[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 125 (Friday, June 30, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42385-42386]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-13960]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R7-MB-2023-N053; FF07M01000-234-FXMB12310700000; OMB Control 
Number 1018-0168]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget; Northeast Region 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 without change.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
July 31, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be submitted within 30 days of 
publication of this notice at https://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-
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 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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act (PRA; 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) and its implementing regulations at 5 
CFR 1320.8(d)(1), 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.
    On March 20, 2023, we published in the Federal Register (88 FR 
16660) a notice of our intent to request that OMB approve this 
information collection. In that notice, we solicited comments for 60 
days, ending on May 19, 2023. In an effort to increase public awareness 
of, and participation in, our public commenting processes associated 
with information collection requests, the Service also published the 
Federal Register notice on Regulations.gov (Docket No. FWS-R7-MB-2023-
0001) to provide the public with an additional method to submit 
comments (in addition to the typical [email protected] email and U.S. 
mail submission methods). We received two comments in response to that 
notice; however, they did not address the information collection 
requirements. No response to those comments is required.
    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: 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 (Protocol) provides a legal basis for Alaska Native 
people 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 (July 24, 2017, 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 Native people to sell authentic native articles of 
handicraft or

[[Page 42386]]

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 strictly limited situations. The sale by Alaska Native 
people of 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 Native 
people 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 dated May 20, 1996, for the Treaty Protocol, 
specifically Article II(4)(b) of the Protocol, to be consistent with 
the customary and traditional uses of Alaska Native people. The 
activity by Alaska Native people is also consistent with the 
preservation and maintenance of migratory bird stocks.
    Alaska Native artists will show eligibility with 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 
Silver Hand 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 with each item and requires 
artists and sellers/consignees to provide the documentation to buyers. 
These recordkeeping and third-party notification requirements are 
subject to the PRA and require OMB approval.
    The public may request copies of a Form 3-2484 contained in this 
information collection by sending a request to the Service Information 
Collection Clearance Officer (see ADDRESSES).
    Title of Collection: Alaska Native Handicrafts, 50 CFR 92.6.
    OMB Control Number: 1018-0168.
    Form Numbers: 3-2484.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals and businesses.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 2 (placeholder of 1 
respondent associated with the regulatory requirement for each 
respondent category).
    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.).

Madonna Baucum,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-13960 Filed 6-29-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P