[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 103 (Wednesday, May 31, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24989-24990]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-11169]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-HQ-ES-2017-N037; FXES11130900000-178-FF09E32000]


Agency Information Collection Activities: OMB Control Number 
1018-0095; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife, Experimental Populations

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 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 October 31, 2017. We 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.

DATES: To ensure that we are able to consider your comments on this IC, 
we must receive them by July 31, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the IC to the Service Information 
Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 5275 
Leesburg Pike, MS: BPHC, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803 (mail); or 
[email protected] (email). Please include ``1018-0095'' in the subject 
line of your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Service Information Collection 
Clearance Officer, at [email protected] (email) or (703) 358-2503 
(telephone).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    Section 10(j) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA), as 
amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), authorizes the Secretary of the 
Interior to establish experimental populations of endangered or 
threatened species. Because individuals of experimental populations are 
protected under the ESA, the information we collect is important for 
monitoring the success of reintroduction and recovery efforts. This is 
a nonform collection (meaning there is no designated form associated 
with this collection). Information collection requirements for 
experimental populations of vertebrate endangered and threatened 
species are found in 50 CFR 17.84. We collect three categories of 
information, which are specific to each species and are described 
within 50 CFR 17.84:
    (1) General take or removal. Take is defined by the ESA as ``[to] 
harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or 
collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct.'' In this IC, 
take most commonly takes the form of human-related mortality, including 
unintentional taking incidental to otherwise lawful activities (e.g., 
highway mortalities); animal husbandry actions authorized to manage the 
population (e.g., translocation or providing aid to sick, injured, or 
orphaned individuals); take in defense of human life; take related to 
defense of property (if authorized); or take in the form of authorized 
harassment.
    (2) Specimen collection, recovery, or reporting of dead 
individuals. This information documents incidental or authorized 
scientific collection. Most of the information collected addresses the 
reporting of sightings of experimental population animals or the 
inadvertent discovery of an injured or dead individual.
    (3) Depredation-related take. Involves take for management purposes 
where livestock depredation is documented, and may include authorized 
harassment or authorized lethal take of experimental population animals 
in the act of attacking livestock. See 50 CFR 17.84 for specific 
provisions of harassment for each species within this section.
    The information that we collect includes:
     Name, address, and phone number of reporting party.
     Species involved.
     Type of incident.
     Quantity of take.
     Location and time of the reported incident.
     Description of the circumstances related to the incident.
    Service recovery specialists use this information to determine the 
success of reintroductions in relation to established recovery plan 
goals for the experimental populations of vertebrate endangered and 
threatened species involved. In addition, this information helps us to 
assess the effectiveness of control activities in order to develop 
better means to reduce problems with livestock for those species where 
depredation is a problem.

II. Data

    OMB Control Number: 1018-0095.
    Title: Endangered and Threatened Wildlife, Experimental 
Populations, 50 CFR 17.84.
    Service Form Number(s): None.

[[Page 24990]]

    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Description of Respondents: Individuals and households, private 
sector, and State/local/tribal governments.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Frequency of Collection: On occasion.

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                                                                                    Completion
                                Annual  number      Number of      Total annual      time per      Total annual
         Requirement           of  respondents   responses each      responses       response      burden hours
                                                                                      (hours)
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                                      Notification: General Take or Removal
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Individuals..................               12                 1              12              .5               6
Private Sector...............                7                 1               7              .5               4
Government...................               29                 1              29              .5              15
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                                     Notification: Depredation-Related Take
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Individuals..................               25                 1              25              .5              13
Private Sector...............                2                 1               2              .5               1
Government...................                9                 1               9              .5               5
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                                        Notification: Specimen Collection
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Individuals..................                3                 1               3              .5               2
Private Sector...............                2                 1               2              .5               1
Government...................               16                 1              16              .5               8
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    Totals...................              105  ................             105  ..............              55
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    Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: The only foreseeable nonhour 
burden cost to respondents would be a small cost for making a telephone 
call or sending a facsimile. However, we do not expect that this would 
occur often and any costs would be negligible.

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.

IV. Authorities

    The authorities for this action are the Endangered Species Act of 
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

    Dated: May 25, 2017.
Madonna L. Baucum,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-11169 Filed 5-30-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P