[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 18 (Friday, January 26, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5255-5257]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-01542]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-HQ-MB-2024-0006; FXMB123109CITY0-245-FF09M20200; OMB
Control Number 1018-0183]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Urban Bird Treaty
Program Requirements
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 a
currently approved information collection without change.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before
March 26, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the information collection request
(ICR) by
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one of the following methods (reference ``1018-0183'' in the subject
line of your comment):
Internet (preferred): https://www.regulations.gov. Follow
the instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R7-ES-2024-
0003.
U.S. mail: Service Information Collection Clearance
Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: PRB
(JAO/3W), Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
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 (PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) 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.
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 Urban Bird Treaty Program (UBT Program) is
administered through the Service's Migratory Bird Program, under the
authority of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (16 U.S.C. 661-
667e). The UBT Program supports partnerships of public and private
organizations and individuals working to conserve migratory birds and
their habitats in urban areas for the benefit of these species and the
people that live in urban areas. The UBT partners' habitat conservation
activities help to ensure that more natural areas, including forests,
grasslands, wetlands, and meadows, are available in urban areas, so
that historically excluded and underserved communities can have
improved access to green space and opportunities to engage in habitat
restoration and community science as well as bird-related recreation
and educational programs. These habitat restoration activities,
especially urban forest conservation, also contribute to climate
resiliency by reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Lights-out programs in UBT cities help reduce energy costs and
greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the use of electricity when people
and businesses turn off their lights between dusk and dawn during the
fall and spring periods of bird migration in order to reduce bird
collisions with building glass.
The Service designates UBT cities or municipalities through a
process in which applicants submit a nomination package, including a
letter of intention and an implementation plan, for approval by the
Service's Migratory Bird Program. Within 3 months, the Service reviews
the package, makes any necessary recommendations for changes, and then
decides to either approve or reject the package. If rejected, the city
can reapply the following year. In most cases, when the Service
designates a new city partner, the Service and the new city partner
hold a signing ceremony, during which a representative from both the
Service and the city sign a nonbinding document that states the
importance of conserving birds and their habitats to the health and
well-being of people that live in and visit the city. To maintain this
city partner designation, the city must submit information on the
activities it has carried out to meet the goals of the UBT Program,
including those related to bird habitat conservation, bird hazard
reduction, and bird-related community education and engagement. By
helping make cities healthier places for birds and people, the UBT
Program contributes to the Administration's priorities of justice and
racial equity, climate resiliency, and the President's Executive Order
14008 to protect 30 percent of the Nation's land and 30 percent of its
ocean areas by 2030.
The UBT program benefits city partners in many ways, including:
Helps city partners achieve their goals for making cities
healthier places for birds and people.
Provides opportunities to share and learn from other city
partners' tools, tactics, successes, and challenges, to advance city
partners' urban bird conservation efforts.
Strengthens the cohesion and effectiveness of the
partnerships by coming together and working under the banner of the UBT
Program.
Gives city partners improved access to funding through the
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's Five Star and Urban Waters
Restoration grant program, as UBT cities receive priority in this
program.
Helps partners garner additional funds through other urban
conservation grant programs that have shared goals and objectives.
Helps partners achieve green building credits, reduced
energy costs, green space requirements, environmental equity, and other
sustainability goals.
Promotes the livability and sustainability of partner
cities by spreading the word about the city's UBT Federal designation
and all the benefits of a green and bird-friendly city.
We collect the following information from prospective and
successful applicants in conjunction with the UBT Program:
Nomination Letter--A prospective applicant must submit a
letter of intention from the city's partnership that details its
commitment to urban bird conservation and community engagement in bird-
related education, recreation, conservation, science, and
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monitoring. Support and involvement by the city government is required.
Implementation Plan--The required implementation plan
should contain the following (see the UBT Program Guidebook at https://www.fws.gov/sites/default/files/documents/urban-bird-reaty-v3.pdf for
full descriptions of requirements):
--Detailed description of the importance of the city to migrating,
nesting, and overwintering birds and bird habitats; human population
size of the city; and socioeconomic profile of the human communities
present and those targeted for education and engagement programs.
--Map of the geographic area that is being nominated for designation.
--List of individuals and organizations, and their contact information,
that are active in the partnership.
--The mission, goals, and objectives of the partnership applying for
designation, organized by the three UBT goal categories.
--Description of accomplishments (e.g., activities, products, outcomes)
that have been completed over the last 2-3 years, the audiences and
communities reached/engaged through those activities, and the partner
organizations that have achieved them, organized by UBT goal
categories.
--Description of goals, objectives, activities, actions, and tools/
products that are being planned for the next 3-5 years under the UBT
designation, the objectives to be accomplished, the audiences and
communities targeted for engagement, and the partners who will complete
the work, organized by UBT goal categories.
Ad Hoc Reports--The Service will also request information
updates on an ongoing basis, on UBT city points of contact, activities
and events, and other information about urban bird conservation in the
city, as needed by the Service for storytelling, promotion, and
internal programmatic communications, education, and outreach.
Biennial Reporting--For each goal category, the Service
requires city partners to provide biennial metrics, as well as written
and photographic descriptions of activities. To maintain their city's
designation by ensuring that they are actively working to achieve the
goals of the UBT Program, city partners are required to submit this
information.
We will use the information collected for storytelling purposes to
promote the urban bird conservation work of city partners, and to
enable the Migratory Bird Program to develop UBT Program accomplishment
reports and other communications tools to share with the public and the
conservation community at large. The reporting requirement ensures that
the UBT city designation is meaningful and that city partners are
accountable for the efforts that they agreed to undertake to earn their
designation. Additionally, we will use the information to promote the
UBT Program to other interested city partners and the benefits of urban
bird conservation generally. For more information, please see the UBT
Program Guidebook at the following link: https://www.fws.gov/sites/default/files/documents/urban-bird-reaty-v3.pdf.
The public may request copies of documents referenced in this
information collection by sending a request to the Service Information
Collection Clearance Officer in ADDRESSES, above.
Title of Collection: Urban Bird Treaty Program Requirements.
OMB Control Number: 1018-0183.
Form Number: None.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Respondents/Affected Public: Nonprofits; colleges, universities,
and schools; museums, zoos, and aquaria; local community groups;
private businesses; and municipal, State, and Tribal governments
involved in urban bird conservation in UBT cities.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 39.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 39.
Estimated Completion Time per Response: Varies from 3 hours to 80
hours, depending on activity.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 1,256.
Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.
Frequency of Collection: One-time submission of nomination letter;
one-time submission of implementation plan; on occasion for information
updates; and biennial reporting.
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. 2024-01542 Filed 1-25-24; 8:45 am]
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