[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 205 (Wednesday, October 27, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59414-59416]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-23413]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-HQ-MB-2021-N193; FF09M20200 FGMB123109CITY0 (212); OMB Control 
Number 1018-NEW]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Urban Bird 
Treaty Program Requirements

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 an existing 
collection in use without an Office of Management and Budget control 
number.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
November 26, 2021.

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 ``Currently under 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 ``1018-UBT'' 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 information collection request (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.) and 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 June 11, 2021, we published in the Federal Register (86 FR 
31336) a notice of our intent to request that the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) approve this information collection. In that notice, 
we solicited comments for 60 days, ending on August 10, 2021. The 
Service shared the notice with current and prospective UBT program 
partners to encourage participation in the public commenting process. 
We did not receive any comments in response to that notice.
    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 Urban Bird Treaty Program (UBT Program) is 
administered through the Service's Migratory Bird Program, under the 
authority of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (16 U.S.C. 661-
667e). The UBT Program aims to support partnerships of public and 
private organizations and individuals working to conserve migratory 
birds and their habitats in urban areas for the benefit of these 
species and the people that live in urban areas. The UBT partners' 
habitat conservation activities help to ensure that more natural areas, 
including forests, grasslands, wetlands, and meadows, are available in 
urban areas, so that historically excluded and underserved communities 
can have improved access to green space and opportunities to engage in 
habitat restoration and community science as well as bird-related 
recreation and educational programs. These habitat restoration 
activities, especially urban forest conservation, also contribute to 
climate resiliency by reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the 
atmosphere. Lights-out programs in UBT cities help reduce energy costs 
and greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the use of electricity when 
people and businesses turn off their lights between dusk and dawn 
during the fall and spring periods of bird migration in order to reduce 
bird collisions with building glass.
    The Service designates Urban Bird Treaty cities or municipalities 
through a process in which applicants submit a nomination package, 
including a letter of intention and an implementation plan, for 
approval by the Service's Migratory Bird Program. Within 3 months, the 
Service reviews the package, makes any necessary recommendations for 
changes, and then decides to either approve or reject the package. If 
rejected, the city can reapply the following year. In most cases, when 
the Service designates a new city partner, the Service and the new city 
partner hold a signing ceremony, during which a representative from 
both the Service and the city sign a nonbinding document that states 
the importance of conserving birds and their habitats to the health and 
well-being of people that live in and visit the city. To maintain this 
city partner designation, the city must submit information on the 
activities it has carried out to meet the goals of the UBT program, 
including those related to bird habitat conservation, bird hazard 
reduction, and bird-related community education and engagement. By 
helping make cities healthier places for birds and people,

[[Page 59415]]

the UBT Program contributes to the Administration's priorities of 
justice and racial equity, climate resiliency, and the President's 
Executive Order 14008 to protect 30 percent of the Nation's land and 30 
percent of its ocean areas by 2030.
    The UBT program benefits city partners in many ways, including:
     Helps city partners achieve their goals for making cities 
healthier places for birds and people.
     Provides opportunities to share and learn from other city 
partners' tools, tactics, successes, and challenges, to advance city 
partners' urban bird conservation efforts.
     Strengthens the cohesion and effectiveness of the 
partnerships by coming together and working under the banner of the UBT 
program.
     Gives city partners improved access to funding through the 
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's Five Star and Urban Waters 
Restoration grant program, as UBT cities receive priority in this 
program.
     Helps partners garner additional funds through other urban 
conservation grant programs that have shared goals and objectives.
     Achieve green building credits, reduced energy costs, 
green space requirements, environmental equity, and other 
sustainability goals.
     Promotes the livability and sustainability of partner 
cities by spreading the word about the city's UBT Federal designation 
and all the benefits of a green and bird-friendly city.
    We collect the following information from prospective and 
successful applicants in conjunction with the UBT Program:
     Nomination Letter--Prospective applicants must submit a 
letter of intention from the city's partnership that details its 
commitment to urban bird conservation and community engagement in bird-
related education, recreation, conservation, science, and monitoring. 
Support and involvement by the city government is required.
     Implementation Plan--The required implementation plan 
should contain the following (see the UBT Program Guidebook--https://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/pdf/grants/UrbanBirdTreatyV3.pdf--for full 
descriptions of requirements):

--Detailed description of the importance of the city to migrating, 
nesting, and overwintering birds; bird habitats; human population size 
of the city; and socioeconomic profile of the human communities present 
and those targeted for education and engagement programs.
--Map of the geographic area that is being nominated for designation.
--List of individuals and organizations, and their contact information, 
that are active in the partnership.
--The mission, goals, and objectives of the partnership applying for 
designation, organized by the three UBT goal categories.
--Description of accomplishments (e.g., activities, products, outcomes) 
that have been completed over the last 2-3 years, the audiences and 
communities reached/engaged through those activities, and the partner 
organizations that have achieved them, organized by UBT goal 
categories.
--Description of strategies, actions, tools/products that are being 
planned for the next 3-5 years under the UBT designation, the 
objectives to be accomplished, the audiences and communities targeted 
for engagement, and the partners who will complete the work, organized 
by UBT goal categories.

     Ad Hoc Reports--The Service will also request information 
updates on UBT city points of contact, activities and events, and other 
information on an ongoing basis for urban bird conservation in the 
city, as needed by the Service for storytelling, promotion, and 
internal programmatic communications, education, and outreach.
     Biennial Reporting--The Service requires city partners to 
provide biennial metrics as well as written and photographic 
descriptions of activities for each goal category. City partners are 
required to submit this information to maintain their city's 
designation by ensuring that they are actively working to achieve the 
goals of the UBT Program.
    We will use the information collected for storytelling purposes to 
promote the urban bird conservation work of city partners, and to 
enable the Migratory Bird Program to develop UBT Program accomplishment 
reports and other communications tools to share with the public and the 
conservation community at large. The reporting requirement ensures that 
the UBT city designation is meaningful and that city partners are 
accountable for the efforts that they agreed to undertake to earn their 
designation. Additionally, we will use the information to promote the 
UBT program to other interested city partners and the benefits of urban 
bird conservation generally. For more information, please see the UBT 
Program Guidebook at the following link: https://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/pdf/grants/UrbanBirdTreatyV3.pdf.
    Title of Collection: Urban Bird Treaty Designation, Updates, and 
Reporting Requirements.
    OMB Control Number: 1018-NEW.
    Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: Existing collection in use without an OMB control 
number.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Nonprofits; colleges, universities, 
and schools; museums, zoos, and aquaria; local community groups; 
private businesses; and municipal, State, and Tribal governments 
involved in urban bird conservation in UBT cities.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.
    Frequency of Collection: One-time submission of nomination letter; 
one-time submission of implementation plan; on occasion for information 
updates; and biennial reporting.

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                                                                                      Average
                                  Average number  Average number  Average number    completion       Estimated
           Requirement               of annual     of responses      of annual       time per      annual burden
                                    respondents        each          responses       response          hours
                                                                                      hours)
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                                                Nomination Letter
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Private Sector..................               2               1               2               4               8
Government......................               1               1               1               4               4
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                                    Implementation Plan (Initial Submission)
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Private Sector..................               2               1               2              40              80
Government......................               1               1               1              20              20
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[[Page 59416]]

 
                                                 Ad Hoc Reports
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Private Sector..................              19               4              76               3             228
Government......................               3               4              12               3              36
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                                               Biennial Reporting
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Private Sector..................               9               1               9              80             720
Government......................               2               1               2              80             160
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    Totals:.....................              39  ..............             105  ..............           1,256
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    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. 2021-23413 Filed 10-26-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P