Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Alaska Subsistence Bird Harvest Survey
| Published date | 13 June 2019 |
| Citation | 84 FR 27645 |
| Record Number | 2019-12460 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Fish And Wildlife Service,Interior Department |
Federal Register, Volume 84 Issue 114 (Thursday, June 13, 2019)
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 114 (Thursday, June 13, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27645-27647]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-12460]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R7-MB-2019-N043; FXMB12610700000-190-FF07M01000; OMB Control
Number 1018-0124]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Alaska
Subsistence Bird Harvest Survey
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 with revisions.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before
July 15, 2019.
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 [email protected]; 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: AMAD-ARM-PPM, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church,
VA 22041-3803 (mail); or by email to [email protected]. Please
reference OMB Control Number 1018-0124 in the subject line of your
comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information
about this ICR, contact Madonna L. Baucum, Service Information
Collection Clearance Officer, by email at [email protected], 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, 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 February 8, 2019, we published a Federal Register notice
soliciting comments on this collection of information for 60 days,
ending on April 9, 2019 (84 FR 2902). We received no comments in
response to the Federal Register notice.
We are again soliciting comments on the proposed ICR that is
described below. We are especially interested in public comment
addressing the following issues: (1) Is the collection necessary to the
proper functions of the Service; (2) will this information be processed
and used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden accurate;
(4) how might the Service enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of
the information to be collected; and (5) how might the Service minimize
the burden of this collection on the respondents, including through the
use of information technology.
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 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: The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 (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 managing
migratory bird populations that frequent the United States and for
setting harvest regulations that allow for the conservation of those
populations. These responsibilities include gathering data on various
aspects of migratory bird harvest. We use harvest data to review
regulation proposals and to issue harvest regulations.
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 states that its intent is not to cause significant increases
in the take of species of migratory birds relative to their continental
population sizes. A submittal letter from the Department of State to
the White House (May 20, 1996) accompanied the Amendment and specified
the need for harvest monitoring. The submittal letter stated that the
Service, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), and Alaska
Native organizations would collect harvest information cooperatively
[[Page 27646]]
within the subsistence eligible areas. Harvest data help to ensure that
customary and traditional subsistence uses of migratory birds and their
eggs by indigenous inhabitants of Alaska do not significantly increase
the take of species of migratory birds relative to their continental
population sizes.
We monitored subsistence harvest of migratory birds using household
surveys in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region in 1985-2002 and in the
Bristol Bay region in 1995-2002. Since 2004, the Alaska Migratory Bird
Co-Management Council--Harvest Assessment Program (AMBCC-HAP) conducts
regular surveys across Alaska to document the subsistence harvest of
birds and their eggs. The statewide harvest assessment program helps to
describe geographical and seasonal harvest patterns, and to track
trends in harvest levels. The program relies on collaboration among the
Service, the ADF&G, and diverse Alaska Native organizations.
We collect harvest data for about 60 bird species/categories and
their eggs (ducks, geese, swans, cranes, seabirds, shorebirds, grebes
and loons, and grouse and ptarmigan) in the subsistence eligible areas
of Alaska. The survey covers spring, summer, and fall harvest in most
regions.
In collaboration with Alaska Native organizations, we hire local
resident surveyors to collect the harvest data. The surveyors list all
households in the communities, randomly select households to be
surveyed, and interview households that have agreed to participate. To
ensure anonymity of harvest information, we identify each household by
a numeric code. Since the beginning of the survey in 2004, twice we
have re-evaluated and revised survey methods to streamline procedures
and minimize respondent burden. We use the following forms for
household participation:
FWS Form 3-2380 (Tracking Sheet and Household Consent).
The surveyor visits each household selected to participate in the
survey to obtain household consent to participate. The surveyor uses
this form to record household consent.
FWS Forms 3-2381-1, 3-2381-2, 3-2381-3, 3-2381-4, and 3-
2381-5 (Harvest Report). The Harvest Report has drawings of bird
species most commonly available for harvest in different regions of
Alaska, with fields for recording numbers of birds and eggs taken. The
forms have up to four sheets, one for each surveyed season. The Western
and Interior forms (3-2381-1 and 3-2381-3) have three sheets (spring,
summer, and fall). We now use the Southern Coastal form 3-2381-2 only
in the Bristol Bay region, and thus we renamed the form the Bristol Bay
form. The North Slope form (3-2381-4) has two sheets (spring and
summer). The new Cordova form (3-2381-5) has only one sheet (spring).
Each seasonal sheet has black and white drawings of bird species, next
to which are fields to record the number of birds and eggs harvested.
Because bird species available for harvest vary in different regions of
Alaska, there are five versions of the harvest report form, each with a
different set of species. This helps to prevent users from erroneously
recording bird species as harvested in areas where they do not usually
occur.
Following the most recent re-evaluation of survey methods, the
sampling design was revised to include only 5 of 12 management regions
as an index to the statewide harvest, these 5 regions representing
about 90 percent of the statewide subsistence bird harvest. We modified
the survey to make the effort compatible with available funding. We
also adjusted the number of communities and households to be surveyed
each year based on statistical methods to maximize accuracy of harvest
estimates given the survey funding. We also reduced the number of
household visits from seasonal (three times per year) to annual (once a
year). These modifications much reduced the estimated survey burden.
To fulfill priority information needs, we added the following
question to the survey: ``In the last 12 months, how many permanent
members of this household tried to harvest: Birds (__) and eggs (__).''
A similar question is often included in harvest surveys conducted in
Alaska for resources such as fish, marine mammals, and terrestrial
mammals. We need such information to estimate and document
participation in harvesting activities and to answer a basic and
recurrent question in harvest management: ``How many people use this
resource.'' Adding this simple question does not change the average
time needed to complete the survey.
Title of Collection: Alaska Migratory Bird Subsistence Harvest
Household Survey.
OMB Control Number: 1018-0124.
Form Number: FWS Forms 3-2380, 3-2381-1, 3-2381-2, 3-2381-3, 3-
2381-4, and 3-2381-5.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Respondents/Affected Public: Households within subsistence eligible
areas of Alaska.
Respondent's Obligation: Required to Obtain or Retain a Benefit.
Frequency of Collection: Annually.
Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: None.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Completion
Average number Average number Average number time per Total annual
Activity/respondents of annual of submissions of annual response burden hours*
respondents each responses (minutes)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tracking Sheet and Household
Consent (FWS Form 3-2380):
Individual Households....... 723 1 723 5 60
Migratory Bird Subsistence
Harvest Household Survey (FWS
Forms 3-2381-1, 3-2381-2, 3-
2381-3, 3-2381-4, 3-2381-5)
Individual Households....... 645 3 1,935 5 161
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals.................. 1,368 .............. 2,658 .............. 221
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Rounded.
[[Page 27647]]
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: June 9, 2019.
Madonna Baucum,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-12460 Filed 6-12-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
