[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 209 (Monday, October 30, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63342-63343]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-18149]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Information Collection Sent to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for Approval; OMB Control Number 1018-0124; Migratory Bird 
Subsistence Harvest Household Survey

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We (Fish and Wildlife Service) have sent an Information 
Collection Request (ICR) to OMB for review and approval. This ICR is 
scheduled to expire on October 31, 2006. We 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. However, under 
OMB regulations, we may continue to conduct or sponsor this information 
collection while it is pending at OMB.

DATES: You must submit comments on or before November 29, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments and suggestions on this ICR to the Desk 
Officer for the Department of the Interior at OMB-OIRA at (202) 395-
6566 (fax) or [email protected] (e-mail). Please provide a copy 
of your comments to Hope Grey, Information Collection Clearance 
Officer, Fish and Wildlife Service, MS 222-ARLSQ, 4401 North Fairfax 
Drive, Arlington, VA 22203 (mail); (703) 358-2269 (fax); or [email protected] (e-mail).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information 
about this ICR, contact Hope Grey at one of the addresses above or by 
telephone at (703) 358-2482.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OMB Control Number: 1018-0124.
    Title: Migratory Bird Subsistence Harvest Household Survey.
    Service Form Numbers: 7-FW-100, 7-FW-101, 7-FW-102, 7-FW-103, 7-FW-
103a, and 7-FW-103b.
    Type of Request: Revision of currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Households within the subsistence eligible areas 
of Alaska (Alaska Peninsula, Kodiak Archipelago, the Aleutian Islands, 
or in areas north and west of the Alaska Range (50 CFR 92.5)).
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Frequency of Collection: Once per year for forms 7-FW-100, 7-FW-
101, and 7-FW-102. Three times per year for forms 7-FW 103, 7-FW-103a, 
and 7-FW-103b.

[[Page 63343]]



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                   Average time/
                      Form                           Number of    Annual  number     response      Total annual
                                                    respondents    of  responses     (minutes)     burden hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7-FW-100........................................          23,000          23,000               1             383
7-FW-101........................................             182             182              30              91
7-FW-102........................................          14,000          14,000               5           1,167
7-FW-103, a, b..................................          11,500          34,500               5           2,875
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Abstract: The Migratory Bird Treaty Act Protocol Amendment (1995) 
(Amendment) provides for the customary and traditional use of migratory 
birds and their eggs for subsistence use by indigenous inhabitants of 
Alaska. The Amendment, however, states that its intent is not to cause 
significant increases in the take of species of migratory birds 
relative to their continental population sizes. A May 20, 1996, 
submittal letter from the Department of State to the White House 
accompanied the Amendment and specified the need for harvest 
monitoring. The letter stated that the Fish and Wildlife Service, the 
Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and Native organizations 
cooperatively would collect harvest estimates within the subsistence 
eligible areas. Harvest survey data help ensure that customary and 
traditional use of migratory birds and their eggs for subsistence use 
by indigenous inhabitants of Alaska does not significantly increase the 
take of species of migratory birds relative to their continental 
population sizes.
    From 1989 to 2004, we monitored subsistence harvest in Alaska 
through the use of annual household surveys in the most heavily used 
subsistence harvest areas; e.g., Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. In 2004, we 
began monitoring subsistence harvest in subsistence eligible areas 
Statewide. We presently rotate survey areas due to budget constraints. 
This monitoring enables us to track significant changes or trends in 
levels of harvest and user participation.
    We gather information on the annual subsistence harvest of 54 
species of birds (including geese, ducks, swans, cranes, loons, 
seabirds, shorebirds, and upland game birds) through surveys of 
households in the subsistence eligible areas of Alaska. Annually, local 
village resident surveyors produce lists of all households in each 
village and provide survey forms to randomly selected households. We 
combine the estimates of harvest per household with the complete list 
of households in the subsistence-eligible areas to obtain estimates of 
the total annual harvest. We use four forms to collect the harvest 
information. We will aggregate all information collected and use it 
only for statistical purposes. We do not arrange or retrieve forms by a 
personal identifier.
    Comments: On June 21, 2006, we published in the Federal Register 
(71 FR 35690) a notice of our intent to request that OMB renew approval 
for this information collection. In that notice, we solicited comments 
for 60 days, ending on August 21, 2006. One comment was received in 
response to this notice. The commenter did not believe that the 
information provided by respondents was truthful and objected to the 
use of taxpayer dollars for the surveys.
    We collect this information from people who are part of 
subsistence-based, Alaska Native cultures, whose ancestors have relied 
on migratory birds for food for thousands of years to sustain them 
physically, emotionally, and spiritually. These birds continue to be an 
important part of the Alaska Native diet in nonroaded, remote parts of 
Alaska, particularly in springtime. We believe that the information is 
basically honest and truthful, because:
    (1) The reported bird species harvest information corresponds to 
the species actually known to be in the areas surveyed;
    (2) The harvest information is relatively consistent from year to 
year, by time period and region, and the harvest trends have generally 
tracked the bird population trends; and
    (3) People have an incentive to accurately report their harvests, 
because they know the information is used to manage the birds they 
depend on for food. They also know that documenting their customary and 
traditional dependence on birds is important, especially in times of 
resource shortage.
    Harvest survey information aids in promulgating regulations that 
help protect the birds. Therefore, taxpayer dollars that pay for 
harvest surveys are helping protect birds that people depend on for 
food as well as for enjoyment by present and future generations. We did 
not make any changes to our information collection as a result of this 
comment.
    We again invite comments concerning this information collection on:
    (1) Whether or not the collection of information is necessary, 
including whether or not the information will have practical utility;
    (2) The accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this 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. Comments submitted in response to this notice are a matter 
of public record.

    Dated: October 16, 2006.
Hope Grey,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, Fish and Wildlife Service.
 [FR Doc. E6-18149 Filed 10-27-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P