[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 100 (Tuesday, May 24, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30187-30188]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-12814]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R9-IA-2011-N103; 96200-1672-0002-R5]


Information Collection Request Sent to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for Approval; International Conservation Grant 
Programs

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, FWS) 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 May 31, 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 June 23, 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 2042-
PDM, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203 (mail), or 
[email protected] (e-mail). Please include 1018-0123 in the subject line 
of your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information 
about this ICR, contact Hope Grey at [email protected] (e-mail) or 703-
358-2482 (telephone). 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: 1018-0123.
    Title: International Conservation Grant Programs.
    Service Form Number: 3-2338.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Description of Respondents: Domestic and nondomestic individuals; 
nonprofit organizations; educational institutions; private sector 
entities; and State, local, and tribal governments.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.
    Frequency of Collection: On occasion.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                    Completion
                                                     Number of       Number of       time per      Total annual
                    Activity                        respondents      responses       response      burden hours
                                                                                      (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Applications....................................             668             668              22          14,696
Reports.........................................             302             604              40          24,160
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals......................................             970           1,272  ..............          38,856
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    Abstract: Some of the world's most treasured and exotic animals are 
dangerously close to extinction. Destruction of natural habitat, 
illegal poaching, and pet-trade smuggling are devastating populations 
of tigers, rhinos, marine turtles, great apes, elephants, and many 
other highly cherished species. The Division of

[[Page 30188]]

International Conservation administers competitive grant programs 
funded under the:
     African Elephant Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 4201-4245).
     Asian Elephant Conservation Act of 1997 (16 U.S.C. 4261).
     Great Ape Conservation Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-411).
     Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act of 1994 (16 U.S.C. 
5306).
     Marine Turtle Conservation Act (Pub. L. 108-266).
     Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) (Wildlife 
Without Borders Programs--Africa; Mexico; Latin America and the 
Caribbean; Russia; Critically Endangered Animals; and Amphibians in 
Decline).
    Currently, information that we collect for Critically Endangered 
Animals grants is approved under OMB Control No. 1018-0142, which 
expires December 31, 2012. Information collection for Amphibians in 
Decline grants is approved under OMB Control No. 1018-0144, which 
expires September 30, 2013. We are proposing to consolidate all of our 
international conservation grants under OMB Control No. 1018-0123. If 
OMB approves this request, we will discontinue OMB Control Numbers 
1018-0142 and 1018-0144.
    Applicants submit proposals for funding in response to Notices of 
Funding Availability that we publish on Grants.gov. We collect the 
following information:
     Cover page with basic project details (FWS Form 3-2338).
     Project summary and narrative.
     Letter of appropriate government endorsement.
     Brief curricula vitae for key project personnel.
     Complete Standard Forms 424 and 424b (nondomestic 
applicants do not submit the standard forms).
    Proposals may also include, as appropriate, a copy of the 
organization's Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) and any 
additional documentation supporting the proposed project.
    The project summary and narrative are the basis for this 
information collection request. A panel of technical experts reviews 
each proposal to assess how well the project addresses the priorities 
identified by each program's authorizing legislation. As all of the on-
the-ground projects are conducted outside the United States, the letter 
of appropriate government endorsement ensures that the proposed 
activities will not meet with local resistance or work in opposition to 
locally identified priorities and needs. Brief curricula vitae for key 
project personnel allow the review panel to assess the qualifications 
of project staff to effectively carry out the project goals and 
objectives. As all Federal entities must honor the indirect cost rates 
an organization has negotiated with its cognizant agency, we require 
all organizations with a NICRA to submit the agreement paperwork with 
their proposals to verify how their rate is applied in their proposed 
budget. Applicants may provide any additional documentation that they 
believe supports their proposal.
    All assistance awards under these grant programs have a maximum 
reporting requirement of a:
     Mid-term report (performance report and a financial status 
report) due within 30 days of the conclusion of the first half of the 
project period, and
     Final report (performance and financial status report and 
copies of all deliverables, photographic documentation of the project 
and products resulting from the project) due within 90 days of the end 
of the performance period.
    Comments: On October 27, 2010, we published in the Federal Register 
(75 FR 66119) a notice of our intent to request that OMB approve this 
information collection. In that notice, we solicited comments for 60 
days, ending on December 27, 2010. We did not receive any comments.
    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: May 18, 2011.
Tina A. Campbell,
Chief, Division of Policy and Directives Management, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-12814 Filed 5-23-11; 8:45 am]
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