[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 98 (Wednesday, May 20, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30730-30732]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-10870]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-HQ-MB-2020-N065; FF07M01000-201-FXMB12310700000; OMB Control 
Number 1018-0168]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Alaska Native 
Handicrafts

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, we, the U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service, are proposing to renew an information 
collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
June 19, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting

[[Page 30731]]

``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using 
the search function. Please provide a copy of your comments to the 
Service Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, MS: PRB (JAO/3W), 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, 
VA 22041-3803 (mail); or by email to [email protected]. Please 
reference OMB Control Number 1018-0168 in the subject line of your 
comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Madonna L. Baucum, Service Information 
Collection Clearance Officer, by email at [email protected], or by 
telephone at (703) 358-2503. Individuals who are hearing or speech 
impaired may call the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 for TTY 
assistance. 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 (PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), we, the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service (Service, we), are proposing to reinstate a previously 
approved information collection with revisions.
    In accordance with the PRA and its implementing regulations at 5 
CFR 1320.8(d)(1), 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 November 14, 2019, we published in the Federal Register (84 FR 
64912) a notice of our intent to request that OMB approve this 
information collection. In that notice, we solicited comments for 60 
days, ending on January 24, 2019. We received one comment in response 
to that notice. The commenter did not address the information 
collection requirements; therefore, no response is required.
    As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent 
burdens, we are again soliciting comments from the public and other 
Federal agencies on the proposed ICR that is described below. We are 
especially interested in public comment addressing the following:
    (1) Whether or not the collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including 
whether or not the information will have practical utility;
    (2) The accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this collection 
of information, including the validity of the methodology and 
assumptions used;
    (3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
    (4) How might the agency minimize the burden of the collection of 
information on those who are to respond, including through the use of 
appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., 
permitting electronic submission of response.
    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 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 of 1918 (16 U.S.C. 712(1)) 
authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, in accordance with the 
treaties with Canada, Mexico, Japan, and Russia, to ``issue such 
regulations as may be necessary to assure that the taking of migratory 
birds and the collection of their eggs, by the indigenous inhabitants 
of the State of Alaska, shall be permitted for their own nutritional 
and other essential needs, as determined by the Secretary of the 
Interior, during the Alaska spring and summer migratory bird 
subsistence harvest seasons so as to provide for the preservation and 
maintenance of stocks of migratory birds.'' Article II(4)(b) of the 
Protocol between the United States and Canada amending the 1916 
Convention for the Protection of Migratory Birds in Canada and the 
United States provides a legal basis for Alaska Natives to be able to 
sell handicrafts that contain the inedible parts of birds taken for 
food during the Alaska spring and summer migratory bird subsistence 
harvest. The Protocol also dictates that sales would be allowed in 
strictly limited situations, pursuant to a regulation by a competent 
authority in cooperation with management bodies. The Protocol does not 
authorize the taking of migratory birds for commercial purposes.
    In 2017, we issued a final rule (82 FR 34263), developed under a 
co-management process involving the Alaska Department of Fish and Game 
and Alaska Native representatives, that amended the permanent migratory 
bird subsistence harvest regulations at 50 CFR 92.6 to enable Alaska 
Natives to sell authentic native articles of handicraft or clothing 
that contain inedible byproducts from migratory birds that were taken 
for food during the Alaska migratory bird subsistence harvest season. 
Article II(4)(b) of the Protocol dictates that sales will be under a 
strictly limited situation. Allowing Alaska Natives to sell a limited 
number of handicrafts containing inedible migratory bird parts provides 
a small source of additional income that we conclude is necessary for 
the ``essential needs'' of Alaska Natives in predominantly rural 
Alaska. This limited opportunity for sale is consistent with the 
language of the Protocol and is expressly noted in the Letter of 
Submittal to be consistent with the customary and traditional uses of 
Alaska Natives. Allowing this activity by Alaska Natives is also 
consistent with the preservation and maintenance of migratory bird 
stocks.
    Eligibility will be shown by a Tribal Enrollment Card, Bureau of 
Indian Affairs card, or membership in the Silver Hand program. The 
State of Alaska Silver Hand program helps Alaska Native artists promote 
their work in the marketplace and enables consumers to identify and 
purchase authentic Alaska Native art. The insignia indicates that the 
artwork on which it appears is created by hand in Alaska by an 
individual Alaska Native artist. Only original contemporary and 
traditional Alaska Native artwork, not reproductions or manufactured 
work, may be identified and marketed with the Silver Hand insignia. To 
be eligible for a 2-year Silver Hand permit, an Alaska Native artist 
must be a full-time resident of Alaska, be at least 18 years old, and 
provide documentation of membership in a federally recognized Alaska 
Native tribe. The Silver Hand insignia may only be attached to original 
work that is produced in the State of Alaska.
    The final rule requires that FWS Form 3-2484 (a simple 
certification which is not subject to the PRA) or a Silver Hand 
insignia accompany each Alaska Native article of handicraft or clothing 
that contains inedible migratory bird parts. It also requires all 
consignees, sellers, and purchasers to retain this documentation with 
each item and produce it upon the request of a law enforcement officer. 
The final rule also requires that artists maintain adequate records of 
the certification or Silver Hand insignia

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with each item and requires artists and sellers/consignees provide the 
documentation to buyers. These recordkeeping and third-party 
notification requirements are subject to the PRA and require OMB 
approval.
    Title of Collection: Alaska Native Handicrafts, 50 CFR 92.6.
    OMB Control Number: 1018-0168.
    Form Numbers: FWS Form 3-2484.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals and businesses.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 2.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 2.
    Estimated Completion Time per Response: 5 minutes.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 0.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.
    Frequency of Collection: On occasion.
    Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: None.
    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: May 15, 2020.
Madonna Baucum,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-10870 Filed 5-19-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P