[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 16 (Tuesday, January 26, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Page 4334]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-01430]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

 Geological Survey

[GX15.WB12.C25A1.00]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments on 
the Alaska Beak Deformity Observations

AGENCY: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of a new information collection, Alaska Beak Deformity 
Observations.

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SUMMARY: We (the U.S. Geological Survey) are notifying the public that 
we have submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) the 
information collection request (ICR) described below. To comply with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and 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 ICR.

DATES: To ensure that your comments on this ICR are considered, OMB 
must receive them on or before February 25, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Please submit written comments on this information 
collection directly to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attention: Desk Officer 
for the Department of the Interior, via email: 
([email protected]); or by fax (202) 395-5806; and identify 
your submission with `OMB Control Number 1028-NEW `Alaska Beak 
Deformity Observations'. Please also forward a copy of your comments 
and suggestions on this information collection to the Information 
Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Geological Survey, 12201 Sunrise 
Valley Drive MS 807, Reston, VA 20192 (mail); (703) 648-7195 (fax); or 
[email protected] (email). Please reference `OMB Information 
Collection 1028-NEW: `Alaska Beak Deformity Observations' in all 
correspondence.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Colleen Handel, Alaska Science Center, 
U.S. Geological Survey, 4210 University Drive, Anchorage, AK 99508 
(mail); 907-786-7181 (phone); or [email protected] (email). You may 
also find information about this ICR at www.reginfo.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    As part of the USGS Ecosystems mission to assess the status and 
trends of the Nation's biological resources, the Alaska Science Center 
Landbird Program conducts research on avian populations within Alaska. 
Beginning in the late 1990s, an outbreak of beak deformities in Black-
capped Chickadees emerged in southcentral Alaska. USGS scientists 
launched a study to understand the scope of this problem and its effect 
on wild birds. Since that time, researchers have gathered important 
information about the deformities but their cause still remains 
unknown. Members of the public provide observation reports of birds 
with deformities from around Alaska and other regions of North America. 
These reports are very important in that they allow researchers to 
determine the geographical distribution and species affected. Data 
collection over such a large and remote area would not be possible 
without the public's assistance.

II. Data

    OMB Control Number: 1028-NEW.
    Title: Alaska Beak Deformity Observations.
    Type of Request: Approval of new information collection.
    Respondent Obligation: Participation is voluntary.
    Frequency of Collection: Seasonally variable, from zero to ten 
observations as needed.
    Description of Respondents: Individuals and Households.
    Estimated Total Number of Annual Responses: 250.
    Estimated Time per Response: We estimate that it will take 
approximately 5 minutes to read the instructions and 10 minutes to 
complete the response form.
    Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 63 hours.
    Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost'' Burden: 
There are no ``non-hour cost'' burdens associated with this collection 
of information.
    Public Disclosure Statement: The PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.) 
provides that an agency may not conduct or sponsor and you are not 
required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a 
currently valid OMB control number. Until the OMB approves a collection 
of information, you are not obliged to respond.
    Comments: On August 14, 2015, we published a Federal Register 
notice (80 FR 48909) announcing that we would submit this ICR to OMB 
for approval and soliciting comments. The comment period closed on 
October 13, 2015. We received no comments.

III. Request for Comments

    We again invite comments concerning this ICR as to: (a) Whether the 
proposed collection of information is necessary for the agency to 
perform its duties, including whether the information is useful; (b) 
the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed 
collection of information; (c) how to enhance the quality, usefulness, 
and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) how to minimize 
the burden on the respondents, including the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Please note that comments submitted in response to this notice are 
a matter of public record. Before including your personal mailing 
address, phone number, email address, or other personally identifiable 
information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire 
comment, including your personally identifiable information, may be 
made publicly available at any time. While you can ask in your comment 
to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, 
we cannot guarantee that it will be done.

Mark Shasby,
Alaska Science Center Director.
[FR Doc. 2016-01430 Filed 1-25-16; 8:45 am]
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