[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 106 (Thursday, June 1, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Page 35116]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-13663]



[[Page 35116]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Information Collection Submitted to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for Approval Under the Paperwork Reduction Act

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has submitted the 
collection of information listed below to OMB for approval under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act. A copy of the information 
collection requirement is included in this notice. If you wish to 
obtain copies of the proposed information collection requirement, 
related forms, and explanatory material, contact the Service 
Information Collection Clearance Officer at the address listed below.

DATES: OMB has up to 60 days to approve or disapprove information 
collection but may respond after 30 days. Therefore, to ensure maximum 
consideration, you must submit comments on or before July 3, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the requirement to the Office of 
Management and Budget, Attention: Department of the Interior Desk 
Officer, 725 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20503, and to Rebecca 
Mullin, Service Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, ms 222-ARLSQ, 1849 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20204.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request a copy of the information 
collection request, explanatory information and related forms, contact 
Rebecca A. Mullin at (703) 358-2287, or electronically to 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
regulations at 5 CFR 1320, which implement provisions of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13), require that interested members 
of the public and affected agencies have an opportunity to comment on 
information collection and recordkeeping activities (see 5 CFR 
1320.8(d)). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (We) has submitted a 
request to OMB to renew its approval of the collection of information 
for the Sandhill Crane Harvest Survey. We are requesting a 3-year term 
of approval for this information collection activity. A previous 60-day 
notice on this information collection requirement was published in the 
December 2, 1999 (64 FR 67583) Federal Register inviting public 
comment. No comments on the previous notice were received. This notice 
provides an additional 30 days in which to comment on the following 
information.
    Federal agencies 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 OMB control number for this 
collection of information is 1018-0023.
    The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703-711) and Fish and 
Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 742d) designate the Department of the 
Interior as the key agency responsible for the wise management of 
migratory bird populations frequenting the United States and for the 
setting of hunting regulations that allow appropriate harvests that are 
within the guidelines that will allow for those populations' well-
being. These responsibilities dictate the gathering of accurate data on 
various characteristics of migratory bird populations. The Sandhill 
Crane Harvest Survey is an essential part of the migratory bird 
management program. The survey helps determine sandhill crane harvests 
and harvest rates that are used to regulate sandhill crane populations 
(by promulgating hunting regulations) and to encourage hunting 
opportunity, especially where crop depredations are chronic and/or 
lightly harvested populations occur.
    The annual questionnaire surveys people who obtained a sandhill 
crane hunting permit. At the end of the hunting season, we randomly 
select a sample of permit holders and send those people a questionnaire 
that asks them to report the date, State, county, 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 sandhill crane permits issued, enables us to 
estimate the total harvest of sandhill cranes.
    The Sandhill Crane Harvest Survey enables us to annually estimate 
the magnitude of the harvest, and the portion it constitutes of the 
total mid-continent sandhill crane population. Based on information 
from this survey, sandhill crane hunting regulations are adjusted as 
needed to optimize harvest at levels that provide a maximum of hunting 
recreation while keeping populations at desired levels.
    Title: Sandhill Crane Harvest Survey.
    Approval Number: 1018-0023.
    Service Form Number: 3-530, 3-530A, and 3-2056N.
    Frequency of Collection: Annually.
    Description of Respondents: Individuals and households.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: The reporting burden is estimated to 
average 5 minutes per respondent. The Total Annual Burden Hours is 614 
hours.
    Total Annual Responses: About 7,400 individuals are expected to 
participate in the survey.
    We invite comments concerning this renewal on: (1) Whether the 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
our migratory bird management functions, including whether the 
information will have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of our 
estimate of the burden of the collection of information; (3) ways to 
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be 
collected; and, (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of 
information on respondents. The information collections in this program 
are part of a system of record covered by the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 
552(a)).

    Dated: April 4, 2000.
Paul R. Schmidt,
Acting Assistant Director for Refuges and Wildlife.
[FR Doc. 00-13663 Filed 5-31-00; 8:45 am]
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