[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 208 (Monday, October 28, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57746-57747]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-23459]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-HQ-MB-2019-N135; FF09M21200-190-FXMB1231099BPP0; OMB Control 
Number 1018-0022]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Federal Fish and 
Wildlife Permit Applications and Reports--Migratory Birds

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
December 27, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the information collection request by 
mail 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 1018-0022 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 information collection 
request (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: Our Regional Migratory Bird Permit Offices use 
information that we collect on permit applications to determine the 
eligibility of applicants for permits requested in accordance with the 
criteria in various Federal wildlife conservation laws and 
international treaties, including:
    (1) Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703 et seq.).
    (2) Lacey Act (18 U.S.C. 42; 16 U.S.C. 3371 et seq.).
    (3) Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 668 et seq.).

Service regulations implementing these statutes and treaties are in 
chapter I, subchapter B of title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
(CFR). These regulations stipulate general and specific requirements 
that, when met, allow us to issue permits to authorize activities that 
are otherwise prohibited.
    With the exception of Forms 3-186 and 3-186a, all Service permit 
applications are in the 3-200 and 3-202 series of forms, each tailored 
to a specific activity based on the requirements for specific types of 
permits. For this revision, we combined Forms 3-200-10c and 3-200-10d 
into one form (3-200-10c) to reduce the number of application forms and 
help streamline the application process. Since both forms dealt with 
possession for education purposes, and asked virtually the same 
questions of the applicant, there was no need to have separate forms. 
We collect standard identifier information for all permits. The 
information that we collect on applications and reports is the minimum 
necessary for us to determine if the applicant meets/continues to meet 
issuance requirements for the particular activity.

Proposed Revisions to This Information Collection

    With this submission, we are proposing the following revisions to 
the existing information collection:

Transfer of Eagle Requirements to OMB Control No. 1018-0167

    Information collection requirements associated with the Federal 
fish and wildlife permit applications and reports for both migratory 
birds and eagles are currently approved under a single OMB control 
number, 1018-0022, ``Federal Fish and Wildlife Permit Applications and 
Reports--Migratory Birds and Eagles; 50 CFR 10, 13, 21, 22.'' With this 
submission to OMB, we are proposing to reinstate OMB Control Number 
1018-0167, ``Eagle Take Permits and Fees, 50 CFR 22'' in order transfer 
the eagle requirements back in to a separate information collection. 
This transfer will facilitate easier management of the information 
collection requirements associated with eagles. We are not proposing 
any changes to the currently approved eagle requirements. This request 
will simply transfer the information collection requirements associated 
with eagles back in to their original collection under OMB Control 
Number 1018-0167.

ePermits Initiative

    The Service will request OMB approval to automate certain migratory 
bird permit forms. The Service's new ``ePermits'' initiative is an 
automated permit application system that will allow the agency to move 
towards a streamlined permitting process to reduce public burden. 
Public burden reduction is a priority for the Service; the Assistant 
Secretary for Fish, Wildlife, and Parks; and senior leadership at the 
Department of the Interior. The intent of the ePermits initiative is to 
fully automate the permitting process to improve the customer 
experience and to reduce time burden on respondents. This new system 
will enhance the user experience by allowing users to enter data from 
any device that has internet access, including personal computers 
(PCs), tablets, and smartphones. It will also link the permit applicant 
to the Pay.gov

[[Page 57747]]

system for payment of the associated permit application fee.
    We anticipate including the following Service forms in the ePermits 
initiative: 3-186, 3-186a, 3-200-6 through 3-200-9, 3-200-10a through 
3-200-10f, 3-200-12 through 3-200-13, 3-200-67, 3-200-79, 3-200-81, 3-
202-1 through 3-202-10, 3-202-12, and 3-202-17.

Falconry Program Requirements

    Additionally, we will request are proposing to incorporate the 
information collection requirements associated with the Service's 
falconry program into this collection (OMB Control No. 1018-0022). 
Beginning in 2014, the Service passed the authority to issue permits 
for the practice of falconry to individual States (50 CFR 21.29; 78 FR 
72830, December 4, 2013). As part of this change in authority, we 
required States to maintain databases of falconers authorized to 
conduct falconry in their States and required falconers to report 
transfers of falconry birds using the paper version of FWS Form 3-186A. 
We require each State that maintains its own database to ensure that it 
is compatible with the Service's database. To date, 47 States utilize 
the system provided by the Service. The Service's database continues to 
track take of birds from the wild by falconers and to maintain records 
of persons permitted by the States to practice falconry, as required by 
50 CFR 21.29(k)(1).
    The primary purpose of this database is to allow the Service to 
track take of raptors from the wild by falconers to ensure take does 
not exceed levels established in the Service's 2008 environmental 
assessment of the impacts of the falconry regulations on wild raptor 
populations. The ability to track and document the effects of the wild 
take of raptors by falconers remains a responsibility of the Service. 
The database also: (1) Provides falconers and States with the 
information necessary to allow the efficient movement of falconers and 
raptors held under falconry permits among States; and (2) ensures that 
falconers can formally document their experience regardless of the 
States in which they have resided, which is required to advance from 
the apprentice--to general--to master-class permit levels.
    In 2018, the Service requested and received OMB approval under the 
Department of the Interior Fast Track generic clearance (OMB Control 
No. 1090-0011) to conduct usability testing of the revised/repaired 
application and database functionality. The revised/repairs falconry 
database (database) replaced a legacy system based on outdated 
programming. It reduced the cost to the government by eliminating the 
need for Service personnel to enter data for each new falconer, and 
simply required the entry of data for State administrators. In 
addition, this new database enhances the user experience by allowing 
them to enter data from any device that has internet access, including 
PCs, tablets, and smart phones. The usability testing helped the 
Service to address problems and recommendations prior to the database 
going live. We are now ready to request full OMB approval of the 
falconry database and the information collection requirements 
associated with the falconry program.

Goose Requirements

    OMB previously approved the information collection requirements 
associated with the management of geese under two OMB control numbers: 
1018-0103, ``Conservation Order for Light Geese, 50 CFR 21.60'' (exp. 
03/31/2021) and 1018-0133, ``Control and Management of Resident Canada 
Geese, 50 CFR 20.21, 21.49, 21.50, 21.51, 21.52 and 21.61'' (exp. 06/
30/2022). Since both collections follow the requirements of the 
Migratory Bird Treaty Act, we are proposing to transfer the information 
collections into 1018-0022. We are not proposing any changes to the 
currently approved requirements for either collection and are merely 
transferring the requirements into 1018-0022. The annual burden 
associated with 1018-0103 is 21,577 responses, 7,318 burden hours, and 
$78,000 non-hour cost burden for overhead costs (materials, printing, 
postage, etc.). The annual burden associated with 1018-0133 is 8,698 
responses, 3,360 burden hours, and zero non-hour burden costs. There 
are no forms associated with either of these two collections.
    Title of Collection: Federal Fish and Wildlife Permit Applications 
and Reports--Migratory Birds; 50 CFR 10, 13, 21.
    OMB Control Number: 1018-0022.
    Form Number: FWS Forms 3-186, 3-186a, 3-200-6 through 3-200-9, 3-
200-10a through 3-200-10f, 3-200-12 through 3-200-13, 3-200-67, 3-200-
79, 3-200-81, 3-202-1 through 3-202-10, 3-202-12, and 3-202-17.
    Type of Review: Revision of an existing information collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals; zoological parks; 
museums; universities; scientists; taxidermists; businesses; utilities; 
and Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 56,984.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 56,984.
    Estimated Completion Time per Response: Varies from 15 minutes to 
240 hours, depending on activity.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 213,365.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.
    Frequency of Collection: On occasion for applications; annually or 
on occasion for reports.
    Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: $571,975 (primarily 
associated with application processing fees).
    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 23, 2019.
Madonna L. Baucum,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-23459 Filed 10-25-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P