[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 78 (Wednesday, April 23, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22696-22697]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-09259]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-HQ-MB-2014-N072; FXMB12310900WH0-134-91200-FF09M26000]


Information Collection Request Sent to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for Approval; Migratory Bird Harvest Information 
Program and Migratory Bird Surveys

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, 2014. 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 23, 2014.

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 ``1018-0023'' 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:

Information Collection Request

    OMB Control Number: 1018-0023.
    Title: Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program and Migratory 
Bird Surveys, 50 CFR 20.20.
    Service Form Number: 3-165, 3-165A through E, 3-2056J through N.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Description of Respondents: States and migratory game bird hunters.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory for Harvest Information Program 
registration information; voluntary for participation in the surveys.
    Frequency of Collection: Annually or on occasion.

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                                                                                                        Total
                                             Number of    Number of                                     annual
                 Activity                   respondents   responses    Completion time per response     burden
                                                                                                        hours
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Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program           49          686  185 hours....................      126,910
Migratory Bird Hunter Survey
Form 3--2056J.............................       37,100       37,100  5 minutes....................        3,092
Form 3--2056K.............................       23,100       23,100  4 minutes....................        1,540
Form 3--2056L.............................       11,700       11,700  4 minutes....................          780
Form 3--2056M.............................       12,300       12,300  3 minutes....................          615
Parts Collection Survey
Form 3--165...............................        6,500      117,000  5 minutes....................        9,750
Form 3--165A..............................        6,000        6,000  1 minute.....................          100

[[Page 22697]]

 
Form 3--165B..............................        3,000        4,500  5 minutes....................          375
Form 3--165C..............................          400          400  1 minute.....................            7
Form 3--165D..............................        2,600        2,600  1 minute.....................           43
Form 3--165E..............................        2,600        3,900  5 minutes....................          325
Sandhill Crane Harvest Survey
Form 3--2056N.............................        8,300        8,300  3.5 minutes..................          484
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    Total.................................      113,649      227,586  .............................      144,021
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    Abstract: The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703-711) 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 (1) the wise 
management of migratory bird populations frequenting the United States, 
and (2) setting hunting regulations that allow appropriate harvests 
that are within the guidelines that will allow for those populations' 
well-being. These responsibilities dictate that we gather accurate data 
on various characteristics of migratory bird harvest. Based on 
information from harvest surveys, we can adjust hunting regulations as 
needed to optimize harvests at levels that provide a maximum of hunting 
recreation while keeping populations at desired levels.
    Under 50 CFR 20.20, migratory bird hunters must register for the 
Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program (HIP) in each State in which 
they hunt each year. State natural resource agencies must send names 
and addresses of all migratory bird hunters to us annually.
    The Migratory Bird Hunter Survey is based on the Migratory Bird 
Harvest Information Program. We randomly select migratory bird hunters 
and ask them to report their harvest. The resulting estimates of 
harvest per hunter are combined with the complete list of migratory 
bird hunters to provide estimates of the total harvest for the species 
surveyed.
    The Parts Collection Survey estimates the species, sex, and age 
composition of the harvest, and the geographic and temporal 
distribution of the harvest. Randomly selected successful hunters who 
responded to the Migratory Bird Hunter Survey the previous year are 
asked to complete and return a form if they are willing to participate 
in the Parts Collection Survey. We provide postage-paid envelopes to 
respondents before the hunting season and ask them to send in a wing or 
the tail feathers from each duck or goose that they harvest, or a wing 
from each mourning dove, woodcock, band-tailed pigeon, snipe, rail, or 
gallinule that they harvest. We use the wings and tail feathers to 
identify the species, sex, and age of the harvested sample. We also ask 
respondents to report on the envelope the date and location of harvest 
for each bird. We combine the results of this survey with the harvest 
estimates obtained from the Migratory Bird Hunter Survey to provide 
species-specific national harvest estimates.
    The combined results of these surveys enable us to evaluate the 
effects of season length, season dates, and bag limits on the harvest 
of each species, and thus help us determine appropriate hunting 
regulations.
    The Sandhill Crane Harvest Survey is an annual questionnaire survey 
of people who obtained a sandhill crane hunting permit. At the end of 
the hunting season, we randomly select a sample of permit holders and 
ask them to report the date, location, and number of birds harvested 
for each of their sandhill crane hunts. Their responses provide 
estimates of the temporal and geographic distribution of the harvest as 
well as the average harvest per hunter, which, combined with the total 
number of permits issued, enables us to estimate the total harvest of 
sandhill cranes. Based on information from this survey, we adjust 
hunting regulations as needed.

Comment Received and Our Response

    Comments: On November 8, 2013, we published in the Federal Register 
(78 FR 67183) 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 January 7, 2014. We received one comment. The 
commenter objected to the surveys, but did not address the information 
collection requirements. We did not make any changes to our 
requirements.

Request for Public Comments

    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: April 18, 2014.
Tina A. Campbell,
Chief, Division of Policy and Directives Management, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-09259 Filed 4-22-14; 8:45 am]
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