[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 25 (Monday, February 7, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6629-6631]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-2541]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R9-MB-2010-N022; 91200-1231-00WH-M3]


Information Collection Sent to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for Approval; OMB Control No. 1018-0023, Migratory Bird 
Surveys

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) have sent an Information 
Collection Request (ICR) to OMB for review and approval. We summarize 
the ICR below and describe the nature of the collection and the 
estimated burden and cost. This information collection is scheduled to 
expire on February 28, 2011. 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 March 9, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments and suggestions on this information 
collection to the Desk Officer for the Department of the Interior at 
OMB-OIRA at (202) 395-5806 (fax) or [email protected] (e-mail). 
Please provide a copy of your comments to the Service Information 
Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS 222-
ARLSQ, 4401

[[Page 6630]]

North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203 (mail), or [email protected] (e-
mail). Please include 1018-0023 in the subject line of your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information 
about this ICR, contact Khristi Wilkins at (301) 497-5557 (telephone) 
or [email protected] (e-mail). You may review the ICR online 
at  http://www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to review 
Department of the Interior collections under review by OMB.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    OMB Control Number: 1018-0023.
    Title: Migratory Bird Surveys.
    Service Form Number(s): 3-165, 3-165A--E, and 3-2056J--N.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Description of Respondents: States and migratory game bird hunters.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Frequency of Collection: Annually or on occasion.

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                                        Number of       Number of        Completion time per       Total annual
              Activity                 respondents      responses              response            burden hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Migratory Bird Harvest Information               49             686  185 hours..................         126,910
 Program.
Migratory Bird Hunter Survey:
    Form 3-2056J...................          37,100          37,100  5 minutes..................           3,092
    Form 3-2056K...................          23,100          23,100  4 minutes..................           1,540
    Form 3-2056L...................          11,700          11,700  4 minutes..................             780
    Form 3-2056M...................          12,300          12,300  3 minutes..................             615
Parts Collection Survey:
    Form 3-165.....................           6,500         117,000  5 minutes..................           9,750
    Form 3-165A....................           6,000           6,000  1 minute...................             100
    Form 3-165B....................           3,000           4,500  5 minutes..................             375
    Form 3-165C....................             400             400  1 minute...................               7
    Form 3-165D....................           2,600           2,600  1 minute...................              43
    Form 3-165E....................           2,600           3,900  5 minutes..................             325
Sandhill Crane Harvest Survey:
    Form 3-2056N...................           8,300           8,300  3.5 minutes................             484
                                    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Total......................         113,649         227,586  ...........................         144,021
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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 and ask them to report their harvest. The 
resulting estimates of harvest per hunter are combined with the 
complete list of migratory bird hunters to provide estimates of the 
total harvest for the species surveyed.
    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 or goose they harvest, or 
a wing from each mourning dove, 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.
    Comments: On June 18, 2010, we published in the Federal Register 
(75 FR 34758) a notice of our intent to request that OMB renew this 
ICR. In that notice, we solicited comments for 60 days, ending on 
August 17, 2010. We received one comment. The commenter did not address 
the information collection requirements, but did express opposition to 
hunting and to the surveys. 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

[[Page 6631]]

ensure harvest levels are commensurate with the current status of 
migratory game bird populations and long-term population goals. We did 
not make any changes to the information collection.
    We again invite comments concerning this information collection on:
     Whether or not the collection of information is necessary, 
including whether or not the information will have practical utility;
     The accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this 
collection of information;
     Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     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. 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: January 31, 2011.
Tina A. Campbell,
Chief, Division of Policy and Directives Management, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-2541 Filed 2-4-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P