[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 220 (Tuesday, November 15, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70749-70751]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-29386]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R9-MB-2011-N238; 91100-3740-GRNT-7C]


Information Collection Request Sent to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for Approval; Migratory Birds and Wetlands 
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) 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 December 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 December 15, 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] (email). 
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] (email). Please include ``1018-0100'' in the subject 
line of your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information 
about this ICR, contact Hope Grey at [email protected] (email) 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: 1018-0100.
    Title: Migratory Birds and Wetlands Conservation Grant Programs.
    Service Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Description of Respondents: Domestic and foreign individuals, 
businesses and other for-profit organizations;

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educational organizations; not-for-profit institutions; and Federal, 
State, local, and/or tribal governments.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.
    Frequency of Collection: On occasion.

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                                                                               Completion time
                Activity                      Number of         Number of       per response      Total annual
                                             respondents        responses          (hours)        burden hours
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NAWCA Small Grants--Applications........                87                87                58             5,046
NAWCA Small Grants--Reports.............               109               109                33             3,597
NAWCA U.S. Standard Grants--Applications                77                77               215            16,555
NAWCA Canadian and Mexican Standard                     32                32                80             2,560
 Grants--Applications...................
NAWCA Standard Grants--Reports..........               188               188                43             8,084
NMBCA Grant Applications................               106               106                62             6,572
NMBCA Reports...........................                71                71                42             2,982
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    TOTALS..............................               670               670  ................            45,396
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    Abstract: The Division of Bird Habitat Conservation administers 
grant programs associated with the North American Wetlands Conservation 
Act (NAWCA), Public Law 101-233, and the Neotropical Migratory Bird 
Conservation Act (NMBCA), Public Law 106-247. Currently, information 
that we collect for NMBCA grants is approved under OMB Control No. 
1018-0113, which expires March 31, 2012. We are proposing to 
consolidate NAWCA and NMBCA grants under OMB Control No. 1018-0100. If 
OMB approves this request, we will discontinue OMB Control Number 1018-
0113.

North American Wetlands Conservation Act Grants

    NAWCA provides matching grants to organizations and individuals who 
have developed partnerships to carry out wetlands conservation projects 
in the United States, Canada, and Mexico for the benefit of wetlands-
associated migratory birds and other wildlife. There is a Standard and 
a Small Grants Program. Both are competitive grants programs and 
require that grant requests be matched by partner contributions at no 
less than a 1-to-1 ratio. Funds from U.S. Federal sources may 
contribute to a project, but are not eligible as match.
    The Standard Grants Program supports projects in Canada, the United 
States, and Mexico that involve long-term protection, restoration, and/
or enhancement of wetlands and associated uplands habitats. In Mexico, 
partners may also conduct projects involving technical training, 
environmental education and outreach, organizational infrastructure 
development, and sustainable-use studies.
    The Small Grants Program operates only in the United States. It 
supports the same types of projects and adheres to the same selection 
criteria and administrative guidelines as the U.S. Standard Grants 
Program. However, project activities are usually smaller in scope and 
involve fewer project dollars. Grant requests may not exceed $75,000, 
and funding priority is given to grantees or partners new to the NAWCA 
Grants Program.
    We publish notices of funding availability on the Grants.gov Web 
site at http://www.grants.gov as well as in the Catalog of Federal 
Domestic Assistance at http://cfda.gov. To compete for grant funds, 
partnerships submit applications that describe in substantial detail 
project locations, project resources, future benefits, and other 
characteristics that meet the standards established by the North 
American Wetlands Conservation Council and the requirements of NAWCA. 
Materials that describe the program and assist applicants in 
formulating project proposals are available on our Web site at http://www.fws.gov/birdhabitat/Grants/NAWCA. Persons who do not have access to 
the Internet may obtain instructional materials by mail. We have not 
made any major changes in the scope and general nature of the 
instructions since the OMB first approved the information collection in 
1999.

Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act

    NMBCA establishes a matching grant program to fund projects that 
promote the long-term conservation of neotropical migratory birds and 
their habitats in the United States, Canada, Latin America, and the 
Caribbean. Principal conservation actions supported are the protection 
and management of populations; maintenance, management, protection and 
restoration of habitat; research and monitoring; law enforcement; and 
community outreach and education. We publish notices of funding 
availability on the Grants.gov Web site as well as in the Catalog of 
Federal Domestic Assistance. To compete for grant funds, partnerships 
submit applications that describe in substantial detail project 
locations, project resources, future benefits, and other 
characteristics that meet the standards established by the U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service and the requirements of NMBCA.
    Materials that describe the program and assist applicants in 
formulating project proposals for consideration are available on our 
Web site at http://www.fws.gov/birdhabitat/Grants/NMBCA/index.shtm. 
Persons who do not have access to the Internet may obtain instructional 
materials by mail. We have not made any major changes in the scope and 
general nature of the instructions since the OMB first approved the 
information collection in 2002.
    Comments: On May 24, 2011, we published in the Federal Register (76 
FR 30186) a notice of our intent to request that OMB approve this 
information collection. In that notice, we solicited comments for 60 
days, ending on July 25, 2011. We received one comment. The commenter 
opposed these grant programs, but did not address the information 
collection requirements. We did not make any changes as a result of 
this comment.
    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

[[Page 70751]]

address, phone number, email 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 7, 2011.
Tina A. Campbell,
Chief, Division of Policy and Directives Management, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-29386 Filed 11-14-11; 8:45 am]
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