[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 201 (Thursday, October 19, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72099-72101]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-23029]



[[Page 72099]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R7-MB-2023-N079; FXMB12610700000-234-FF07M01000; OMB Control 
Number 1018-0178]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget; Regulations for the Taking of 
Migratory Birds for Subsistence Uses in Alaska

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 renew, 
without change, an information collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
November 20, 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-
0178'' 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 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 of 1995 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 26, 2023, we published in the Federal Register (88 FR 
41410) a notice of our intent to request that OMB approve this 
information collection. In that notice, we solicited comments for 60 
days, ending on August 25, 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-2023-0082) 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 one comment in response to 
that notice which did not address the information collection 
requirements. No response to that comment 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 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. 703-712) 
and the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 742d) designate the 
Department of the Interior as the key agency responsible for managing 
migratory bird populations that frequent the United States and for 
setting harvest regulations that allow for the conservation of those 
populations. These responsibilities include gathering data on various 
aspects of migratory bird harvest. We use harvest data to review 
regulation proposals and to issue harvest regulations.
    The Migratory Bird Treaty Act Protocol Amendment (1995) (Amendment) 
provides for the customary and traditional use of migratory birds and 
their eggs for subsistence use by Indigenous inhabitants of Alaska. The 
Amendment states that its intent is not to cause significant increases 
in the take of species of migratory birds relative to their continental 
population sizes. A submittal letter from the Department of State to 
the White House (May 20, 1996) accompanied the Amendment and specified 
the need for harvest monitoring. The submittal letter stated that the 
Service, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), and Alaska 
Native Organizations would collect harvest information cooperatively 
within the subsistence-eligible areas. Harvest data help to ensure that 
customary and traditional subsistence uses of migratory birds and their 
eggs by Indigenous inhabitants of Alaska do not significantly increase 
the take of species of migratory birds relative to their continental 
population sizes.
    Information collection currently authorized under the OMB approval 
number 1018-0178 includes three items related to the spring-summer 
subsistence harvest of migratory birds in Alaska: (1) invitation of 
residents of non-eligible regions to participate in harvesting 
activities in the eligible regions; (2) household registration permit 
for harvest in the Cordova area; and (3) hunter registration permit for 
harvest in the Kodiak Island Roaded Area. Harvest monitoring associated 
with the Cordova and Kodiak permits are authorized under a separate OMB 
control number (1018-0124).
    1. Invitation to Harvest:
     Tribal Council Invitation Letter--Regulations at 50 CFR 
92.5(d) allow immediate family members (children, parents, 
grandparents, and siblings

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living in excluded areas) of residents of eligible areas to participate 
in the spring-summer subsistence harvest of migratory birds in a 
village's subsistence area. The regulations specify that participation 
of residents of excluded areas in the spring-summer harvest of 
migratory birds in an eligible area must be pre-authorized by a letter 
of invitation issued by a local Tribal council within the harvest area.
     Tribal Council Invitation Permit Request--The permit 
request is another method to invite an immediate family member residing 
in an excluded area to participate in the spring-summer subsistence 
hunt in a defined eligible area. The permit, issued by the Tribal 
Council, certifies that the prospective hunter is an immediate family 
member as defined in 50 CFR 92.4 and is thereby authorized to assist 
family members in hunting migratory birds in a defined subsistence 
harvest area. The permit is valid for 2 years from the date of 
issuance.
     Tribal Council Notification to Alaska Migratory Bird Co-
Management Council (AMBCC)--Tribal councils will provide copies of all 
letters of invitation regarding the invitation to hunt and of all 
issued permits to the Executive Director of the AMBCC.
     AMBCC Notification to AK Region Office of Law 
Enforcement--Upon receiving copies of the letters of invitation and of 
issued permits from Tribal Councils, the AMBCC Executive Director will 
inform the Service's Alaska Regional Office of Law Enforcement (AK-OLE) 
within 2 business days.
    2. Cordova Harvest Household Registration Permit--The Service's 
final rule published on April 8, 2014 (79 FR 19454), authorized spring-
summer harvest of migratory birds by residents of the community of 
Cordova in the Gulf of Alaska region. In 2017, the regulations were 
updated to allow residents of the neighboring communities of Tatitlek 
and Chenega to harvest in the area defined for the Cordova harvest 
(April 4, 2017; 82 FR 16298). Local partners, including the Eyak Tribe 
and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Cordova Office's Chugach Subsistence 
Program, worked in close collaboration with the ADF&G Division of 
Subsistence to develop a household registration and harvest monitoring 
system using a post-season mail survey. Household registrations are 
issued by the Tribal Councils of the communities of Cordova, Tatitlek, 
and Chenega, as well as by the USFS Cordova Office's Chugach 
Subsistence Program. The registration form includes fields to write the 
permit holder's name and mailing address, as well as a field for the 
permit holder to sign acknowledging the terms of the permit. The permit 
also has fields to write the names of other household members 
authorized to harvest under the registration. Registration data are 
securely disposed of after completion of the annual harvest data 
collection and analysis.
    3. Kodiak Island Roaded Area Hunter Registration Permit--On April 
19, 2021, we issued a final rule (86 FR 20311) that allows migratory 
bird hunting and egg gathering by registration permit in the Kodiak 
Island Roaded Area in the Kodiak Archipelago Region of Alaska for a 3-
year experimental season (2021-2023), after which time the regulation 
will sunset. The rule also finalized regulations for the spring-summer 
subsistence harvest of migratory birds in the Kodiak Island Roaded Area 
under a co-management process involving the Service, the ADF&G, and 
Alaska Native representatives. These regulations include a permit and 
harvest reporting system developed in collaboration with the AMBCC 
local partner, the Sun'aq Tribe of Kodiak. The intent of this rule was 
to allow all residents of the Kodiak Archipelago Region the opportunity 
to participate in subsistence hunting activities without the need for a 
watercraft. Previous regulations closed the Roaded Area to all 
subsistence migratory bird hunting and egg gathering, but allowed these 
activities in adjacent marine waters beyond 500 feet from shore, 
including offshore islands, where access requires a watercraft. The 
mandatory registration permit and the mandatory reporting of hunter 
activity and harvest in the 2021-2023 experimental hunt will allow 
estimation of hunter participation, bird and egg harvest, and harvest 
composition. These data will inform a potential proposal and decision 
to reopen the Roaded Area to subsistence hunting in the future. To 
protect species of conservation concern, spring-summer subsistence 
hunting and egg gathering for Arctic terns, Aleutian terns, mew gulls, 
and emperor geese will remain closed in the Roaded Area.
    Results of harvest monitoring for the 3-year experimental season 
are expected to be available in fall 2023 for review by the Sun'aq 
Tribe and other members of the AMBCC, who will make a recommendation on 
whether to continue the Kodiak Island Roaded Area hunt and whether to 
continue the requirement for the hunter registration permit and harvest 
reporting. Based on such forthcoming recommendation, corresponding 
changes to harvest regulations, if approved, could be implemented for 
the 2025 Alaska spring-summer migratory bird subsistence harvest 
season.
    Enforcement of regulations for the Kodiak Island Roaded Area will 
be the responsibility of the Service's Office of Law Enforcement. 
Enforcement personnel are aware of cultural and traditional practices 
of migratory bird subsistence harvest by rural residents of Alaska who 
are eligible to participate for this permit hunt concurrent with the 
need to ensure conservation of migratory birds, particularly species of 
conservation concern; of the necessary adherence to specific 
regulations requiring a permit and mandatory harvest reporting; and 
that hunting and egg gathering of Arctic terns, Aleutian terns, mew 
gulls, and emperor geese will remain closed in the Kodiak Island Roaded 
Area.
    The Sun'aq Tribe of Kodiak worked in close collaboration with the 
ADF&G Division of Subsistence to develop a permit and harvest 
monitoring system. Permits are issued by the Sun'aq Tribe of Kodiak to 
individual harvesters. The Sun'aq Tribe provides copies of issued 
permits to the ADF&G Division of Subsistence, which uses this 
information to manage the harvest reporting system. The permit includes 
fields to write the permit holder's name and mailing address, as well 
as a field for the permit holder to sign acknowledging the terms of the 
permit. The permit also includes a map of the harvest area and 
description of the harvest regulations, including the list of species 
open to harvest. Permit data are securely disposed of after completion 
of the annual harvest data collection and analysis.
    You may request copies of the referenced permit applications by 
submitting a request to the Service Information Collection Clearance 
Officer using one of the methods identified in the ADDRESSES section of 
this notice.
    Title of Collection: Regulations for the Taking of Migratory Birds 
for Subsistence Uses in Alaska, 50 CFR part 92.
    OMB Control Number: 1018-0178.
    Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals/households and Tribal 
governments within subsistence-eligible areas of Alaska.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.
    Frequency of Collection: Annually.
    Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: None.

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                                  Average number  Average number  Average number    Completion
      Activity/respondents           of annual    of submissions     of annual       time per      Total annual
                                    respondents        each          responses    response (min)  burden hours *
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Tribal Council Invitation Letter
 (50 CFR 92.5):
    Tribal Governments..........               1               1               1              30               1
  2Tribal Council Invitation
   Permit Request (50 CFR 92.5):
    Tribal Governments..........               1               1               1              30               1
Tribal Council Notification to
 AMBCC (50 CFR 92.5):
    Tribal Governments..........               1               1               1              30               1
Kodiak Island Roaded Area Hunter
 Registration Permit (50 CFR
 92.31):
    Individuals.................             100               1             100              15              25
Cordova Household Registration
 Permit (50 CFR 92.31):
    Individuals.................              50               1              50              15              13
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        Totals..................             154  ..............             154  ..............              42
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* 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. 2023-23029 Filed 10-18-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P