[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 101 (Friday, May 23, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30143-30144]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-11588]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Geological Survey


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submitted for Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) Review; Comment Request

AGENCY: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), we 
are notifying the public that we have submitted to OMB an information 
collection request (ICR) to renew approval of the paperwork 
requirements for the ``North American Breeding Bird Survey.'' This 
notice also provides the public a second opportunity to comment on the 
paperwork burden of this collection.

DATES: Submit written comments by June 23, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Please submit comments on this information collection 
directly to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attention: Desk Officer for the 
Department of the Interior via e-mail: ([email protected]); or 
by fax (202) 395-6566; and identify your submission with 1028-
0079.
    Please also submit a copy of your comments to the Department of the 
Interior, USGS, via:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Use OMB Control Number 1028-
0079 in the subject line.
     Fax: (703) 648-7069. Use OMB Control Number 1028-0079 in 
the subject line.
     Mail or hand-carry comments to the Department of the 
Interior; USGS Clearance Officer, U.S. Geological Survey, 807 National 
Center, Reston, VA 20192. Please reference OMB Control Number 1028-0079 
in your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Keith Pardieck at (301) 497-5843. 
Copies of the full Information Collection Request and the form can be 
obtained at no cost at http://www.reginfo.gov or by contacting the USGS 
clearance officer at the phone number listed below.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS).
    OMB Control Number: 1028-0079.
    Bureau Form Number: None.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Abstract: The BBS is a long-term, large-scale avian monitoring 
program to track the status and trends of North American bird 
population. Volunteers conduct avian point counts once per year during 
the breeding season (primarily June). Volunteers skilled in avian 
identification listen for 3 minutes at 50 stops along the route 
recording all birds seen or heard. Data are submitted electronically 
via the Internet or on hard copy. These data are used to estimate 
population trends and abundances at various geographic scales and 
assist with documenting species distribution.
    Frequency: Annually.
    Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: Approximately 
2,500 volunteer respondents per year.
    Estimated Number of Responses: 2,500.
    Annual burden hours: 27,500.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: We 
estimate the public reporting burden averages 11 hours per response. 
This includes the time for driving to/from the survey route locations 
and scouting route, 50 3-minute data collection periods (one at each 
sampling station along the route), data submission, and data 
verification.
    Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost'' Burden: We 
estimate the total ``nonhour'' cost burden to be $126,250. This total 
includes costs of mileage for conducting the surveys.
    Public Disclosure Statement: The PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.) 
provides that an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and you are not 
required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays 
a currently valid OMB control number. Until OMB approves a collection 
of information, you are not obligated to respond.
    Comments: Before submitting an ICR to OMB, PRA section 
3506(c)(2)(A) (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.) requires each agency ``* * * to 
provide notice * * * and otherwise consult with members of the public 
and affected agencies concerning each proposed collection of 
information * * *.'' Agencies must specifically solicit comments to: 
(a) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the agency to perform its duties, including whether the 
information is useful; (b) evaluate the accuracy of the agency's 
estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information; (c) 
enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the information to be 
collected; and (d) minimize the burden

[[Page 30144]]

on the respondents, including the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.
    To comply with the public consultation process, on March 19, 2008, 
we published a Federal Register notice (73 FR 14832) announcing that we 
would submit this ICR to OMB for approval. The notice provided the 
required 60-day public comment period, which ended May 19, 2008. We 
received one comment. The commenter suggested that annual data 
collection was unnecessary and advocated estimating population size 
from year to year based upon the assumption that populations are 
declining 10 percent per year. Additional statements were not 
specifically relevant to the information collection requirements.
    Response: Established in 1966, the BBS program has provided 
scientifically rigorous national estimates of relative abundance and 
population trends for hundreds of bird species for over four decades. 
The information collected by the BBS is central to nongame avian 
conservation and management efforts in North America, informing 
science-based avian conservation and management actions by Federal and 
State agencies and private entities. Analyses of BBS data have 
identified that not all bird species are declining. In fact, over 40 
percent of the bird populations monitored by the BBS are increasing or 
are stable in numbers. Those that are decreasing are not necessarily 
decreasing throughout their entire ranges or by as much as 10 percent 
per year. Thus, through collection of actual population data annually, 
the BBS is able to identify species in areas most in need of intensive 
research and management efforts, allowing for efficient targeted use of 
Federal funds for species conservation and management efforts. The BBS 
also acts as an early warning system, identifying declining species 
long before they reach critically low levels. Finally, BBS data are 
collected by USGS volunteers highly skilled in avian identification 
making the BBS extremely cost-effective.
    USGS Information Collection Clearance Officer: Alfred Travnicek, 
703-648-7231.

    Dated: May 20, 2008.
Susan D. Haseltine,
Associate Director for Biology.
 [FR Doc. E8-11588 Filed 5-22-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4311-AM-P