[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 236 (Monday, December 11, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 85906-85908]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-27119]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-HQ-MB-2023-N093; FXMB12310900WH0-245-FF09M26000; OMB Control 
Number 1018-0023]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget; Migratory Bird Surveys

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 an 
information collection, with changes.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
January 10, 2024.

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- 
0023'' 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 in 
the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 5 CFR 1320, 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 June 2, 2023, we published in the Federal Register (88 FR 36328) 
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 1, 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-HQ-MB-2023-0085) 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 four comments in response to that 
notice which did not address the information collection requirements. 
No responses are required to those comments.
    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

[[Page 85907]]

to OMB to approve this information collection request. 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 (16 U.S.C. 703-711) 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 (1) the wise 
management of migratory bird populations frequenting the United States, 
and (2) the setting of hunting regulations that allow appropriate 
harvests that are within the guidelines that will allow for those 
populations' well-being. These responsibilities dictate that we gather 
accurate data on various characteristics of migratory bird harvest. 
Based on information from harvest surveys, we can adjust hunting 
regulations as needed to optimize harvests at levels that provide a 
maximum of hunting recreation while keeping populations at desired 
levels.
    Under 50 CFR 20.20, migratory bird hunters must register for the 
Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program (HIP) in each State in which 
they hunt each year. State natural resource agencies must send names 
and addresses of all migratory bird hunters to the Service's Branch of 
Monitoring and Information Management, Division of Migratory Bird 
Management, on an annual basis.
    The Migratory Bird Hunter Survey is based on the Migratory Bird 
Harvest Information Program. We randomly select migratory bird hunters 
and ask them to report their harvests. The resulting estimates of 
harvest per hunter are combined with the complete list of migratory 
bird hunters to provide estimates of the total harvest for the species 
surveyed.
    The Parts Collection Survey estimates the species, sex, and age 
composition of the harvest, and the geographic and temporal 
distribution of the harvest. Randomly selected successful hunters who 
responded to the Migratory Bird Hunter Survey the previous year, as 
well as a sample of hunters who were not surveyed the previous year, 
are asked to complete and return a letter if they are willing to 
participate in the Parts Collection Survey. We provide postage-paid 
envelopes to respondents before the hunting season and ask them to send 
in a wing or the tail feathers from each duck or goose that they 
harvest, or a wing from each mourning dove, woodcock, band-tailed 
pigeon, or rail that they harvest. We use the wings and tail feathers 
to identify the species, sex, and age of the harvested sample. We also 
ask respondents to report the date and location of harvest for each 
bird on the outside of the envelope. We combine the results of this 
survey with the harvest estimates obtained from the Migratory Bird 
Hunter Survey to provide species-specific national harvest estimates.
    The combined results of these surveys enable us to evaluate the 
effects of season length, season dates, and bag limits on the harvest 
of each species, and thus help us determine appropriate hunting 
regulations.
    The Sandhill Crane Harvest Survey is an annual questionnaire survey 
of people who obtained a sandhill crane hunting permit. At the end of 
the hunting season, we randomly select a sample of permit holders and 
ask them to report the date, location, and number of birds harvested 
for each of their sandhill crane hunts. Their responses provide 
estimates of the temporal and geographic distribution of the harvest as 
well as the average harvest per hunter, which, combined with the total 
number of permits issued, enables us to estimate the total harvest of 
sandhill cranes. Based on information from this survey, we adjust 
hunting regulations as needed.
    In 2019, we implemented a new, online platform for the Migratory 
Bird Hunter Survey. The platform is optimized for use on multiple 
devices (computer, tablet, or phone; Android or Apple OS). This online 
survey platform walks a participant through the process of entering 
their harvest for a single day and asks for one piece of information at 
a time, which reduces confusion and the likelihood that the hunter will 
provide incorrect information. The online system improves data quality 
and prevents errors (e.g., reporting harvest of the wrong species, or 
in the wrong State). We conducted the full paper survey through 2022, 
in order to ensure that data collected through the online platform was 
sound, and to provide a side-by-side comparison of harvest estimates 
that could be used to calibrate the old survey to the new one. This was 
particularly important for maintaining a continuous time series of 
harvest estimates, despite changing methodology. In the spring of 2024, 
we will conduct the full survey using the online application, but will 
provide a paper survey by mail to those hunters who request them.

Proposed Revisions

    Pilot Digital Photo Survey--We propose to revise our Parts 
Collection Survey over the next 3 years (2023-2026) to replace or 
substantially augment bird wings and tails collection with photos of 
harvested birds, in order to reduce survey costs and perceived risk of 
disease transmission through the handling of wild bird parts. 
Preliminary assessments have indicated that photos taken by hunters of 
harvested waterfowl can be used to determine species, age, and sex of 
birds, without requiring examination of bird parts ``in the hand.''
    We propose to conduct a 3-year pilot study with the development of 
a mobile application that can be used by hunters to take photos of the 
birds they harvest and upload them to our database, and a web-based 
interface for expert biologists to use to examine and identify birds 
from photos. We propose to conduct the pilot study with up to 600 
hunters each year, which allows us to (1) evaluate the potential of 
using photo identification for other species in the Parts Collection 
survey, including doves, band-tailed pigeons, woodcock and rails, (2) 
achieve sample sizes sufficient to assess the limitations of photo 
identification for all waterfowl species, (3) develop methods to 
enhance the quality of hunter-supplied photos, and (4) amass an 
annotated set of photos to provide to researchers investigating the 
potential of machine-learning based image classification methods for 
automated identification of species, age, and sex.
    In addition, there is the potential for introducing other biases in 
data collection when transitioning to a photo survey; to assess these 
biases and provide uninterrupted information on annual harvest, we 
intend to conduct the full parts survey during this 3-year period to 
provide a comparison of results between the two surveys. If photo 
identification proves difficult for some species, we may continue a 
limited sample of parts collection to ensure harvest estimates can be 
calculated.
    Title of Collection: Migratory Bird Information Program and 
Migratory Bird Surveys, 50 CFR 20.20.
    OMB Control Number: 1018-0023.
    Form Number: Forms 3-165, 3-165A through E, and 3-2056J through N.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: States and migratory game bird 
hunters.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory for HIP registration 
information; voluntary for participation in the surveys.

[[Page 85908]]

    Frequency of Collection: Annually for States or on occasion for 
migratory bird hunters.
    Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: None.

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                                                  Average
                                 Number of       number of       Number of     Average time per    Total Annual
 Collection type/form number    respondents      responses        annual           response       burden hours *
                                                   each         responses *
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                         Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program (State Governments)
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                                          49              18             882  129 hours.........         113,778
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                                   Migratory Bird Hunter Survey (Individuals)
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Form 3-2056J................          31,900               1          31,900  4 minutes.........           2,127
Form 3-2056K................          16,900               1          16,900  3 minutes.........             845
Form 3-2056L................           8,500               1           8,500  3 minutes.........             425
Form 3-2056M................          10,200               1          10,200  2 minutes.........             340
                             -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Subtotals...............          67,500  ..............          67,500  ..................           3,737
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                                  Parts Collection Survey--Online (Individuals)
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Form 3-165..................           4,700              22         103,400  5 minutes.........           8,617
Form 3-165A.................             770             5.5           4,235  5 minutes.........             353
Form 3-165B.................           3,540               1           3,540  1 minute..........              59
Form 3-165C.................             260               1             260  1 minute..........               4
Form 3-165D.................             770               1             770  1 minute..........              13
Form 3-165E.................             750             1.5           1,125  5 minutes.........              94
                             -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Subtotals...............          10,790  ..............         113,330  ..................           9,140
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                                   Sandhill Crane Harvest Survey (Individuals)
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Form 3-2056N................           5,900               1           5,900  1.5 minutes.......             148
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                                    Pilot Digital Photo Survey (Individuals)
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Form 3-165..................             200              22           4,400  2 minutes.........             147
Form 3-165A.................              60             5.5             330  2 minutes.........              11
Form 3-165B.................             150               1             150  1 minute..........               3
Form 3-165C.................              60               1              60  1 minute..........               1
Form 3-165D.................              60               1              60  1 minute..........               1
    Form 3-165E.............              30             1.5              45  2 minutes.........               2
                             -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Subtotals...........             560  ..............           5,045  ..................             165
                             -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Totals..............          84,799  ..............         192,657  ..................         126,968
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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. 2023-27119 Filed 12-8-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P