[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 102 (Friday, May 26, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30439-30440]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-8198]


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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 1018-0014; Special Use Permit Application for 
National Wildlife Refuges in Alaska

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We (Fish and Wildlife Service, Service) plan to request that 
OMB renew approval for our information collection associated with the 
application for special use permits on national wildlife refuges in 
Alaska. The current OMB control number for this information collection 
is 1018-0014, which expires September 30, 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 July 25, 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 explanatory information 
about our information collection request or the related form, contact 
Hope Grey at the addresses above or 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 5 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.
    The National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, which 
amends the National Wildlife Refuge Administration Act (16 U.S.C. 
668dd-668ee), requires that we authorize economic activities on any 
national wildlife refuge by permit only when the activity will not be 
incompatible with the purpose(s) for which the refuge was established. 
The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) (16 U.S.C. 
410hh-3233 and 43 U.S.C. 1602-1784) provides for the disposition and 
use of a variety of federally owned lands in Alaska. Sections 302 and 
303 of ANILCA identify the purposes for which each refuge in Alaska was 
established and how we will manage each refuge. Section 304 of ANILCA 
prohibits us from permitting any use of Alaska refuges unless the use 
is compatible with the purposes of the refuge, and requires that we 
prescribe regulations and impose terms and conditions as may be 
necessary and appropriate to ensure activities permitted under any use 
are so compatible. Various other sections of ANILCA prescribe 
additional

[[Page 30440]]

conditions and requirements for us to permit uses on national wildlife 
refuges in Alaska.
    (1) Section 810 requires that we evaluate the effects of any 
proposed use on subsistence uses and needs.
    (2) Section 1303 establishes requirements and conditions for 
permitting use or construction of cabins, and states that we will issue 
no special use permits for cabins unless the permit applicant provides 
certain items of information.
    (3) Section 1307 contains provisions concerning persons and 
entities to whom we are to give special rights and preferences with 
respect to providing commercial visitor services (except for guided 
hunting and sport fishing services) on units of the National Wildlife 
Refuge System in Alaska.
    Our general refuge regulations provide for public entry for 
specialized purposes, including economic activities such as the 
operation of guiding, outfitting, and other visitor services on refuges 
by concessionaires or cooperators under appropriate contracts or legal 
agreements (see 50 CFR 25.61) or special use permits (see 50 CFR 
26.22(b) and 26.25). Alaska refuge regulations provide the authorities 
and procedures for issuing permits on Alaska refuges, most of which are 
for providers of services and facilities to the public (see 50 CFR 
36.37 and 36.41). We issue permits for a specific period as determined 
by the type and location of the use or visitor service provided.
    In addition to the above permits, Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge 
issues special use permits to allow public recreational use of certain 
easement lands in accordance with the terms of a private land 
conservation easement among the United States, the State of Alaska, and 
Koniag, Inc. Our previous request for approval of this information 
collection did not include burden estimates for these permits. When we 
send our renewal request to OMB, we will increase our burden estimates 
(see table below) to include the Kodiak permits.
    We use information provided on the permit application to determine 
if the applicant is qualified and eligible for a permit. For 
competitively awarded permits, we use the information to ensure that we 
select the most qualified applicants to receive the benefit of a refuge 
permit. Where applicable, we also use the information to determine the 
applicant's eligibility for special rights and preferences required by 
section 1307 of ANILCA. Refuge managers must determine or ensure that 
the proposed uses are compatible with the purposes of the refuge, 
provide safe and high-quality visitor services to the public, and are 
consistent with other statutory and regulatory requirements for 
management of Alaska refuges. Alaska refuge managers need the 
information requested on the permit application to evaluate potential 
impacts of the proposed uses on refuge resources and other refuge 
users.
    Title: Special Use Permit Application for National Wildlife Refuges 
in Alaska.
    OMB Control Number: 1018-0014.
    Form Number: FWS Form 3-2001.
    Frequency of Collection: On occasion.
    Description of Respondents: Individuals and households, business 
and other for-profit institutions, not-for-profit institutions, farms, 
and State, local, or tribal governments.
    Information Collection Burden Estimate:

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                                                             Annual number of    Completion      Annual burden
                Type of permit application                     respondents      time (hours)        (hours)
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Competitively issued permit...............................                180              30              5,400
Non-competitively issued permit...........................                410             0.8                328
                                                           --------------------
    Combined Total........................................                590  ..............              5,728
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    We invite comments concerning this proposed information collection 
on: (1) Whether or not the collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of our 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. This information collection is part of a 
system of records covered by the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552(a)).

    Dated: May 19, 2006.
Hope G. Grey,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, Fish and Wildlife Service.
 [FR Doc. E6-8198 Filed 5-25-06; 8:45 am]
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