[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 111 (Thursday, June 9, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37207-37208]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-13678]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FW-HQ-IA-2016-N098; FXIA16710900000-167-FF09A30000]


Proposed Information Collection; Import of Sport-Hunted African 
Elephant Trophies

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 
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 November 30, 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.

DATES: To ensure that we are able to consider your comments on this IC, 
we must receive them by August 8, 2016.

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 ``1018-0164'' 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

    On June 6, 2016, we published a final rule (81 FR 36388), Revision 
of the Section 4(d) Rule for the African Elephant (Loxodonta africana) 
(4(d) rule). The rule will be effective on July 6, 2016. After that 
date, permits will be required to import all African elephant trophies 
(i.e., from both Appendix-I and Appendix-II populations).
    When a species is listed as threatened, section 4(d) of the 
Endangered Species Act (ESA) gives discretion to the Secretary of the 
Interior to issue regulations that he or she ``deems necessary and 
advisable to provide for the conservation of such species.'' In 
response to an unprecedented increase in poaching of elephants across 
Africa and the escalation of the illegal trade in ivory, we reevaluated 
the provisions of the existing ESA 4(d) rule for the African elephant. 
We revised the 4(d) rule by adopting measures that are necessary and 
advisable for the current conservation needs of the species, based on 
our evaluation of the current threats to the African elephant and the 
comments received from the public. The poaching crisis is driven by 
demand for elephant ivory. The final rule allows us to more strictly 
regulate trade in African elephant ivory and to help ensure that the 
U.S. ivory market is not contributing to the poaching of elephants in 
Africa.
    Currently, import of sport-hunted African elephant trophies from 
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna 
and

[[Page 37208]]

Flora (CITES) Appendix-II populations does not require an ESA 
threatened species import permit. Applications for permits required 
under current regulations (for import of African elephant sport-hunted 
trophies from CITES Appendix-I populations) are approved under OMB 
Control Number 1018-0093, which expires May 31, 2017. Under the revised 
rule, permits will be required to import all African elephant sport-
hunted trophies from both Appendix-I and Appendix-II populations. As a 
result of the revised 4(d) rule, we expect to receive an additional 300 
applications for permits. The burden associated with these additional 
applications is the basis of this information collection.
    We requested that OMB approve, on an emergency basis, our request 
to collect information associated with permits to import African 
elephant sport-hunted trophies from Appendix-II populations. We asked 
for emergency approval because of the potential negative effects of 
delaying publication of the final 4(d) rule. OMB approved our request 
and assigned OMB Control No. 1018-0164, which expires November 30, 
2016.
    We will ask OMB to grant regular approval (3 years) for this 
information collection. If OMB grants regular approval, we will include 
the burden associated with the expected 300 additional applications in 
OMB Control Number 1018-0093 when we renew the approval in May 2017.

II. Data

    OMB Control Number: 1018-0164.
    Title: Import of Sport-Hunted African Elephant Trophies, 50 CFR 17.
    Service Form Number: 3-200-19.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Description of Respondents: Individuals.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.
    Frequency of Collection: On occasion.

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                                                                                    Completion
                                                     Number of       Number of       time per      Total annual
                    Activity                        respondents      responses       response      burden hours
                                                                                     (minutes)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3-200-9--application to import African elephant              300             300              20             100
 trophy from Appendix-II populations............
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals......................................             300             300  ..............             100
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    Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: $30,000, primarily associated 
with application fees. Application fee is $100 per application.

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: June 6, 2016.
Tina A. Campbell,
Chief, Division of Policy, Performance, and Management Programs, U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-13678 Filed 6-8-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P