[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 207 (Thursday, October 25, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65200-65201]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-26260]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R3-ES-2012-N247; FX3ES11130300000D2-123-FF03E00000]


Information Collection Request Sent to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for Approval; Bald Eagle Post-delisting Monitoring

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 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. 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 November 26, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments and suggestions on this information 
collection to the Desk Officer for the

[[Page 65201]]

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 
``1018-0143'' 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: 1018-0143.
    Title: Bald Eagle Post-delisting Monitoring.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Description of Respondents: States, tribes, and local governments; 
Federal land managers; and nongovernmental partners.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Frequency of Collection: Once every 5 years.

    Note: For each 5-year survey, we estimate a total of 48 
respondents will provide 48 responses totaling 1,478 burden hours. 
The burden estimates below are annualized over the 3-year period of 
OMB approval.

    Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 16.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 16.
    Estimated Time per Response: 30.8 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 493.
    Abstract: This information collection implements the requirements 
of the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) (ESA). There are 
no corresponding Service regulations for the ESA's post-delisting 
monitoring requirement.
    The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) in the lower 48 States 
was removed from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 
(delisted) on August 8, 2007 (72 FR 37346, July 9, 2007). Section 4(g) 
of the ESA requires that all species that are recovered and removed 
from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife be monitored in 
cooperation with the States for a period of not less than 5 years. The 
purpose of this requirement is to detect any failure of a recovered 
species to sustain itself without the protections of the ESA. We work 
with relevant Federal, State, and tribal entities, and other species 
experts to develop plans and procedures for systematically monitoring 
recovered wildlife and plants after a species is delisted. The bald 
eagle has a large geographic distribution that includes a substantial 
amount of non-Federal land. Although the ESA requires that monitoring 
of recovered species be conducted for not less than 5 years, the life 
history of bald eagles is such that it is appropriate to monitor this 
species for a longer period of time in order to meaningfully evaluate 
whether or not the bald eagle continues to maintain its recovered 
status.
    We plan to monitor the status of the bald eagle in the 48 
contiguous States by collecting data on nests over a 20-year period 
with sampling events held once every 5 years. The Post-delisting 
Monitoring Plan for the Bald Eagle (Plan) describes monitoring 
procedures and methods. The Plan is available at http://www.fws.gov/midwest/eagle/protect/FINAL_BEPDM11May2010.pdf. We will use the 
monitoring data to review the status of the bald eagle in the United 
States and determine if it remains recovered and, therefore, does not 
require the protections of the ESA.
    Comments: On June 7, 2012, we published in the Federal Register (77 
FR 33765) a notice of our intent to request that OMB renew approval for 
this information collection. In that notice, we solicited comments for 
60 days, ending on August 6, 2012. We received one comment. The 
commenter objected to the removal of the bald eagle from the endangered 
species list, but did not address the information collection 
requirements. We did not make any changes to our requirements based on 
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 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: October 19, 2012.
Tina A. Campbell,
Chief, Division of Policy and Directives Management, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-26260 Filed 10-24-12; 8:45 am]
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