[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 114 (Thursday, June 13, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27645-27647]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-12460]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R7-MB-2019-N043; FXMB12610700000-190-FF07M01000; OMB Control 
Number 1018-0124]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Alaska 
Subsistence Bird Harvest Survey

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 with revisions.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
July 15, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments on this information collection request 
(ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget's Desk Officer for the 
Department of the Interior by email at [email protected]; or 
via facsimile to (202) 395-5806. Please provide a copy of your comments 
to the Service Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, MS: AMAD-ARM-PPM, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, 
VA 22041-3803 (mail); or by email to [email protected]. Please 
reference OMB Control Number 1018-0124 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. You may also view the ICR at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.

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.
    On February 8, 2019, we published a Federal Register notice 
soliciting comments on this collection of information for 60 days, 
ending on April 9, 2019 (84 FR 2902). We received no comments in 
response to the Federal Register notice.
    We are again 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. 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 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 of 1918 (16 U.S.C. 703-712) 
and the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 742d) designate the 
Department of the Interior as the key agency responsible for managing 
migratory bird populations that frequent the United States and for 
setting harvest regulations that allow for the conservation of those 
populations. These responsibilities include gathering data on various 
aspects of migratory bird harvest. We use harvest data to review 
regulation proposals and to issue harvest regulations.
    The Migratory Bird Treaty Act Protocol Amendment (1995) (Amendment) 
provides for the customary and traditional use of migratory birds and 
their eggs for subsistence use by indigenous inhabitants of Alaska. The 
Amendment states that its intent is not to cause significant increases 
in the take of species of migratory birds relative to their continental 
population sizes. A submittal letter from the Department of State to 
the White House (May 20, 1996) accompanied the Amendment and specified 
the need for harvest monitoring. The submittal letter stated that the 
Service, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), and Alaska 
Native organizations would collect harvest information cooperatively

[[Page 27646]]

within the subsistence eligible areas. Harvest data help to ensure that 
customary and traditional subsistence uses of migratory birds and their 
eggs by indigenous inhabitants of Alaska do not significantly increase 
the take of species of migratory birds relative to their continental 
population sizes.
    We monitored subsistence harvest of migratory birds using household 
surveys in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region in 1985-2002 and in the 
Bristol Bay region in 1995-2002. Since 2004, the Alaska Migratory Bird 
Co-Management Council--Harvest Assessment Program (AMBCC-HAP) conducts 
regular surveys across Alaska to document the subsistence harvest of 
birds and their eggs. The statewide harvest assessment program helps to 
describe geographical and seasonal harvest patterns, and to track 
trends in harvest levels. The program relies on collaboration among the 
Service, the ADF&G, and diverse Alaska Native organizations.
    We collect harvest data for about 60 bird species/categories and 
their eggs (ducks, geese, swans, cranes, seabirds, shorebirds, grebes 
and loons, and grouse and ptarmigan) in the subsistence eligible areas 
of Alaska. The survey covers spring, summer, and fall harvest in most 
regions.
    In collaboration with Alaska Native organizations, we hire local 
resident surveyors to collect the harvest data. The surveyors list all 
households in the communities, randomly select households to be 
surveyed, and interview households that have agreed to participate. To 
ensure anonymity of harvest information, we identify each household by 
a numeric code. Since the beginning of the survey in 2004, twice we 
have re-evaluated and revised survey methods to streamline procedures 
and minimize respondent burden. We use the following forms for 
household participation:
     FWS Form 3-2380 (Tracking Sheet and Household Consent). 
The surveyor visits each household selected to participate in the 
survey to obtain household consent to participate. The surveyor uses 
this form to record household consent.
     FWS Forms 3-2381-1, 3-2381-2, 3-2381-3, 3-2381-4, and 3-
2381-5 (Harvest Report). The Harvest Report has drawings of bird 
species most commonly available for harvest in different regions of 
Alaska, with fields for recording numbers of birds and eggs taken. The 
forms have up to four sheets, one for each surveyed season. The Western 
and Interior forms (3-2381-1 and 3-2381-3) have three sheets (spring, 
summer, and fall). We now use the Southern Coastal form 3-2381-2 only 
in the Bristol Bay region, and thus we renamed the form the Bristol Bay 
form. The North Slope form (3-2381-4) has two sheets (spring and 
summer). The new Cordova form (3-2381-5) has only one sheet (spring). 
Each seasonal sheet has black and white drawings of bird species, next 
to which are fields to record the number of birds and eggs harvested. 
Because bird species available for harvest vary in different regions of 
Alaska, there are five versions of the harvest report form, each with a 
different set of species. This helps to prevent users from erroneously 
recording bird species as harvested in areas where they do not usually 
occur.
    Following the most recent re-evaluation of survey methods, the 
sampling design was revised to include only 5 of 12 management regions 
as an index to the statewide harvest, these 5 regions representing 
about 90 percent of the statewide subsistence bird harvest. We modified 
the survey to make the effort compatible with available funding. We 
also adjusted the number of communities and households to be surveyed 
each year based on statistical methods to maximize accuracy of harvest 
estimates given the survey funding. We also reduced the number of 
household visits from seasonal (three times per year) to annual (once a 
year). These modifications much reduced the estimated survey burden.
    To fulfill priority information needs, we added the following 
question to the survey: ``In the last 12 months, how many permanent 
members of this household tried to harvest: Birds (__) and eggs (__).'' 
A similar question is often included in harvest surveys conducted in 
Alaska for resources such as fish, marine mammals, and terrestrial 
mammals. We need such information to estimate and document 
participation in harvesting activities and to answer a basic and 
recurrent question in harvest management: ``How many people use this 
resource.'' Adding this simple question does not change the average 
time needed to complete the survey.
    Title of Collection: Alaska Migratory Bird Subsistence Harvest 
Household Survey.
    OMB Control Number: 1018-0124.
    Form Number: FWS Forms 3-2380, 3-2381-1, 3-2381-2, 3-2381-3, 3-
2381-4, and 3-2381-5.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Households within subsistence eligible 
areas of Alaska.
    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
                                  Average number  Average number  Average number     time per      Total annual
      Activity/respondents           of annual    of submissions     of annual       response      burden hours*
                                    respondents        each          responses       (minutes)
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Tracking Sheet and Household
 Consent (FWS Form 3-2380):
    Individual Households.......             723               1             723               5              60
Migratory Bird Subsistence
 Harvest Household Survey (FWS
 Forms 3-2381-1, 3-2381-2, 3-
 2381-3, 3-2381-4, 3-2381-5)
    Individual Households.......             645               3           1,935               5             161
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        Totals..................           1,368  ..............           2,658  ..............             221
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* Rounded.


[[Page 27647]]

    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: June 9, 2019.
Madonna Baucum,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-12460 Filed 6-12-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P