[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 21 (Monday, February 2, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5572-5574]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-01897]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FW-HQ-R-2015-N024; FXRS12630900000-156-FF09R81000]


Proposed Information Collection; Hunting and Fishing Application 
Forms and Activity Reports for National Wildlife Refuges

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

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as part of our continuing efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent 
burden, we invite the general public and other Federal agencies to take 
this opportunity to comment on this IC. This IC is scheduled to expire 
on April 30, 2015. 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 April 3, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the IC to the Information Collection 
Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS BPHC, 5275 
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803 (mail); or [email protected] 
(email). Please include ``1018-0140'' 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 National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (16 
U.S.C. 668dd-668ee), as amended (Administration Act), and the Refuge 
Recreation Act of 1962 (16 U.S.C. 460k-460k-4) (Recreation Act) govern 
the administration and uses of national wildlife refuges and wetland 
management districts. The Administration Act consolidated all the 
different refuge areas into a single Refuge System. It also authorizes 
us to permit public uses, including hunting and fishing, on lands of 
the Refuge System when we find that the activity is compatible and 
appropriate with the purpose for which the refuge was established. The 
Recreation Act allows the use of refuges for public recreation when the 
use is not inconsistent or does not interfere with the primary 
purpose(s) of the refuge.
    We administer 373 hunting programs and 271 fishing programs on 408 
refuges and wetland management districts. We only collect user 
information at about 20 percent of these refuges. Information that we 
plan to collect will help us:
     Administer and monitor hunting and fishing programs on 
refuges.
     Distribute hunting and fishing permits in a fair and 
equitable manner to eligible participants.
    We use nine application and report forms associated with hunting 
and fishing on refuges. We may not allow all opportunities on all 
refuges; therefore, we developed different forms to simplify the 
process and avoid confusion for applicants. The currently approved 
forms are available online at http://www.fws.gov/forms/. Not all 
refuges will use each form and some refuges may collect the identical 
information in a nonform format.
    We use the following application forms when we assign areas, dates, 
and/or types of hunts via a drawing because of limited resources, high 
demand, or when a permit is needed to hunt. We issue application forms 
for specific periods, usually seasonally or annually.
     FWS Form 3-2354 (Quota Deer Hunt Application).
     FWS Form 3-2355 (Waterfowl Lottery Application).
     FWS Form 3-2356 (Big/Upland Game Hunt Application).
     FWS Form 3-2357 (Migratory Bird Hunt Application).
     FWS Form 3-2358 (Fishing/Shrimping/Crabbing Application).
    We collect information on:
     Applicant (name, address, phone number) so that we can 
notify applicants of their selection.
     User preferences (dates, areas, method) so that we can 
distribute users equitably.
     Whether or not the applicant is applying for a special 
opportunity for disabled or youth hunters.
     Age of youth hunter(s) so that we can establish 
eligibility.
    We ask users to report on their success after their experience so 
that we can evaluate hunting/fishing quality and resource impacts. We 
use the following activity reports, which we distribute during 
appropriate seasons, as determined by State or Federal regulations.
     FWS Form 3-2359 (Big Game Harvest Report).
     FWS Form 3-2360 (Fishing Report).
     FWS Form 3-2361 (Migratory Bird Hunt Report).
     FWS Form 3-2362 (Upland/Small Game/Furbearer Report).
    We collect information on:
     Names of users so we can differentiate between responses.
     City and State of residence so that we can better 
understand if users are local or traveling.
     Dates, time, and number in party so we can identify use 
trends and allocate staff and resources.
     Details of success by species so that we can evaluate 
quality of experience and resource impacts.

II. Data

    OMB Control Number: 1018-0140.
    Title: Hunting and Fishing Application Forms and Activity Reports 
for National Wildlife Refuges; 50 CFR 25, 26, 27, 30, 31, and 32.
    Service Form Number(s): FWS Forms 3-2354, 3-2355, 3-2356, 3-2357, 
3-2358, 3-2359, 3-2360, 3-2361, 3-2362.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Description of Respondents: Individuals and households.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.
    Frequency of Collection: On occasion (for applications, usually 
once per year at the beginning of the hunting season; for activity 
reports, once at the conclusion of the hunting/fishing experience).

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                                       Number of          Number of       Completion time per     Total annual
             Activity                 respondents         responses            response           burden hours
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FWS Form 3-2354..................            180,000            180,000  30 minutes..........             90,000
FWS Form 3-2355..................             93,000             93,000  30 minutes..........             46,500
FWS Form 3-2356..................              2,600              2,600  30 minutes..........              1,300
FWS Form 3-2357..................              5,200              5,200  30 minutes..........              2,600
FWS Form 3-2358..................              2,600              2,600  30 minutes..........              1,300
FWS Form 3-2359..................             88,000             88,000  15 minutes..........             22,000
FWS Form 3-2360..................            412,000            412,000  15 minutes..........            103,000
FWS Form 3-2361..................             31,000             31,000  15 minutes..........              7,750
FWS Form 3-2362..................             26,000             26,000  15 minutes..........              6,500
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    Totals.......................            840,400            840,400  ....................            280,950
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    Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: We estimate the annual 
nonhour cost burden to be $60,000 for hunting application fees at some 
refuges.

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: January 28, 2015.
Tina A. Campbell,
Chief, Division of Policy and Directives Management, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-01897 Filed 1-30-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P