[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 63 (Tuesday, April 2, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19728-19729]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-07612]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS--R7--MB--2013--N077; FF09M21200--123--FXMB1231099BPP0L2]


Information Collection Request Sent to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for Approval; Alaska Migratory Bird Subsistence 
Harvest Household Survey

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 April 30, 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 May 2, 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 ``1018-0124'' 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: 1018-0124.
    Title: Alaska Migratory Bird Subsistence Harvest Household Survey.
    Service Form Number(s): 3-2380, 3-2381-1, 3-2381-2, 3-2381-3, and 
3-2381-4.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Description of Respondents: Households within subsistence eligible 
areas of Alaska (Alaska Peninsula, Kodiak Archipelago, Aleutian 
Islands, and areas north and west of the Alaska Range).
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Frequency of Collection: Annually for Tracking Sheet and Household 
Consent; three times annually for Harvest Report.

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                                          Number of          Number of       Completion time      Total annual
              Activity                   respondents         responses        per  response       burden hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3-2380-Tracking Sheet and Household               2,760              2,760                  5                230
 Consent............................
3-2381-1 thru 3-2381-4-Harvest                    2,300              6,900                  5                575
 Report (three seasonal sheets).....
    Totals..........................              5,060              9,660  .................                805
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    Abstract: The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 (16 U.S.C. 703-712) 
and the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 742d) designate the 
Department of the Interior as the key agency responsible for managing 
migratory bird populations that frequent the United States and for 
setting harvest regulations that allow for the conservation of those 
populations. These responsibilities include gathering accurate 
geographical and temporal data on various characteristics of migratory 
bird harvest. We use harvest data to review regulation proposals and to 
issue harvest regulations.
    The Migratory Bird Treaty Act Protocol Amendment (1995) (Amendment) 
provides for the customary and traditional use of migratory birds and 
their eggs for subsistence use by indigenous inhabitants of Alaska. The 
Amendment states that its intent is not to cause significant increases 
in the take of species of migratory birds relative to their continental 
population sizes. A submittal letter from the Department of State to 
the White House (May 20, 1996) accompanied the Amendment and specified 
the need for harvest monitoring. The submittal letter stated that the 
Service, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG), and Alaska 
Native organizations would collect harvest information cooperatively 
within the subsistence eligible areas. Harvest survey data help to 
ensure that customary and traditional subsistence uses of migratory 
birds and their eggs by indigenous inhabitants of Alaska do not 
significantly increase the take of species of migratory birds relative 
to their continental population sizes.
    Between 1989 and 2004, we monitored subsistence harvest of 
migratory birds using annual household surveys in the Yukon-Kuskokwim 
Delta, which is the region of highest subsistence bird harvest in the 
State of Alaska. In 2004, we began monitoring subsistence harvest of 
migratory birds in subsistence eligible areas Statewide. The Statewide 
harvest assessment program helps to track trends and changes in levels 
of harvest. The harvest assessment program relies on collaboration 
among the Service, the

[[Page 19729]]

ADFG, and a number of Alaska Native organizations.
    We gather information on the annual subsistence harvest of about 60 
bird species/species categories (ducks, geese, swans, cranes, upland 
game birds, seabirds, shorebirds, and grebes, and loons) in the 
subsistence eligible areas of Alaska. The survey covers 11 regions of 
Alaska, which are further divided into 29 subregions. We survey the 
regions and villages in a rotation schedule to accommodate budget 
constraints and to minimize respondent burden. The survey covers 
spring, summer, and fall harvest in most regions.
    In collaboration with Alaska Native organizations, we hire local 
resident surveyors to collect the harvest information. The surveyors 
list all households in the villages to be surveyed and provide survey 
information and harvest report forms to randomly selected households 
that have agreed to participate in the survey. To ensure anonymity of 
harvest information, we identify households by a numeric code. The 
surveyor visits households three times during the survey year. At the 
first household visit, the surveyor explains the survey purposes and 
invites household participation. The surveyor returns at the end of the 
season of most harvest and at the end of the two other seasons combined 
to help the household complete the harvest report form.
    We have designed the survey methods to streamline procedures and 
reduce respondent burden. We plan to use two forms for household 
participation:
     FWS Form 3-2380 (Tracking Sheet and Household Consent). 
The surveyor visits each household selected to participate in the 
survey to provide information on the objectives and to obtain household 
consent to participate. The surveyor uses this form to record consent 
and track subsequent visits for completion of harvest reports.
     FWS Forms 3-2381-1, 3-2381-2, 3-2381-3, and 3-2381-4 
(Harvest Report). The Harvest Report has drawings of bird species most 
commonly available for harvest in the different regions of Alaska with 
fields for writing down the numbers of birds and eggs taken. There are 
four versions of this form: Interior Alaska, North Slope, Southern 
Coastal Alaska, and Western Alaska. This form has a sheet for each 
season surveyed, and each sheet has fields for the household code, 
community name, harvest year, date of completion, and comments.
    Comments: On October 25, 2012, we published in the Federal Register 
(75 FR 65201) 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 December 24, 2012. We received one comment. The 
commenter stated that migratory birds should not be hunted, that people 
extensively lie in harvest reports, and, therefore, this survey is a 
waste of taxpayer dollars. Traditionally, harvest and sharing of wild 
fish, caribou, moose, marine mammals, and birds have been (and still 
are) the core of the diet, social organization, and spiritual life of 
Alaska Native cultures. The large majority of these villages are in 
remote, non-roaded areas, and subsistence harvests play an important 
role in food security. Subsistence harvest surveys allow Alaska Native 
people to actively engage as stakeholders in the management and 
conservation of the wildlife resources they rely upon. We believe the 
vast majority of the information provided in this survey is honest and 
truthful. Harvest survey data are used to assess and adjust hunting 
regulations that help protect the birds and sustainable hunting 
opportunities. Taxpayer dollars invested in harvest surveys help 
protect birds that people rely upon for food and for the enjoyment by 
present and future generations of both hunters and non-hunters. We did 
not make any changes to the information collection requirements.
    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: March 27, 2013.
Tina A. Campbell,
Chief, Division of Policy and Directives Management, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-07612 Filed 4-1-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P