[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 85 (Wednesday, May 2, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26032-26034]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-10579]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R9-MB-2012-N102; 91200-1232-0000-P2]


Proposed Information Collection; Control and Management of 
Resident Canada Geese

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) will ask the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the information collection (IC) 
described below. As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and 
as part of our continuing efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent 
burden, we invite the general public and

[[Page 26033]]

other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on this IC. 
This IC is scheduled to expire on November 30, 2012. 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.

DATES: To ensure that we are able to consider your comments on this IC, 
we must receive them by July 2, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the IC to the Service Information 
Collection Clearance Officer, Fish and Wildlife Service, MS 2042-PDM, 
4401 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203 (mail); or 
[email protected] (email). Please include ``1018-0133'' in the subject 
line of your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information 
about this IC, contact Hope Grey at [email protected] (email) or 703-358-
2482 (telephone).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    I. Abstract. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act prohibits the take, 
possession, import, export, transport, sale, purchase, or bartering of 
migratory birds or their parts except as permitted under the terms of a 
valid permit or as permitted by regulations. In 2006, we issued 
regulations establishing two depredation orders and three control 
orders that allow State and tribal wildlife agencies, private 
landowners, and airports to conduct resident Canada goose population 
management, including the take of birds. We monitor the data collected 
for activities under these orders and may rescind an order if 
monitoring indicates that activities are inconsistent with conservation 
of Canada geese.
    Control order for airports. 50 CFR 21.49 allows managers at 
commercial, public, and private airports and military airfields and 
their employees or agents to implement management of resident Canada 
geese to resolve or prevent threats to public safety. An airport must 
be part of the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems and have 
received Federal grant-in-aid assistance or be a military airfield 
under the jurisdiction, custody, or control of the Secretary of a 
military department. Each facility exercising the privileges of the 
order must submit an annual report with the date, numbers, and 
locations of birds, nests, and eggs taken.
    Depredation order for nests and eggs. 50 CFR 21.50 allows private 
landowners and managers of public lands to destroy resident Canada 
goose nests and eggs on property under their jurisdiction provided they 
register annually on our Web site at https://epermits.fws.gov/eRCGR. 
Registrants must provide basic information, such as name, address, 
phone number and email, and identify where the control work will occur 
and who will conduct it. Registrants must return to the Web site to 
report the number of nests with eggs they destroyed.
    Depredation order for agricultural facilities. 50 CFR 21.51 allows 
States and tribes, via their wildlife agency, to implement a program to 
allow landowners, operators, and tenants actively engaged in commercial 
agriculture to conduct damage management control when geese are 
committing depredations or to resolve or prevent other injury to 
agricultural interests. State and tribal wildlife agencies in the 
Atlantic, Central, and Mississippi Flyway portions of 41 States can 
implement the provisions of the order. Agricultural producers must 
maintain a log of the date and number of birds taken under this 
authorization. States and tribes exercising the privileges of the order 
must submit an annual report of the numbers of birds, nests, and eggs 
taken and the county where take occurred.
    Public health control order. 50 CFR 21.52 authorizes States and 
tribes of the lower 48 States to conduct (via the State or tribal 
wildlife agency) resident Canada goose control and management 
activities when the geese pose a direct threat to human health. States 
and tribes operating under this order must submit an annual report 
summarizing activities, including the numbers of birds taken and the 
county where take occurred.
    Population control. 50 CFR 21.61 establishes a managed take program 
to reduce and stabilize resident Canada goose populations when 
traditional and otherwise authorized management measures are not 
successful or feasible. A State or tribal wildlife agency in the 
Atlantic, Mississippi, or Central Flyway may request approval for this 
population control program. If approved, the State or tribe may use 
hunters to harvest resident Canada geese during the month of August. 
Requests for approval must include a discussion of the State's or 
tribe's efforts to address its injurious situations using other methods 
or a discussion of the reasons why the methods are not feasible. If the 
Service Director approves a request, the State or tribe must (1) keep 
annual records of activities carried out under the authority of the 
program, and (2) provide an annual summary, including number of 
individuals participating in the program and the number of resident 
Canada geese shot. Additionally, participating States and tribes must 
monitor the spring breeding population by providing an annual estimate 
of the breeding population and distribution of resident Canada geese in 
their State.

II. Data

    OMB Control Number: 1018-0133.
    Title: Control and Management of Resident Canada Geese, 50 CFR 
20.21, 21.49, 21.50, 21.51, 21.52, and 21.61.
    Service Form Number: None.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Description of Respondents: State fish and wildlife agencies, 
tribes, and local governments; airports, landowners; and farms.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.
    Frequency of Collection: Annually.

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                                                                                    Completion
                    Activity                         Number of       Number of       time per      Total annual
                                                    respondents      responses    response hours   burden hours
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21.49--Airport Control Order--Annual Report.....              50              50             1.5              75
21.50--Nest and Egg Depredation Order--                    2,000           4,000              .5           2,000
 Registration and Report........................
21.51--Agricultural Depredation Order--                      600             600              .5             300
 Recordkeeping..................................
21.51--Agricultural Depredation Order--Annual                 20              20               8             160
 Report.........................................
21.52--Public Health Control Order--Annual                    20              20               1              20
 Report.........................................
21.61--Population Control Approval Request--                   8               8              24             192
 Recordkeeping and Annual Report................
21.61--Population Control Approval Request--                   8               8             160           1,280
 Population Estimates...........................
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals......................................           2,706           4,706  ..............           4,027
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[[Page 26034]]

III. Comments

    We 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. We will include or summarize each comment in our request 
to OMB to approve this IC. Before including your 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 us in your comment to withhold your personal 
identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we 
will be able to do so.

    Dated: April 26, 2012.
Tina A. Campbell,
Chief, Division of Policy and Directives Management, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-10579 Filed 5-1-12; 8:45 am]
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