[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 152 (Wednesday, August 11, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44035-44036]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-17097]



[[Page 44035]]

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

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R2-EA-2021-N172; FX.GO166009NAT21/212/FF02XNAL00; OMB Control 
Number 1018-New]


Agency Information Collection Activities; U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service External Affairs Tribal Contacts Database

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), are proposing a new 
information collection in use without Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) approval.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
October 12, 2021.

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: PRB (JAO/3W), 5275 Leesburg Pike, 
Falls Church, VA 22041-3803 (mail); or by email to [email protected]. 
Please reference OMB Control Number ``1018-Tribal Contacts'' 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. Individuals who are hearing or speech 
impaired may call the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 for TTY 
assistance.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act (PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) and its implementing regulations at 5 
CFR 1320, all information collections require approval under the PRA. 
We may not conduct or sponsor and you are not required to respond to a 
collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB 
control number.
    As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent 
burdens, we invite the public and other Federal agencies 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 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. 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: In support of Executive Order 13175, ``Consultation and 
Coordination With Indian Tribal Governments'' (November 6, 2000), 
Presidential Memorandum ``Tribal Consultation and Strengthening Nation-
to-Nation Relationships'' (January 26, 2021), and Secretarial Order 
3335, ``Reaffirmation of the Federal Trust Responsibility to Federally 
Recognized Indian Tribes and Individual Indian Beneficiaries'' (August 
20, 2014), the Service strives to strengthen its government-to-
government relationship with Indian Tribes through a commitment to 
consultation with and recognition of their right to self-governance and 
Tribal sovereignty. Coordination with and on the behalf of Tribes is 
some of the most important work the Service does. Within that work, the 
Service bears the large responsibility to ensure that it is 
consistently and accurately working on a government-to-government basis 
with each Tribe and its delegated program staff.
    An ongoing challenge in this endeavor is ensuring that Tribal 
contact information is accurate and up to date, because using outdated 
contact information when coordinating with Tribes serves to undermine 
the integrity of the Service's Tribal trust responsibility. To help 
maintain the integrity in our outreach and collaborative work with 
Tribes, the Service's Southwest (SW) Region Office of External Affairs 
(EA) has identified the need to have a regionally based contacts 
database for Tribes that can be expanded both nationally and to other 
regions in the future if such need should arise. In addition, the 
Service will solicit information from the Tribal contacts regarding 
their Tribal priorities and/or interests in relation to Service 
programs and periodic updates to those priorities and/or interests.
    The Service plans to solicit a contract opportunity for the 
development of a Tribal contacts database for the SW Region to 
facilitate improved collaboration with Tribes. This database would need 
to be accessible by Service staff and will be updated in real time with 
information from Tribal contacts. In addition, the database will 
contain a significant geospatial component to help ensure that the 
contacts data can easily be integrated with various geographic datasets 
representing content that is of mutual interest to the Tribes and the 
Service, such as areas in which an endangered species may exist within 
Tribal lands.
    Types of data collected from Tribal contacts to be maintained 
within the database include:
    General Tribe Information:
     Official Tribe name (or other name, if different from 
Federally recognized Tribe name);
     Tribal contact information, to include mailing address, 
phone number, and official website;
     Relevant cultural information;
     Tribal interest in FWS program;
     Tribal priorities; and
     Additional relevant notes.
    Tribal Contact Information:
     Tribal contact/staff name(s); preferred salutation, job 
title, and contact information;
     Type of contact (Tribal leader; Tribal historic 
preservation officer; person in a cultural, legal, grants, fiscal role, 
etc.);
     Tribal department;
     Type of work (as related to Service-related projects);
     Specialization (e.g., eagles, Mexican wolves, etc.); and
     Additional relevant notes.

[[Page 44036]]

    Species of Interest:
     Scientific name; and
     Common name.
    State/Other Government Tribal Liaisons:
     Agency name and department;
     Contact information, to include mailing address, phone 
number, and email address;
     Specialization (e.g., eagles, Mexican wolves, etc.);
     Type of work (as related to Service-related projects); and
     Additional relevant notes.
    The Service will use the database to effectively and efficiently 
uphold its Federal Trust responsibility to Tribes through ensuring the 
integrity of the contact data needed to do so. Tribal leader 
information will be collected from the Bureau of Indian Affairs as a 
baseline but will be updated through our own working knowledge of 
changes/needed revisions. Another purpose of this database is to better 
identify Service actions of interest to Federally recognized Tribes.
    Title of Collection: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service External 
Affairs Tribal Contacts Database.
    OMB Control Number: 1018-New.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Review: Existing collection in use without an OMB control 
number.
    Respondents/Affected Public: State and Tribal government 
representatives.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Frequency of Collection: On occasion for initial submission, and 
during subsequent updates to data.
    Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: None.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                              Average number  Average number  Average number                         Estimated
         Requirement             of annual     of responses      of annual    Average completion   Annual burden
                                respondents        each         responses*     time per response      hours*
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                            Solicitation of General Tribe/Tribal Contact Information
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Government..................              87               1              87  5 mins............               7
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                               Updates to General Tribe/Tribal Contact Information
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Government..................               8               1               8  5 mins............               1
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Solicitation of Tribal Priorities and/or Interests in Relation to FWS Programs
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Government..................              87               1              87  5 mins............               7
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    Updates to Tribal Priorities and/or Interests in Relation to FWS Programs
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Government..................               8               1               8  5 mins............               1
                             -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals:.................             190  ..............             190  ..................              16
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* 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.).

Madonna Baucum,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-17097 Filed 8-10-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P