[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 67 (Friday, April 6, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14879-14881]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-07046]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-HQ-MB-2018-N026; FF09M21200-178-FXMB12320900000; OMB Control 
Number 1018-0133]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Control and Management 
of Resident Canada Geese

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Information Collection; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we, 
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are proposing to renew an 
information collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
June 5, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the information collection request 
(ICR) by mail 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 by email to [email protected]. Please 
reference OMB Control Number 1018-0133 in the subject line of your 
comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information 
about this ICR, contact Madonna L. Baucum, Service Information 
Collection Clearance Officer, by email at [email protected], or by 
telephone at (703) 358-2503.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, we provide the general public and other Federal agencies 
with an opportunity to comment on new, proposed, revised, and 
continuing collections of information. This helps us assess the impact 
of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's 
reporting burden. It also helps the public understand our information 
collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired 
format.
    We are soliciting comments on the proposed ICR that is described 
below. We are especially interested in public comment addressing the 
following issues: (1) Is the collection necessary to the proper 
functions of the Service; (2) will this information be processed and 
used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden accurate; (4) 
how might the Service enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (5) how might the Service minimize the 
burden of this collection on the respondents, including through the use 
of information technology.
    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 ICR. 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.
    Abstract: The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703 et seq.) 
prohibits the take, possession, import, export, transport, sale, 
purchase, or bartering of migratory birds or their parts, except as 
permitted under the terms of a valid permit or as permitted by 
regulations. In 2006, we issued regulations establishing two 
depredation orders and three control orders that allow State and tribal 
wildlife agencies, private landowners, and airports to conduct resident 
Canada goose population management, including the take of birds, nest 
and eggs. We monitor the data collected for activities under these 
orders and may rescind an order if monitoring indicates that activities 
are inconsistent with conservation of Canada geese.
    Control order for airports. Our regulations at 50 CFR 21.49 allow 
managers at commercial, public, and private airports and military 
airfields and their employees or agents to implement management of 
resident

[[Page 14880]]

Canada geese to resolve or prevent threats to public safety. An airport 
must be part of the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems and 
have received Federal grant-in-aid assistance or be a military airfield 
under the jurisdiction, custody, or control of the Secretary of a 
military department. Each facility exercising the privileges of the 
order must submit an annual report with the date, numbers, and 
locations of birds, nests, and eggs taken.
    Depredation order for nests and eggs. Our regulations at 50 CFR 
21.50 allow private landowners and managers of public lands to destroy 
resident Canada goose nests and eggs on property under their 
jurisdiction, provided they register annually on our website at https://epermits.fws.gov/eRCGR. Registrants must provide basic information, 
such as name, address, phone number, and email, and identify where the 
control work will occur and who will conduct it. Registrants must 
return to the website to report the number of nests with eggs they 
destroyed.
    Depredation order for agricultural facilities. Our regulations at 
50 CFR 21.51 allow States and tribes, via their wildlife agencies, to 
implement programs to allow landowners, operators, and tenants actively 
engaged in commercial agriculture to conduct damage management control 
when geese are committing depredations, or to resolve or prevent other 
injury to agricultural interests. State and tribal wildlife agencies in 
the Atlantic, Central, and Mississippi Flyway portions of 41 States may 
implement the provisions of the order. Each implementing agricultural 
producer must maintain a log of the date and number of birds taken 
under this authorization. Each State and tribe exercising the 
privileges of the order must submit an annual report of the numbers of 
birds, nests, and eggs taken, and the county or counties where take 
occurred.
    Public health control order. Our regulations at 50 CFR 21.52 
authorize States and tribes of the lower 48 States to conduct (via the 
State or tribal wildlife agency) resident Canada goose control and 
management activities when the geese pose a direct threat to human 
health. States and tribes operating under this order must submit an 
annual report summarizing activities, including the numbers of birds 
taken and the county where take occurred.
    Population control. Our regulations at 50 CFR 21.61 establish a 
managed take program to reduce and stabilize resident Canada goose 
populations when traditional and otherwise authorized management 
measures are not successful or feasible. A State or tribal wildlife 
agency in the Atlantic, Mississippi, or Central Flyway may request 
approval for this population control program. If approved, the State or 
tribe may use hunters to harvest resident Canada geese during the month 
of August. Requests for approval must include a discussion of the 
State's or tribe's efforts to address its injurious situations using 
other methods, or a discussion of the reasons why the methods are not 
feasible. If the Service Director approves a request, the State or 
tribe must (1) keep annual records of activities carried out under the 
authority of the program, and (2) provide an annual summary, including 
number of individuals participating in the program and the number of 
resident Canada geese shot. Additionally, participating States and 
tribes must monitor the spring breeding population by providing an 
annual estimate of the breeding population and distribution of resident 
Canada geese in their State.
    Our regulations at 50 CFR 21.49, 21.50, 21.51, and 21.52 require 
that persons or entities operating under the depredation and control 
orders must immediately report the take of any species protected under 
the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This information ensures that the 
incidental take limits authorized under section 7 of the ESA are not 
exceeded.
    Title of Collection: Control and Management of Resident Canada 
Geese, 50 CFR 20.21, 21.49, 21.50, 21.51, 21.52, and 21.61.
    OMB Control Number: 1018-0133.
    Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: State fish and wildlife agencies, 
tribes, and local governments; airports; landowners; and farms.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 8,698.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 8,698.
    Estimated Completion Time per Response: Varies from 15 minutes to 8 
hours, depending on activity.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 3,360.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to Obtain or Retain a Benefit.
    Frequency of Collection: Annually.
    Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: None.

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                                                                                    Completion
                                                                   Annual number     time per      Total annual
                       Regulation/activity                         of responses      response     burden hours *
                                                                                      (hours)
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                                  21.49--Airport Control Order (Annual Report)
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Private Sector..................................................              25             1.5              38
Government......................................................              25             1.5              38
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                           21.50--Nest & Egg Depredation Order (Initial Registration)
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Individuals.....................................................             126             0.5              63
Private Sector..................................................             674             0.5             337
Government......................................................             200             0.5             100
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                            21.50--Nest & Egg Depredation Order (Renew Registration)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Individuals.....................................................             374            0.25              94
Private Sector..................................................           2,026            0.25             507
Government......................................................             600            0.25             150
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                               21.50--Nest & Egg Depredation Order (Annual Report)
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Individuals.....................................................             500            0.25             125
Private Sector..................................................           2,700            0.25             675

[[Page 14881]]

 
Government......................................................             800            0.25             200
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                             21.51--Agricultural Depredation Order  (Recordkeeping)
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Private Sector..................................................             600             0.5             300
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                              21.51--Agricultural Depredation Order (Annual Report)
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Government......................................................              20               8             160
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                                       21.52--Public Health Control Order
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Government......................................................              20               1              20
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                         21.49, 21.50, 21.51, & 21.52--Report Take of Endangered Species
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Private Sector..................................................               2            0.25               1
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                  21.61--Population Control Approval Request (Annual Report and Recordkeeping)
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Annual Report--Gov't............................................               3              12              36
Recordkeeping--Gov't............................................              12              36
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               21.61--Population Control Approval Request (Population and Distribution Estimates)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Government......................................................               3             160             480
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Totals......................................................           8,698  ..............           3,360
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* Rounded

    An agency 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.
    The authority for this action is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

    Dated: April 3, 2018.
Madonna Baucum,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-07046 Filed 4-5-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333--15--P