[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 75 (Tuesday, April 19, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Page 23228]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-08274]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Geological Survey

[GX21xxxx; OMB Control Number 1028-NEW]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Wildlife Morbidity/
Mortality or Disease Surveillance Event Reporting

AGENCY: U.S. Geological Survey, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is proposing an existing collection 
without an OMB number.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
June 21, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments on this information collection request 
(ICR) by mail to U.S. Geological Survey, Information Collections 
Officer, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive MS 159, Reston, VA 20192; or by 
email to [email protected]. Please reference OMB Control 
Number 1028-NEW in the subject line of your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information 
about this ICR, contact Katherine Richgels by email at 
[email protected] or by telephone at 608-381-2492. Individuals in the 
United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a 
speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access 
telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside the United 
States should use the relay services offered within their country to 
make international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States. 
You may also view the ICR at: http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the PRA, 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 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 USGS; (2) will this information be processed and used 
in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden accurate; (4) how 
might the USGS enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (5) how might the USGS 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 personally identifiable information 
(PII) in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--
including your PII--may be made publicly available at any time. While 
you can ask us in your comment to withhold your PII from public review, 
we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
    Abstract: The USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) collects 
information on the presence of highly consequential wildlife diseases 
and the occurrence of wildlife morbidity/mortality events nationwide to 
aid in outbreak investigations conducted by land-management agencies 
and as part of their mission-critical activities associated with 
response to animal health emergencies (Emergency Support Function 11). 
The collected information is used to provide situational awareness of 
potential zoonotic disease threats to human- and agricultural-health 
agencies and to assist land-management agencies with management 
decisions. NWHC requests that state, federal, and tribal natural-
resource managers report wildlife morbidity and mortality events and 
collaborate on national-scale surveillance. Reported information 
includes the location, land ownership, and date(s) where the event 
occurred or sample was taken; capture methods and sample type, species 
sampled, and individual characteristics such as sex, age, and size; any 
clinical signs or other event history observed; habitat characteristics 
known to affect the suspected disease process, such as habitat type, 
habitat cover, temperature, precipitation, or others; laboratory-
confirmed or suspected diagnoses; and contact information for the 
person reporting the event or submitting the sample. NWHC reports back 
the results of diagnostic testing and cause of death (if applicable) to 
the submitter and provides generalized information to registered users 
through our WHISPers platform, where users can search and download 
current and historical trends in wildlife diseases (in accordance with 
the open data policy and FAIR standards).
    Title of Collection: Wildlife morbidity/mortality or disease 
surveillance event reporting.
    OMB Control Number: 1028-NEW.
    Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: An existing collection without an OMB number.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Employees of state, federal, or tribal 
agencies with wildlife-management authority.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 400.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 400.
    Estimated Completion Time per Response: 15 min.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 100.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Frequency of Collection: Per wildlife health event, frequency 
depends on the number of events experienced by an agency/management 
unit.
    Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: None.
    An agency may not conduct or sponsor, nor is a person 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).

Jonathan Sleeman,
Director, National Wildlife Health Center.
[FR Doc. 2022-08274 Filed 4-18-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4338-11-P