[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 206 (Thursday, October 24, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57049-57050]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-23187]



[[Page 57049]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-HQ-MB-2019-N114; FXMB12310900WHO-190-FF09M26000; OMB Control 
Number 1018-0023]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Migratory Bird 
Harvest Information Program and Migratory Bird Surveys

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 
November 25, 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: JAO/1N PRB/PERMA, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls 
Church, VA 22041-3803 (mail); or by email to [email protected]. Please 
reference OMB Control Number 1018-0023 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 28, 2019, we published a Federal Register notice (84 FR 
6814) soliciting public comment on this information collection for 60 
days, ending April 29, 2019. We received no comments in response to 
that 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 (16 U.S.C. 703-711) 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 (1) the wise 
management of migratory bird populations frequenting the United States, 
and (2) setting hunting regulations that allow appropriate harvests 
that are within the guidelines that will allow for those populations' 
well-being. These responsibilities dictate that we gather accurate data 
on various characteristics of migratory bird harvest. Based on 
information from harvest surveys, we can adjust hunting regulations as 
needed to optimize harvests at levels that provide a maximum of hunting 
recreation while keeping populations at desired levels.
    Under 50 CFR 20.20, migratory bird hunters must register for the 
Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program (HIP) in each State in which 
they hunt each year. State natural resource agencies must send names 
and addresses of all migratory bird hunters to Branch of Monitoring and 
Information Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Division of 
Migratory Bird Management, on an annual basis.
    The Migratory Bird Hunter Survey is based on the Migratory Bird 
Harvest Information Program. We randomly select migratory bird hunters 
and ask them to report their harvest. The resulting estimates of 
harvest per hunter are combined with the complete list of migratory 
bird hunters to provide estimates of the total harvest for the species 
surveyed.
    The Parts Collection Survey estimates the species, sex, and age 
composition of the harvest, and the geographic and temporal 
distribution of the harvest. Randomly selected successful hunters who 
responded to the Migratory Bird Hunter Survey the previous year are 
asked to complete and return a postcard if they are willing to 
participate in the Parts Collection Survey. We provide postage-paid 
envelopes to respondents before the hunting season and ask them to send 
in a wing or the tail feathers from each duck or goose that they 
harvest, or a wing from each mourning dove, woodcock, band-tailed 
pigeon, snipe, rail, or gallinule that they harvest. We use the wings 
and tail feathers to identify the species, sex, and age of the 
harvested sample. We also ask respondents to report on the envelope the 
date and location of harvest for each bird. We combine the results of 
this survey with the harvest estimates obtained from the Migratory Bird 
Hunter Survey to provide species-specific national harvest estimates.
    The combined results of these surveys enable us to evaluate the 
effects of season length, season dates, and bag limits on the harvest 
of each species, and thus help us determine appropriate hunting 
regulations.
    The Sandhill Crane Harvest Survey is an annual questionnaire survey 
of people who obtained a sandhill crane hunting permit. At the end of 
the hunting season, we randomly select a sample of permit holders and 
ask them to report the date, location, and number of birds harvested 
for each of their sandhill crane hunts. Their responses provide 
estimates of the temporal and geographic distribution of the harvest as 
well as the average harvest per hunter, which, combined with the total 
number of permits issued, enables us to estimate the total harvest of 
sandhill cranes. Based on information from this survey, we adjust 
hunting regulations as needed.

Proposed Revision

    In fall of 2019, we will be implementing a new, online platform for 
the Migratory Bird Hunter Survey. In 2018, OMB approved usability 
testing of the online platform under the Department of the Interior's 
``Fast

[[Page 57050]]

Track'' clearance process (OMB Control Number 1090-0011). We are now 
ready to seek full OMB approval for the platform under the Service's 
existing collection ``Migratory Bird Information Program and Migratory 
Bird Surveys, 50 CFR 20.20 (OMB Control Number 1018-0023).
    The platform will be optimized for use on multiple device types 
(computer, tablet, or phone; Android or Apple OS). Unlike the paper 
survey form, the online survey platform walks a participant through the 
process of entering their harvest for a single day, asking for one 
piece of information at a time. This reduces confusion and the 
likelihood that the hunter will provide incorrect information. Also, 
data quality is improved at each step with a new system of checks and 
pre-populated menus which limit the types of responses and prevent 
errors (e.g., reporting harvest of the wrong species, or in the wrong 
State). We will continue to conduct the paper survey for 3 years, in 
order to ensure that data collected through the new method is sound, 
and to provide a side-by-side comparison of harvest estimates that can 
be used to calibrate the old survey to the new one. This is 
particularly important for maintaining a continuous time series of 
harvest estimates, despite changing methodology.
    Title of Collection: Migratory Bird Information Program and 
Migratory Bird Surveys, 50 CFR 20.20.
    OMB Control Number: 1018-0023.
    Form Number: FWS Forms 3-165, 3-165A through E, and 3-2056J through 
N.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: States and migratory game bird 
hunters.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory for HIP registration 
information; voluntary for participation in the surveys.
    Frequency of Collection: Annually for States or on occasion for 
migratory bird hunters.
    Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: None.

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                                                    Average
                                   Number of       number of       Number of      Average  time    Total annual
 Collection type/ form number     respondents      responses        annual        per  response    burden  hours
                                                     each         responses *                            *
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                         Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program (State Governments)
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                                            49            16.5             809  157 hours.......         127,013
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                                   Migratory Bird Hunter Survey (Individuals)
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Form 3-2056J..................          31,900               1          31,900  5 minutes.......           2,658
Form 3-2056K..................          16,900               1          16,900  4 minutes.......           1,127
Form 3-2056L..................           8,500               1           8,500  4 minutes.......             567
Form 3-2056M..................          10,200               1          10,200  3 minutes.......             510
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
    Subtotals:................          67,500  ..............          67,500  ................           4,862
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                                      Parts Collection Survey (Individuals)
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Form 3-165....................           4,870              22         107,140  5 minutes.......           8,928
Form 3-165A...................           1,000             5.5           5,500  5 minutes.......             458
Form 3-165B...................           3,600               1           3,600  1 minute........              60
Form 3-165C...................             900               1             900  1 minute........              15
Form 3-165D...................           1,134               1           1,134  1 minute........              19
Form 3-165E...................           1,100             1.5           1,650  5 minutes.......             138
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
    Subtotals:................          12,604  ..............         119,924  ................           9,619
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                                   Sandhill Crane Harvest Survey (Individuals)
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Form 3-2056N..................           4,300               1           4,300  3.5 minutes.....             251
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                             Online Migratory Bird Harvest Survey (Individuals) NEW
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None (Online).................          25,500               1          25,500  4 minutes.......           1,700
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
        Totals:...............         109,953  ..............         218,033  ................         143,444
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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: October 21, 2019.
Madonna Baucum,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-23187 Filed 10-23-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P