hunting
Seasons, 50 CFR part 20.
OMB Control Number: 1018-0171.
Form Numbers: None.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Respondents/Affected Public: State and Tribal governments.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 82 (from 52 State
governments and Territories and 30 Tribal governments).
Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 99 (includes State and
Tribal governments and additional reports from States).
Estimated Completion Time per Response: Varies from 4 hours to 650
hours, depending on activity.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 9,878.
Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.
Frequency of Collection: Annually.
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. 2020-27887 Filed 12-17-20; 8:45 am]
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