[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 241 (Friday, December 14, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74498-74499]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-30181]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-HQ-MB-2012-N285; FF09M21200-234-FXMB1232099BPP0]


Information Collection Request Sent to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for Approval; Depredation Orders for Double-Crested 
Cormorants

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 January 31, 2013. 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 January 14, 2013.

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 ``1018-0121'' 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: 1018-0121.
    Title: Depredation Orders for Double-Crested Cormorants, 50 CFR 
21.47 and 21.48.
    Service Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Description of Respondents: Aquaculture producers, States, and 
tribes.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.
    Frequency of Collection: Annually for reports; ongoing for 
recordkeeping.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                    Completion
                                                     Number of       Number of       time per      Total annual
                    Activity                        respondents      responses       response      burden hours
                                                                                      (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Report take of migratory bird species other than               1               1               1               1
 double-crested cormorants (21.47(d)(7);
 21.48(d)(7))...................................
Report take of species protected under                         1               1               1               1
 Endangered Species Act (21.47(d)(8);
 21.48(d)(8))...................................
Written notice of intent to conduct control                   12              12               3              36
 activities (21.48(d)(9)).......................
Report of control activities (21.48(d)(10) and                12              12              20             240
 (11))..........................................
Report effects of management activities                        9               9              75             675
 (21.48(d)(12)).................................
Recordkeeping (21.47(d)(9)).....................             325             325               7           2,275
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals......................................             360             360  ..............           3,228
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Abstract: This information collection is associated with 
regulations implementing the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) (16 
U.S.C. 703 et seq.). Under the MBTA, it is unlawful to take, possess, 
import, export, transport, sell, purchase, barter, or offer for sale, 
purchase, or barter, migratory birds or their parts, nests, or eggs, 
except as authorized by regulations implementing the MBTA.
    The regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR 
21.47 (Aquaculture Depredation Order) authorize aquaculture producers 
and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (APHIS-Wildlife Services) in 13 
States to take double-crested cormorants when the birds are found 
committing or about to commit depredations on commercial freshwater 
aquaculture stocks. The regulations at 50 CFR 21.48 (Public Resource 
Depredation Order) authorize State fish and wildlife agencies, APHIS-
Wildlife Services, and federally recognized tribes in 24 States to take 
double-crested cormorants to prevent depredations on the public 
resources of fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats.
    Both 50 CFR 21.47 and 21.48 impose reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements on those operating under the depredation orders. We use 
the information collected to:
     Help assess the impact of the depredation orders on 
double-crested cormorant populations.
     Protect nontarget migratory birds or other species.
     Ensure that agencies and individuals are operating in 
accordance with the terms, conditions, and purpose of the orders.
     Help gauge the effectiveness of the orders at mitigating 
cormorant-related damages.
    Comments: On July 9, 2012, we published in the Federal Register (77 
FR 40374) 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 September 7, 2012. We received one comment. The 
commenter objected to APHIS-Wildlife Services being included as an 
action agency under the depredation orders, 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

[[Page 74499]]

     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: December 6, 2012.
Tina A. Campbell,
Chief, Division of Policy and Directives Management, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-30181 Filed 12-13-12; 8:45 am]
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