[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 31 (Wednesday, February 17, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8095-8096]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-03200]



[[Page 8095]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-HQ-MB-2015-N025; FF09M29000-156F1611MD-FXMB12320900000]


Information Collection Request Sent to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for Approval; Depredation Orders for Double-Crested 
Cormorants

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 February 29, 2016. 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 March 18, 2016.

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 ``1018-0121'' 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: 1018-0121.
    Title: Depredation Orders for Double-Crested Cormorants, 50 CFR 
21.47 and 21.48.
    Service Form Number(s): 3-202-18-2147; 3-202-19-2148.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Description of Respondents: Aquaculture producers, States, and 
tribes.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.
    Frequency of Collection: Annually for reports; ongoing for 
recordkeeping.

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                                           Number of       Number of       Completion time per     Total annual
               Activity                   respondents      responses            response           burden hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Report take of migratory bird species                1               1  1 hour..................               1
 other than double-crested cormorants
 (21.47(d)(7); 21.48(d)(7)).
Report take of species protected under               1               1  1 hour..................               1
 Endangered Species Act (21.47(d)(8);
 21.48(d)(8)).
Written notice of intent to conduct                 12              12  3 hours.................              36
 control activities (21.48(d)(9)).
Report of control activities                        12              12  20 hours................             240
 (21.48(d)(10) and (11)).
Report effects of management                         9               9  75 hours................             675
 activities (21.48(d)(12)).
Recordkeeping (21.47(d)(9))...........             325             325  7 hours.................           2,275
                                       -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals............................             360             360  ........................           3,228
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    Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: None.
    Abstract: This information collection is associated with 
regulations implementing the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) (16 
U.S.C. 703 et seq.). Under the MBTA, it is unlawful to take, possess, 
import, export, transport, sell, purchase, barter, or offer for sale, 
purchase, or barter, migratory birds or their parts, nests, or eggs, 
except as authorized by regulations implementing the MBTA.
    The regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR 
21.47 (Aquaculture Depredation Order) authorize landowners, operators, 
and tenants (or their employees or agents) actually engaged in the 
commercial, Federal, or State production of freshwater aquaculture 
stocks and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (APHIS-Wildlife Services) 
in 13 States to take double-crested cormorants when the birds are found 
committing or about to commit depredations on commercial freshwater 
aquaculture stocks. The regulations at 50 CFR 21.48 (Public Resource 
Depredation Order) authorize State fish and wildlife agencies, APHIS-
Wildlife Services, and federally recognized tribes in 24 States to take 
double-crested cormorants to prevent depredations on the public 
resources of fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats.
    Both 50 CFR 21.47 and 21.48 impose reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements on those operating under the depredation orders. We use 
the information collected to:
     Help assess the impact of the depredation orders on 
double-crested cormorant populations.
     Protect nontarget migratory birds or other species.
     Ensure that agencies and individuals are operating in 
accordance with the terms, conditions, and purpose of the orders.
     Help gauge the effectiveness of the orders at mitigating 
cormorant-related damages.

Comments Received and Our Responses

    On September 30, 2015, we published in the Federal Register (80 FR 
58770) 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 30, 2015. We received one comment from an 
individual. Although much of what was submitted did not relate to the 
information collection directly, the commenter made two main points:
     The Service does not have a mechanism in place to evaluate 
the validity of the data submitted. Instead, the Service relies on the 
integrity of others to submit reliable data.
     There is no systematic evaluation of control programs and 
the system continues to proceed based on faith that what is being done 
is accomplishing some kind of benefit.
    We appreciate these comments because they recognize the importance 
of collecting sufficient information to allow the Service to do its 
important job

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of protecting our public trust resources for the benefit of all. The 
information collected serves as a tool for enforcement of the 
depredation orders and contributes to our knowledge of the impacts of 
the depredation orders on double-crested cormorants. Because of the 
risk of enforcement, we believe those operating under these orders have 
reason to collect and report reliable data. We agree that the control 
program would benefit from a systematic evaluation. This evaluation 
will be conducted as resources allow. We did not make any changes to 
our requirements at this time.

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 and us in your comment to withhold your personal 
identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that it 
will be done.

    Dated: February 11, 2016.
Tina A. Campbell,
Chief, Division of Policy, Performance, and Management Programs, U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-03200 Filed 2-16-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P