[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 225 (Wednesday, November 23, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70874-70875]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-23173]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Information Collection Renewal To Be Sent to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for Approval Under the Paperwork Reduction 
Act; OMB Control Number 1018-0120; Federal Subsistence Regional 
Advisory Council Member Application/Nomination and Interview Forms

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We (Fish and Wildlife Service) plan to request that OMB renew 
approval for our information collection associated with the recruitment 
of Federal Subsistence Regional Advisory Council members. The current 
OMB control number for this information collection is 1018-0120, which 
expires February 28, 2006. We will request that OMB renew approval of 
this information collection for a 3-year term.

DATES: You must submit comments on or before January 23, 2006.

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

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request a copy of the information 
collection requirement, explanatory information, or related forms, 
contact Hope Grey at the addresses above or by telephone at (703) 358-
2482.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OMB regulations at 5 CFR part 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 CFR 1320.8(d)). 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.
    Title VIII of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act 
(16 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) designates the Departments of the Interior and 
Agriculture as the key agencies responsible for implementing the 
subsistence priority on Federal public lands for rural Alaska 
residents. These responsibilities include the establishment of Federal 
Subsistence Regional Advisory Councils (Regional Councils) with members 
from each region who are knowledgeable about the region and subsistence 
uses of the public lands. Membership on the Regional Councils includes 
subsistence use and sport/commercial use representatives and is one way 
for the public to become involved in the Federal regulatory process.
    Based upon recommendations of the Federal Subsistence Board, the 
Secretary of the Interior, with the concurrence of the Secretary of 
Agriculture, appoints members to the Regional Councils. One-third of 
the seats on the Regional Councils become vacant each year. Additional 
vacancies may occur due to resignations or deaths of sitting members. 
We recruit and screen applicants to help the Federal Subsistence Board 
develop a list of recommended appointments for consideration by the 
Secretary of the Interior. We use three forms to collect information 
during the recruitment process: FWS Form 3-2321 (Regional Council 
Membership Application/Nomination), FWS Form 3-2322 (Regional Council 
Candidate Interview), and FWS Form 3-2323 (Regional Council Reference/
Key Contact Interview). We no longer use Form 7-FW5 (Federal 
Subsistence Regional Advisory Council Membership Nomination).
    Title: Federal Subsistence Regional Advisory Council Member 
Application/Nomination and Interview Forms.
    OMB Control Number: 1018-0120.
    Form Numbers: FWS Form 3-2321, FWS Form 3-2322, and FWS Form 3-
2323.
    Frequency of Collection: Annually.
    Description of Respondents: Alaska residents.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     Average      Total
                                       Number of   burden hour   annual
              Form No.                   annual        per       burden
                                       responses     response     hours
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FWS Form 3-2321.....................          100            2       200
FWS Form 3-2322.....................          100           .5        50
FWS Form 3-2323.....................          400          .25       100
                                     --------------
    Total...........................          600  ...........       350
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    Each person desiring to serve on a Regional Council must complete 
FWS Form 3-2321. Persons nominating other individuals for membership 
must also complete this form. Applicants provide information on (1) 
their knowledge of fish and wildlife resources as well as subsistence 
and other uses of the resources; (2) their service on working groups, 
conservation committees, etc.; (3) how they would represent the people 
in the region; and (4) their willingness to travel and attend meetings. 
In addition, applicants must provide three references.
    Federal staff use FWS Form 3-2322 to conduct applicant interviews 
by telephone. Respondents do not see the printed form. Interviewers 
will ask questions regarding the applicant's willingness to serve on 
the Regional Council and will ask applicants to explain information 
provided on FWS Form 3-2321.
    Federal staff use FWS Form 3-2323 (Regional Council Reference/Key 
Contact Interview Form) to conduct interviews of references/key 
contacts for prospective Regional Council members. We conduct all 
interviews by telephone and the respondents do not see the printed 
form. Interviewers will ask questions about the applicant's (1) 
knowledge of fish and wildlife resources as well as subsistence 
practices and commercial/sport activities; (2)

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leadership ability; and (3) ability to communicate.
    The Federal Subsistence Board uses this information to make 
recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior for appointment of 
members to the Regional Councils. The information collected is 
restricted to the Regional Council member selection process and only to 
staff that the Federal Subsistence Board deems necessary. The 
information collections in this program are part of a system of records 
covered by the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552(a)).
    We invite comments concerning this proposed information collection 
on: (1) Whether or not the collection of information is necessary for 
the proper selection of Regional Council members, 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.

    Dated: November 4, 2005.
Hope G. Grey,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 05-23173 Filed 11-22-05; 8:45 am]
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