[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 63 (Thursday, April 2, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17774-17775]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-07553]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-HQ-MB-2015-N064]; [FXMB123109WEBB0-145-FF09M25100]


Information Collection Request Sent to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for Approval; North American Woodcock Singing Ground 
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, 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. 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 4, 2015.

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 BPHC, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803 
(mail), or [email protected] (email). Please include ``1018-0019'' 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: 1018-0019.
    Title: North American Woodcock Singing Ground Survey.
    Service Form Number(s): 3-156.
    Type of Request: Extension of currently approved collection.
    Description of Respondents: State, Provincial, local, and tribal 
employees.
    Frequency of Collection: Annually.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 759.
    Estimated Annual Number of Responses: 759.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,354 hours. We estimate that 
662 persons will enter data electronically, with an average reporting 
burden of 1.8 hours per respondent. For all other respondents, we 
estimate the reporting burden to be 1.67 hours per respondent.
    Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: None.
    Abstract: The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703-712) and the 
Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 742a-754j-2) designate the 
Department of the Interior as the primary agency responsible for:
     Management of migratory bird populations frequenting the 
United States, and
     Setting hunting regulations that allow for the well-being 
of migratory bird populations.
    These responsibilities dictate that we gather accurate data on 
various characteristics of migratory bird populations.
    The North American Woodcock Singing Ground Survey is an essential 
part of the migratory bird management program. State, Federal, 
Provincial, local, and tribal conservation agencies conduct the survey 
annually to provide the data necessary to determine the population 
status of the woodcock. In addition, the information is vital in

[[Page 17775]]

assessing the relative changes in the geographic distribution of the 
woodcock. We use the information primarily to develop recommendations 
for hunting regulations. Without information on the population's 
status, we might promulgate hunting regulations that:
     Are not sufficiently restrictive, which could cause harm 
to the woodcock population, or
     Are too restrictive, which would unduly restrict 
recreational opportunities afforded by woodcock hunting.
    The Service, State conservation agencies, university associates, 
and other interested parties use the data for various research and 
management projects.

Comments Received and Our Responses

    Comments: On September 12, 2014, we published in the Federal 
Register (79 FR 54739) 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 November 12, 2014. We received one 
comment. The commenter objected to the hunting of birds and the survey, 
but did not address the information collection requirements. We have 
not made 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: March 30, 2015.
Tina A. Campbell,
Chief, Division of Policy and Directives Management, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-07553 Filed 4-1-15; 8:45 am]
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