[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 151 (Friday, August 6, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47948-47949]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-17957]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Information Collection To Be Submitted to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for Approval Under the Paperwork Reduction 
Act; Fish and Wildlife Service Employee Exit Follow-Up Survey (1018-
0112)

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service (we/our) will submit the 
collection of information listed below to OMB for approval under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act. A description of the 
information collection requirement is included in this notice. If you 
wish to obtain copies of the proposed information collection 
requirement, related forms, or explanatory material, contact the 
Service Information Collection Clearance Officer at the address listed 
below.

DATES: You must submit comments on or before October 5, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the requirement to Hope Grey, 
Information Collection Clearance Officer, Fish and Wildlife Service, MS 
222-ARLSQ, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203; [email protected] (e-mail); or (703) 358-2269 (fax).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request a copy of the information 
collection request, explanatory information, or related forms, contact 
Hope Grey at (703) 358-2482 or e-mail [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 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), 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)). We plan to submit a request to OMB to renew approval of 
the collection of information for the Employee Exit Follow-Up Survey. 
We are requesting a 3-year term of approval for this information 
collection activity.
    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 1018-0112.
    The Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency 
responsible for conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish, wildlife, 
and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the 
American people. We manage the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge 
System, which encompasses 542 national wildlife refuges, thousands of 
small wetlands and other special management areas. We also operate 69 
national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices, and 81 
ecological services field stations. We enforce Federal wildlife laws, 
administer the Endangered Species Act, manage migratory bird 
populations, restore nationally significant fisheries, conserve and 
restore wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and help foreign governments 
with their conservation efforts. We also oversee the Federal Assistance 
program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise 
taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to State fish and wildlife 
agencies. We have made it a high priority to recruit and retain valued 
employees to accomplish these responsibilities. As part of an active 
career development program, we have instituted an Employee Exit Follow-
Up survey to collect feedback from former Fish and Wildlife Service 
employees so that we may discover relevant issues that impact 
retention. If this survey were not used, there would be no way we could 
analyze the reasons for employee separation.
    During the past three years that we have used this survey, we 
received comments from several respondents. These comments ranged from 
gratitude that we collect this information to skepticism that the 
survey would result in any workplace changes. There were three comments 
that addressed specific aspects of the survey. The first commenter 
noted that questions 12, 16, 17, and 18 were particularly difficult to

[[Page 47949]]

answer. The second commenter expressed concern that, because the survey 
required the respondent's job title and Region, anyone looking at the 
completed survey would know who had written it. The third commenter 
raised the issue that the survey questions did not adequately capture 
the problems that would cause an office to have a high attrition rate. 
We have not made any changes to the survey in response to these 
comments. Regarding the first commenter's suggestion, the commenter 
found the questions difficult because of feelings towards the 
organization's management, not because of the questions themselves. The 
second commenter's concern did not result in a change to the survey 
question because the reported results are aggregated and not personally 
identifiable. Finally, regarding the third comment, the reported 
results are giving us valuable insight into the reasons why employees 
are separating from the Fish and Wildlife Service.
    Title of Collection: Employee Exit Follow-Up Survey, authorized by 
the Merit System Principles (5 U.S.C. 2301).
    OMB Control Number: 1018-0112.
    Form Number: FWS 3-2186.
    Frequency of Collection: Annually.
    Description of Respondents: Former Fish and Wildlife Service 
employees.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 100 hours. The reporting burden is 
estimated to average 15 minutes per respondent.
    Total Annual Responses: About 400 individuals are expected to 
participate in the survey annually.
    We invite comments concerning this submission on: (1) Whether or 
not the collection of information is necessary for the proper 
performance of our career development functions, including whether or 
not 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 records covered by the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 
552(a)).

    Dated: July 30, 2004.
Hope Grey,
Service Information Collection Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 04-17957 Filed 8-5-04; 8:45 am]
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