[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 32 (Wednesday, February 16, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8864-8866]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-03305]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-HQ-NWRS-2021-N210; FXRS12630900000-212-FF09R81000; OMB Control 
Number 1018-0102]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; National 
Wildlife Refuge Special Use Permit Applications and Reports

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 revise 
an existing collection of information.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
March 18, 2022.

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

[[Page 8865]]

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 1018-0102 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 PRA 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 July 13, 2021, we published a notice in the Federal Register (86 
FR 36762) announcing our intent to revise this information collection. 
We solicited public comment for 60 days, ending on September 13, 2021. 
We received one comment in response to the notice; however, the 
commenter did not address the information collection requirements. 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 National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 
1966 (Administration Act; 16 U.S.C. 668dd-668ee), as amended by the 
National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, consolidated 
all refuge units into a single National Wildlife Refuge System 
(system). It also authorized us to offer visitor and public programs, 
including those facilitated by commercial visitor and management 
support services, on lands of the system when we find that the 
activities are appropriate and compatible with the purpose(s) for which 
the refuge was established and the system's mission. The Refuge 
Recreation Act of 1962 (Recreation Act; 16 U.S.C. 460k-460k-4) allows 
the use of refuges for public recreation when it is not inconsistent or 
does not interfere with the primary purpose(s) of the refuge. The 
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA; 16 U.S.C. 3101 
et seq.) provides specific authorization and guidance for the 
administration and management of national wildlife refuges within the 
State of Alaska. Its provisions provide for the issuance of permits 
under certain circumstances.
    We issue special use permits for a specific period as determined by 
the type and location of the management activity or visitor service 
provided. These permits authorize activities such as:
     Agricultural activities (haying and grazing, 50 CFR 29.1 
and 50 CFR 29.2).
     Beneficial management tools that we use to provide the 
best habitat possible on some refuges (50 CFR 30.11, 50 CFR 31.14, 50 
CFR 31.16, and 50 CFR 36.41).
     Special events, group visits, and other one-time events 
(50 CFR 25.41, 50 CFR 25.61, 50 CFR 26.36, and 50 CFR 36.41).
     Recreational visitor service operations (50 CFR 25.41, 50 
CFR 25.61, and 50 CFR 36.41).
     Guiding for fishing, hunting, wildlife education, and 
interpretation (50 CFR 25.41 and 50 CFR 36.41).
     Commercial filming (43 CFR 5, 50 CFR 27.71) and other 
commercial activities (50 CFR 29.1 and 50 CFR 36.41).
     Building and using cabins to support subsistence or 
commercial activities (in Alaska) (50 CFR 26.35 and 50 CFR 36.41).
     Research, inventory and monitoring, and other 
noncommercial activities (50 CFR 26.36 and 50 CFR 36.41).
    We use three forms to collect applicant information:
     FWS Form 3-1383-G (General Activities Special Use Permit 
Application).
     FWS Form 3-1383-C (Commercial Activities Special Use 
Permit Application).
     FWS Form 3-1383-R (Research and Monitoring Special Use 
Permit Application).
    The information we collect helps ensure that: (1) Applicants are 
aware of the types of information that may be needed for permit 
issuance; (2) requested activities are appropriate and compatible with 
the purpose(s) for which the refuge was established and the system's 
mission; and (3) the applicant is eligible or is the most qualified 
applicant to receive the special use permit.
    We may collect the necessary information in a non-form format 
(through discussions in person or over the phone, over the internet, by 
email, or by letter). In some instances, respondents will be able to 
provide information verbally. Often, a simple email or letter 
describing the activity will suffice. For activities that might have a 
large impact on refuge resources (e.g., commercial visitor services, 
research, etc.), we may require applicants to provide more detail on 
operations, techniques, and locations. Because of the span of 
activities covered by special use permits and the different management 
needs and resources at each refuge, respondents may not be required to 
answer all questions. Depending on the requested activity, refuge 
managers have the discretion to ask for less information than appears 
on the forms. However, refuge managers must not ask for more or 
different information.
    We issue permits for a specific period as determined by the type 
and location of the use or service provided. We use these permits to 
ensure that the

[[Page 8866]]

applicant is aware of the requirements of the permit and his/her legal 
rights. Refuge-specific special conditions may be required for the 
permit. We identify conditions as an addendum to the permit. Most of 
the special conditions pertain to how a permitted activity may be 
conducted and do not require the collection of information. However, 
some special conditions, such as activity reports, before and after 
site photographs, or data sharing, would qualify as an information 
collection, and we have included the associated burden below.
    We also use FWS Form 3-1384, ``Bid Sheet--National Wildlife Refuge 
System,'' to streamline collection of the necessary pre-award 
information from applicants during bidding processes to conduct 
economic uses on Service lands, such as livestock, harvesting hay and 
stock feed, or removing timber (50 CFR 29.21). This form simplifies the 
pre-award selection/bidding process for bidders and for refuge staff by 
enabling them to understand what information the refuge needs in order 
to select bids for economic use, and, therefore, reduces the time and 
burden for the public and Service staff in the pre-award selection 
bidding process. This form is customizable to the individual economic 
use being awarded. We will use the Commercial Special Use Permit (FWS 
Form 3-1383-C) as the actual award document that will outline the terms 
and conditions of the economic use on Service lands.

Proposed Revisions to This Information Collection

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

Activity Reports/Associated Document Requirements

    In addition to the previously approved activity report criteria, 
the Service will also collect data associated with client use days and 
their fees. The Service has also updated the reporting rate for permits 
issued for both Commercial Use and Research to reflect current 
requirements.

ePermits Initiative

    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 PCs, tablets, and smartphones. It will 
also link the permit applicant to the Pay.gov system for payment of the 
associated permit application fee. We anticipate including the 
following Service forms in the ePermits system: 3-1383-G, 3-1383-C, 3-
1383-R, and 3-1384.
    Once these forms are automated in the new ePermits system, we 
anticipate a reduction in the amount of time necessary for an applicant 
to apply for a permit and perform regular actions related to that 
permit (e.g., amend, renew, report). Through the ePermits account 
registration, we will track and be able to more accurately report the 
number of small business applicants, along with the type of business 
(for-profit, farm, not-for profit). This information will allow the 
Service to be more responsive in identifying the possibility of 
additional burden reduction on small businesses.
    We also plan to eliminate the necessity for physical mail-in 
applications (though this will remain an option for those who either 
don't have access to the internet or prefer to use mail-in 
applications), thus further reducing public burden. With ePermits, an 
applicant will be able to establish an account and apply for multiple 
permits through a single interface. The system allows the applicant to 
track all their applications, permits and permit-related actions, as 
well as all communications between Service staff and the permittee/
applicant within the same interface, significantly reducing the burden 
on the government to process these applications and manage permit-
related actions. The decrease in submissions of paper-based forms is 
expected to reduce the government cost of administering and processing 
permit applications.

Amendments and Renewals

    Through our review of the special use permitting process in 
preparation for automation in the ePermits system, we discovered that 
we need to account for amendments to and renewals of special use 
permits separately from the initial applications, because amendments/
renewals have time burdens that are different from those of the initial 
submissions. The revised burden table below includes our initial 
estimates for amendments and renewals.
    Title of Collection: National Wildlife Refuge Special Use Permit 
Applications and Reports, 50 CFR 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, & 36.
    OMB Control Number: 1018-0102.
    Form Number: FWS Forms 3-1383-G, 3-1383-C, 3-1383-R, and 3-1384.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals and households; businesses 
and other for-profit organizations; nonprofit organizations; farms; and 
State, local, or tribal governments.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 13,903.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 13,903.
    Estimated Completion Time per Response: Varies from 25 minutes to 5 
hours, depending on activity.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 21,446.
    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: $337,500 for fees 
associated with applications for commercial use activities ($100.00 x 
an estimated 3,375 applications (individuals and private sector 
respondents only)).
    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. 2022-03305 Filed 2-15-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P