[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 116 (Friday, June 14, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 30490-30493]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-15172]




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Part X





Department of the Interior





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Fish and Wildlife Service



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50 CFR Part 20



Migratory Bird Hunting; Supplemental Proposals for Migratory Game Bird 
Hunting Regulations; Proposed Rule

  Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 116 / Friday, June 14, 1996 / 
Proposed Rules  
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 20

RIN 1018-AD69


Migratory Bird Hunting; Supplemental Proposals for Migratory Game 
Bird Hunting Regulations

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; supplemental.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (hereinafter the Service) 
proposed in an earlier document to establish annual hunting regulations 
for certain migratory game birds for the 1996-97 hunting season. This 
supplement to the proposed rule describes the Service's proposed 
regulatory alternatives for the 1996-97 duck hunting season and 
announces the Service's intent to consider establishing a special youth 
waterfowl hunting day.

DATES: The Service Migratory Bird Regulations Committee will consider 
and develop proposed regulations for early-season migratory bird 
hunting on June 25, 26, and 27, and for late-season migratory bird 
hunting on July 31, August 1, and 2. The Service will hold public 
hearings on proposed early- and late-season frameworks at 9:00 a.m. on 
June 27 and August 2, 1996, respectively. The Service Migratory Bird 
Regulations Committee will discuss the proposed regulatory alternatives 
for the 1996-97 duck hunting season and the special youth waterfowl 
hunting day at the June 25, 26, and 27 meetings.
    The comment period on the proposed regulatory alternatives for the 
1996-97 duck hunting season ends on July 5, 1996. The comment period 
for proposed migratory bird hunting-season frameworks for Alaska, 
Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and other early seasons, 
including the consideration of a proposed youth hunting day, ends on 
July 25, 1996. The comment period for late-season frameworks ends on 
September 3, 1996. The Service will publish the final regulatory 
alternatives for the 1996-97 duck hunting season in a July supplemental 
containing the Service's proposed early-season frameworks.

ADDRESSES: The Service Migratory Bird Regulations Committee will meet 
in room 200 of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Arlington Square 
Building, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, Virginia. The Service will 
hold public hearings in the Auditorium of the Department of the 
Interior Building, 1849 C Street, NW., Washington, DC. Parties should 
submit written comments on the proposals and/or a notice of intent to 
participate in either hearing to the Chief, Office of Migratory Bird 
Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior, 
ms 634--ARLSQ, 1849 C Street, NW., Washington, DC 20240. The public may 
inspect comments during normal business hours in room 634, ARLSQ 
Building, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, Virginia.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul R. Schmidt, Chief, Office of 
Migratory Bird Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, (703) 358-
1714.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Regulations Schedule for 1996

    On March 22, 1996, the Service published in the Federal Register 
(61 FR 11992) a proposal to amend 50 CFR part 20. The proposal dealt 
with the establishment of seasons, limits, and other regulations for 
migratory game birds under Secs.  20.101 through 20.107, 20.109, and 
20.110 of subpart K. On June 13, 1996, the Service published a second 
document providing supplemental proposals for early- and late-season 
migratory bird hunting regulations frameworks. The June 13 supplement 
also provided detailed information on the 1996-97 regulatory schedule 
and announced the Service Migratory Bird Regulations Committee and 
Flyway Council meetings.
This document is the third in a series of proposed, supplemental, and 
final rules for migratory game bird hunting regulations. The Service 
will propose early-season frameworks in late June and late-season 
frameworks in early August. The Service will publish final regulatory 
alternatives for the regular duck hunting season on or about July 15, 
1996. The Service will publish final regulatory frameworks for early 
seasons on or about August 14, 1996, and those for late seasons on or 
about September 23, 1996.
    This supplement describes the Service's proposed regulatory 
alternatives for the 1996-97 duck hunting season and the Service's 
consideration of a proposed youth waterfowl hunting day. The Service 
published specific Flyway Council recommendations regarding the 
formation of these regulatory alternatives in the June 13 Federal 
Register. The Service will consider all comments in the regulations-
development process and will publish responses to proposals, written 
comments, and public-hearing testimony when developing final regulatory 
alternatives and final frameworks.
    New proposals and modifications to previously described proposals 
are discussed below. The headings correspond to the numbered items in 
the March 22, 1996, Federal Register.

1. Ducks

A. Harvest Strategy Considerations

    In the March 22, 1996, Federal Register, the Service described the 
underlying principles of Adaptive Harvest Management (AHM) and the 
progress made on its implementation in 1995. In addition, the Service 
reported recommendations made by an AHM technical working group for the 
1996-97 regulatory process. Comprised of representatives from the 
Service and the four Flyway Councils, the working group was established 
in 1992 to develop technical recommendations for improving duck harvest 
regulations.
    One of the recommendations of the AHM working group for the 1996-97 
regulatory process was to continue the regulatory alternatives used in 
1995, with a minor exception in the Pacific Flyway. In 1995, the 
Service limited the choice of regulatory alternatives for the 1995-96 
regular duck hunting season to three sets of frameworks similar to 
those in effect during the 1979-93 hunting seasons. These three sets of 
frameworks, or regulatory alternatives, were described in a relative 
sense as restrictive, moderate, and liberal. In general, specific 
guidelines for selection of one of the regulatory alternatives are 
based on the size of the mallard breeding population and habitat 
conditions.
    In the June 13, 1996, Federal Register, the Service reported that 
all four Flyways continued to express support for the AHM approach to 
setting duck hunting regulations. The Mississippi, Central, and Pacific 
Flyway Councils recommended some specific modifications to the 
regulatory alternatives recommended by the working group and these 
recommendations were identified in the June 13, 1996, document.
    For the 1996-97 regular duck hunting season, the Service proposes 
the three regulatory alternatives detailed in the accompanying table. 
Alternatives are specified for each Flyway and are designated as 
``RES'' for the restrictive, ``MOD'' for the moderate, and ``LIB'' for 
the liberal alternative. The Service will publish final regulatory 
alternatives in July and propose a specific regulatory alternative when 
survey data on waterfowl population and habitat status are available.

[[Page 30491]]

G. Special Seasons/Species Management

    The long-term conservation of North America's migratory bird 
resources depends on the future paths and actions of today's youth. To 
assist in the formation and development of a conservation ethic in 
future generations, the Service is considering proposing the 
establishment of a ``Youth Waterfowl Hunting Day'' and is seeking 
public comment on such an action. The special day would provide an 
opportunity for young hunters (16 or under), accompanied by an adult 
(18 or older), to experience a safe, quality waterfowling experience. 
The hunt day would have to be on a weekend or holiday when youth 
hunters would have the maximum opportunity to participate. Both the 
youth hunters and accompanying adults (who could not duck hunt) would 
have to be licensed according to State law. The intent of establishing 
this special day would be to introduce youth to the concepts of ethical 
utilization and stewardship of waterfowl and other natural resources, 
encourage youngsters and adults to experience the outdoors together, 
and contribute toward the long-term conservation of the migratory bird 
resource. Because the special 1-day hunt would be limited to youths, 
the Service believes that waterfowl populations could support the 
additional harvest and that the hunt would produce long-term benefits 
to the resource.
    To facilitate public comment, the Service is considering proposing 
the following guidelines:
    1. States may select 1 day, designated as ``Youth Waterfowl Hunting 
Day'', in addition to their regular duck seasons.
    2. The day must be held outside of any regular duck season on 
either a weekend or holiday when youth hunters would have the maximum 
opportunity to participate.
    3. The day could be held up to 10 days before or after any regular 
duck season or within any split of a regular duck season.
    4. The daily bag limit may be no more than 4 ducks. Flyway species 
restrictions would remain in effect.
    5. Youth hunters must be 16 years of age or younger.
    6. An adult at least 18 years of age must accompany the youth 
hunter into the field. This adult could not duck hunt.
    7. Both the youth hunter and the accompanying adult must be fully 
licensed to hunt according to State law.
    8. The special youth hunt day will be considered a trial for its 
initial season and will be evaluated by the Service.

Public Comment Invited

    The Service intends that adopted final rules be as responsive as 
possible to all concerned interests and wants to obtain comments from 
all interested areas of the public, as well as other government 
agencies. Such comments, and any additional information received, may 
lead to final regulations that differ from these proposals.
    However, special circumstances involved in the establishment of 
these regulations limit the amount of time the Service can allow for 
public comment. Specifically, two considerations compress the time in 
which the rulemaking process must operate: (1) the need to establish 
final rules at a point early enough in the summer to allow affected 
State agencies to appropriately adjust their licensing and regulatory 
mechanisms; and (2) the unavailability, before mid-June, of specific, 
reliable data on this year's status of some waterfowl and migratory 
shore and upland game bird populations. Therefore, the Service believes 
allowing comment periods past the dates specified is contrary to the 
public interest.

Comment Procedure

    It is the policy of the Department of the Interior to afford the 
public an opportunity to participate in the rulemaking process, 
whenever practical. Accordingly, interested persons may participate by 
submitting written comments to the Chief, Office of Migratory Bird 
Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior, 
ms 634--ARLSQ, 1849 C Street, NW., Washington, DC 20240. The public may 
inspect comments during normal business hours at the Service's office 
in room 634, Arlington Square Building, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, 
Arlington, Virginia. The Service will consider all comments received 
and will try to acknowledge received comments, but may not provide an 
individual response to each commenter.

NEPA Consideration

    NEPA considerations are covered by the programmatic document, 
``Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement: Issuance of Annual 
Regulations Permitting the Sport Hunting of Migratory Birds (FSES 88-
14),'' filed with EPA on June 9, 1988. The Service published a Notice 
of Availability in the June 16, 1988, Federal Register (53 FR 22582). 
The Service published its Record of Decision on August 18, 1988 (53 FR 
31341). Copies of these documents are available from the Service at the 
address indicated under the caption ADDRESSES.

Endangered Species Act Consideration

    As in the past, the Service will design hunting regulations to 
remove or alleviate chances of conflict between migratory game bird 
hunting seasons and the protection and conservation of endangered and 
threatened species. Consultations are presently under way to ensure 
that actions resulting from these regulatory proposals will not likely 
jeopardize the continued existence of endangered or threatened species 
or result in the destruction or adverse modification of their critical 
habitat. Findings from these consultations will be included in a 
biological opinion and may cause modification of some regulatory 
measures proposed in this document. The final frameworks will reflect 
any such modifications. The Service's biological opinions resulting 
from its consultation under Section 7 are public documents available 
for public inspection in the Division of Endangered Species and the 
Office of Migratory Bird Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
Arlington Square Building, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, Virginia.

Regulatory Flexibility Act; Executive Order (E.O.) 12866 and the 
Paperwork Reduction Act

    In the Federal Register dated March 22, 1996, the Service reported 
measures it took to comply with requirements of the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act and the Executive Order. One measure was to prepare a 
Small Entity Flexibility Analysis (Analysis) in 1995 documenting the 
significant beneficial economic effect on a substantial number of small 
entities. The Analysis estimated that migratory bird hunters would 
spend between $258 and $586 million at small businesses in 1995. Copies 
of the Analysis are available upon request from the Office of Migratory 
Bird Management. This rule was not subject to review by the Office of 
Management and Budget under E.O. 12866.
    The Service examined these proposed regulations under the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 and found no information collection requirements.

Authorship

    The primary author of this proposed rule is Ron W. Kokel, Office of 
Migratory Bird Management.

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List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 20

    Exports, Hunting, Imports, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Transportation, Wildlife.

    The rules that eventually will be promulgated for the 1996-97 
hunting season are authorized under 16 U.S.C. 703-711, 16 U.S.C. 712, 
and 16 U.S.C. 742 a-j.

    Dated: June 7, 1996.
George T. Frampton, Jr.,
Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks.

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[FR Doc. 96-15172 Filed 6-13-96; 8:45 am]
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