[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 133 (Thursday, July 12, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38096-38097]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-13469]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Proposed Information Collection; OMB Control Number 1018-0066; 
Marine Mammal Tagging, Marking, and Reporting

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We (Fish and Wildlife Service) will ask the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the information collection (IC) 
described below. As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and 
as part of our continuing efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent 
burden, we invite the general public and other Federal agencies to take 
this opportunity to comment on this IC. This IC is scheduled to expire 
on November 30, 2007. 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.

DATES: You must submit comments on or before September 10, 2007.

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

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information 
about this IC, contact Hope Grey by mail, fax, or e-mail (see 
ADDRESSES) or by telephone at (703) 358-2482.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
    Under Section 101(b) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 
(MMPA), as amended (16 U.S.C. 1361-1407), Alaska Natives residing in 
Alaska and dwelling on the coast of the North Pacific or Arctic Ocean 
may harvest polar bears, northern sea otters, and Pacific walrus for 
subsistence or handicraft purposes. Section 109(i) of the MMPA 
authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to prescribe marking, tagging, 
and reporting regulations applicable to the Alaska Native subsistence 
and handicraft take.
    On behalf of the Secretary, we implemented regulations at 50 CFR 
18.23(f) for Alaska Natives harvesting polar bear, northern sea otter, 
and Pacific walrus. These regulations enable us to gather data on the 
Alaska Native subsistence and handicraft harvest and on the biology of 
polar bear, northern sea otter, and Pacific walrus in Alaska to 
determine what effect such take may be having on these populations. The 
regulations also provide us with a means of monitoring the disposition 
of the harvest to ensure that any commercial use of products created 
from these species meets the criteria set forth in Section 101(b) of 
the MMPA. The information we collect includes, but is not limited to:
    (1) Date of kill.
    (2) Sex of the animal.
    (3) Kill location.
    (4) Form of transportation used to make the kill of polar bears.
    (5) Amount of time (i.e., hours/days hunted) spent hunting polar 
bears.
    (6) Type of take (live killed or beach found) for walrus.
    (7) Number of otters present in and number of otters harvested from 
pod.
    (8) Condition of the bear and whether or not polar bear cubs were 
present.
    (9) Name of the hunter or possessor of the specified parts at the 
time of marking, tagging, and reporting.
II. Data
    OMB Control Number: 1018-0066.
    Title: Marine Mammal Tagging, Marking, and Reporting.
    Service Form Number(s): R7-50, R7-51, R7-52.
    Type of Request: Revision of currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Individuals and households.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.
    Frequency of Collection: On occasion.

[[Page 38097]]



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                                   Number of annual    Number of annual   Completion time per    Annual burden
            Activity                  respondents          responses            response             hours
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R7-50 (walrus)..................               1,190               1,190  15 minutes.........                298
R7-51 (polar bear)..............                  52                  52  15 minutes.........                 13
R7-52 (sea otter)...............                 796                 796  15 minues..........                199
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    Totals......................               2,038               2,038  ...................                510
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III. Request for Comments
    We invite comments concerning this IC 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 that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. We will include and/or summarize each comment in our 
request to OMB to approve this IC. Before including your address, phone 
number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in 
your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment, including 
your personal identifying information, may be made publicly available 
at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your 
personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.

    Dated: June 25, 2007
Hope Grey,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, Fish and Wildlife Service.
FR Doc. E7-13469 Filed 7-11-07; 08:45 am
Billing Code 4310-55-S