Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program and Migratory Bird Surveys

Published date24 October 2019
Citation84 FR 57049
Record Number2019-23187
SectionNotices
CourtFish And Wildlife Service,Interior Department
Federal Register, Volume 84 Issue 206 (Thursday, October 24, 2019)
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 206 (Thursday, October 24, 2019)]
                [Notices]
                [Pages 57049-57050]
                From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
                [FR Doc No: 2019-23187]
                [[Page 57049]]
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                DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
                Fish and Wildlife Service
                [FWS-HQ-MB-2019-N114; FXMB12310900WHO-190-FF09M26000; OMB Control
                Number 1018-0023]
                Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
                Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Migratory Bird
                Harvest Information Program and Migratory Bird Surveys
                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
                November 25, 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: JAO/1N PRB/PERMA, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls
                Church, VA 22041-3803 (mail); or by email to [email protected]. Please
                reference OMB Control Number 1018-0023 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 28, 2019, we published a Federal Register notice (84 FR
                6814) soliciting public comment on this information collection for 60
                days, ending April 29, 2019. We received no comments in response to
                that 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 (16 U.S.C. 703-711) 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 (1) the wise
                management of migratory bird populations frequenting the United States,
                and (2) setting hunting regulations that allow appropriate harvests
                that are within the guidelines that will allow for those populations'
                well-being. These responsibilities dictate that we gather accurate data
                on various characteristics of migratory bird harvest. Based on
                information from harvest surveys, we can adjust hunting regulations as
                needed to optimize harvests at levels that provide a maximum of hunting
                recreation while keeping populations at desired levels.
                 Under 50 CFR 20.20, migratory bird hunters must register for the
                Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program (HIP) in each State in which
                they hunt each year. State natural resource agencies must send names
                and addresses of all migratory bird hunters to Branch of Monitoring and
                Information Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Division of
                Migratory Bird Management, on an annual basis.
                 The Migratory Bird Hunter Survey is based on the Migratory Bird
                Harvest Information Program. We randomly select migratory bird hunters
                and ask them to report their harvest. The resulting estimates of
                harvest per hunter are combined with the complete list of migratory
                bird hunters to provide estimates of the total harvest for the species
                surveyed.
                 The Parts Collection Survey estimates the species, sex, and age
                composition of the harvest, and the geographic and temporal
                distribution of the harvest. Randomly selected successful hunters who
                responded to the Migratory Bird Hunter Survey the previous year are
                asked to complete and return a postcard if they are willing to
                participate in the Parts Collection Survey. We provide postage-paid
                envelopes to respondents before the hunting season and ask them to send
                in a wing or the tail feathers from each duck or goose that they
                harvest, or a wing from each mourning dove, woodcock, band-tailed
                pigeon, snipe, rail, or gallinule that they harvest. We use the wings
                and tail feathers to identify the species, sex, and age of the
                harvested sample. We also ask respondents to report on the envelope the
                date and location of harvest for each bird. We combine the results of
                this survey with the harvest estimates obtained from the Migratory Bird
                Hunter Survey to provide species-specific national harvest estimates.
                 The combined results of these surveys enable us to evaluate the
                effects of season length, season dates, and bag limits on the harvest
                of each species, and thus help us determine appropriate hunting
                regulations.
                 The Sandhill Crane Harvest Survey is an annual questionnaire survey
                of people who obtained a sandhill crane hunting permit. At the end of
                the hunting season, we randomly select a sample of permit holders and
                ask them to report the date, location, and number of birds harvested
                for each of their sandhill crane hunts. Their responses provide
                estimates of the temporal and geographic distribution of the harvest as
                well as the average harvest per hunter, which, combined with the total
                number of permits issued, enables us to estimate the total harvest of
                sandhill cranes. Based on information from this survey, we adjust
                hunting regulations as needed.
                Proposed Revision
                 In fall of 2019, we will be implementing a new, online platform for
                the Migratory Bird Hunter Survey. In 2018, OMB approved usability
                testing of the online platform under the Department of the Interior's
                ``Fast
                [[Page 57050]]
                Track'' clearance process (OMB Control Number 1090-0011). We are now
                ready to seek full OMB approval for the platform under the Service's
                existing collection ``Migratory Bird Information Program and Migratory
                Bird Surveys, 50 CFR 20.20 (OMB Control Number 1018-0023).
                 The platform will be optimized for use on multiple device types
                (computer, tablet, or phone; Android or Apple OS). Unlike the paper
                survey form, the online survey platform walks a participant through the
                process of entering their harvest for a single day, asking for one
                piece of information at a time. This reduces confusion and the
                likelihood that the hunter will provide incorrect information. Also,
                data quality is improved at each step with a new system of checks and
                pre-populated menus which limit the types of responses and prevent
                errors (e.g., reporting harvest of the wrong species, or in the wrong
                State). We will continue to conduct the paper survey for 3 years, in
                order to ensure that data collected through the new method is sound,
                and to provide a side-by-side comparison of harvest estimates that can
                be used to calibrate the old survey to the new one. This is
                particularly important for maintaining a continuous time series of
                harvest estimates, despite changing methodology.
                 Title of Collection: Migratory Bird Information Program and
                Migratory Bird Surveys, 50 CFR 20.20.
                 OMB Control Number: 1018-0023.
                 Form Number: FWS Forms 3-165, 3-165A through E, and 3-2056J through
                N.
                 Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
                 Respondents/Affected Public: States and migratory game bird
                hunters.
                 Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory for HIP registration
                information; voluntary for participation in the surveys.
                 Frequency of Collection: Annually for States or on occasion for
                migratory bird hunters.
                 Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: None.
                ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Average
                 Number of number of Number of Average time Total annual
                 Collection type/ form number respondents responses annual per response burden hours
                 each responses * *
                ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program (State Governments)
                ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 49 16.5 809 157 hours....... 127,013
                ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Migratory Bird Hunter Survey (Individuals)
                ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Form 3-2056J.................. 31,900 1 31,900 5 minutes....... 2,658
                Form 3-2056K.................. 16,900 1 16,900 4 minutes....... 1,127
                Form 3-2056L.................. 8,500 1 8,500 4 minutes....... 567
                Form 3-2056M.................. 10,200 1 10,200 3 minutes....... 510
                rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
                 Subtotals:................ 67,500 .............. 67,500 ................ 4,862
                ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Parts Collection Survey (Individuals)
                ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Form 3-165.................... 4,870 22 107,140 5 minutes....... 8,928
                Form 3-165A................... 1,000 5.5 5,500 5 minutes....... 458
                Form 3-165B................... 3,600 1 3,600 1 minute........ 60
                Form 3-165C................... 900 1 900 1 minute........ 15
                Form 3-165D................... 1,134 1 1,134 1 minute........ 19
                Form 3-165E................... 1,100 1.5 1,650 5 minutes....... 138
                rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
                 Subtotals:................ 12,604 .............. 119,924 ................ 9,619
                ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Sandhill Crane Harvest Survey (Individuals)
                ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Form 3-2056N.................. 4,300 1 4,300 3.5 minutes..... 251
                ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Online Migratory Bird Harvest Survey (Individuals) NEW
                ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                None (Online)................. 25,500 1 25,500 4 minutes....... 1,700
                rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
                 Totals:............... 109,953 .............. 218,033 ................ 143,444
                ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                * 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: October 21, 2019.
                Madonna Baucum,
                Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
                Service.
                [FR Doc. 2019-23187 Filed 10-23-19; 8:45 am]
                 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
                

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