[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 230 (Friday, November 30, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67745-67747]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-23197]


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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 1018-0023; Migratory Bird 
Surveys

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. The ICR, which 
is summarized below, describes the nature of the collection and the 
estimated burden and cost. We are combining three surveys in this ICR 
because the surveys are interrelated and/or dependent upon each other:
    (1) Migratory Bird Hunter Surveys, currently approved under OMB 
Control No. 1018-0015, which expires February 28, 2008.
    (2) Parts Collection Survey, also approved under OMB Control No. 
1018-0015.
    (3) Sandhill Crane Harvest Survey, currently approved under OMB 
Control No. 1018-0023, which expires 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. 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 December 31, 2007.

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 hope--
[email protected] (e-mail).

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    OMB Control Number: 1018-0023.
    Title: Migratory Bird Surveys
    Service Form Number(s): 3-165, 3-165A, 3-165B, 3-165C, 3-165D, 3-
165E and 3-2056J-N.

[[Page 67746]]

    Type of Request: Revision of currently approved collections.
    Affected Public: States and migratory game bird hunters.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Frequency of Collection: On occasi

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                                   Number of annual    Number of annual   Completion time per    Annual burden
            Activity                  respondents          responses            response             hours
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Migratory Bird Harvest                            49                 686  185 hours..........            126,910
 Information Program.
Migratory Bird Hunter Survey....              85,000              85,000  4.3 minutes........              6,100
Parts Collection Survey.........              13,500             134,600  4.7 minutes........             10,436
Sandhill Crane Harvest Survey...               7,500               7,500  5 minutes..........                625
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    Totals......................             106,049             227,786  ...................            144,071
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    Abstract: The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703-711) and the 
Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 742d) designate the Department 
of the Interior as the key agency responsible for (1) the wise 
management of migratory bird populations frequenting the United States, 
and (2) setting hunting regulations that allow appropriate harvests 
that are within the guidelines that will allow for those populations' 
well-being. These responsibilities dictate that we gather accurate data 
on various characteristics of migratory bird harvest. Based on 
information from harvest surveys, we can adjust hunting regulations as 
needed to optimize harvests at levels that provide a maximum of hunting 
recreation while keeping populations at desired levels.
    Under the Migratory Bird Harvest Program, State licensing 
authorities collect the name and address information needed to provide 
a sample frame of all licensed migratory bird hunters. Since Federal 
regulations require that the States collect this information, we are 
including the associated burden in our approval request to OMB.
    The Migratory Bird Hunter Survey is based on the Migratory Bird 
Harvest Information Program, under which each State annually provides a 
list of all migratory bird hunters in the State. We randomly select 
migratory bird hunters; send them either a waterfowl questionnaire, a 
dove and band-tailed pigeon questionnaire, a woodcock questionnaire, or 
a snipe, rail, gallinule and coot questionnaire; and ask them to report 
their harvest of those species. The resulting estimates of harvest per 
hunter are combined with the complete list of migratory bird hunters to 
provide estimates of the total harvest of those species.
    The Parts Collection Survey estimates the species, sex, and age 
composition of the harvest, and the geographic and temporal 
distribution of the harvest. Randomly selected successful hunters who 
responded to the Migratory Bird Hunter Survey the previous year are 
asked to complete and return a postcard if they are willing to 
participate in the Parts Collection Survey. We provide postage-paid 
envelopes to respondents before the hunting season and ask them to send 
in a wing or the tail feathers from each duck, goose, or coot they 
harvest, or a wing from each woodcock, band-tailed pigeon, snipe, rail, 
or gallinule they harvest. We use the wings and tail feathers to 
identify the species, sex, and age of the harvested sample. We also ask 
respondents to report on the envelope the date and location of harvest 
for each bird. We combine the results of this survey with the harvest 
estimates obtained from the Migratory Bird Hunter Survey to provide 
species-specific national harvest estimates.
    The combined results of these surveys enable us to evaluate the 
effects of season length, season dates, and bag limits on the harvest 
of each species, and thus help us determine appropriate hunting 
regulations.
    The Sandhill Crane Harvest Survey is an annual questionnaire survey 
of people who obtained a sandhill crane hunting permit. At the end of 
the hunting season, we randomly select a sample of permit holders and 
ask them to report the date, location, and number of birds harvested 
for each of their sandhill crane hunts. Their responses provide 
estimates of the temporal and geographic distribution of the harvest as 
well as the average harvest per hunter, which, combined with the total 
number of permits issued, enables us to estimate the total harvest of 
sandhill cranes. Based on information from this survey, we adjust 
hunting regulations as needed to optimize harvest at levels that 
provide a maximum of hunting recreation while keeping the population at 
the desired level.
    We are also seeking approval to add a mourning dove wing collection 
to the Parts Collection Survey on an experimental basis. We will use 
the wings to identify the age of each sample, thereby providing 
estimates of annual mourning dove productivity at the management unit 
level. Those estimates of annual productivity are needed to improve the 
mourning dove population models that we have developed for each 
management unit. We will compare the results and costs of our 
experimental mail survey with results and costs of mourning dove wing 
collection methods that are currently employed by some, but not all, 
States that have dove hunting seasons. If mourning dove productivity 
estimates are similar for the two methods, we would propose to adopt 
the more cost-effective method on a national scale.
    Comments: On March 16, 2007, we published in the Federal Register 
(72 FR 12628) 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 May 16, 2007. We received one comment. The 
commenter did not address the information collection requirements, but 
did protest the entire migratory bird hunting regulations process, 
surveys and monitoring programs, and the killing of all migratory 
birds. Our long-term objectives continue to include providing 
opportunities to harvest portions of certain migratory game bird 
populations and limit harvest to levels compatible with each 
population's ability to maintain healthy, viable numbers. Our harvest 
surveys are an integral part of our monitoring programs, which provide 
the information that we need to ensure harvest levels are commensurate 
with current status of migratory game bird populations and long-term 
population goals.
    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.

[[Page 67747]]

    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. 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 OMB in your comment to withhold your personal 
identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that it 
will be done.

    Dated: November 14, 2007
Hope Grey,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, Fish and Wildlife Service.
FR Doc. E7-23197 Filed 11-29-07;8:45am
BILLING CODE 4310-55-S