[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 27 (Thursday, February 8, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8706-8707]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-02591]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Geological Survey

[GX24MR00G6ZW800; OMB Control Number 1028-NEW]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Panhandle Terrapin 
Project

AGENCY: U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the 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 a new information 
collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
April 8, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments on this information collection request 
(ICR) by mail to USGS, 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 
Panhandle Terrapin Project in the subject line of your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information 
about this ICR, contact Margaret Lamont by email at [email protected] or 
by telephone at 352-209-4306. 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 (44 U.S.C. 3501 
et seq.) and 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), all information collections require 
approval. 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 the agency might 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 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 diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) is a 
coastal turtle species that ranges along the U.S. coast from 
Massachusetts to Texas. As the only turtle species to live in brackish 
water (a mix of salt and fresh water), diamondback terrapins are 
typically found in habitats such as salt marshes, mangroves, estuaries, 
and bays. Their small size and cryptic coloring make locating terrapins 
difficult and, as such, terrapin populations often go undetected even 
within protected areas such as wildlife refuges and national parks. 
Because of this, there are large knowledge gaps about terrapin ecology. 
For example, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature did 
not

[[Page 8707]]

consider Northwest Florida to be part of the diamondback terrapin's 
range, however new studies suggest that several relatively large 
populations inhabit this region. Since 2007, Florida Sea Grant has 
utilized citizen scientists to help locate terrapin nesting beaches in 
Northwest Florida. In 2017, the USGS partnered with Florida Sea Grant 
to expand these surveys. The new data-collection effort described here 
would support those surveys by providing an easily accessible, online 
data-collection method that would provide information on diamondback 
terrapin nesting activity and nesting habitat and potential 
anthropogenic threats at terrapin nesting sites. Citizens involved in 
the surveys receive training from Florida Sea Grant and the USGS prior 
to the start of the nesting season. Contributors are then assigned a 
survey route that is monitored weekly from April through October. When 
evidence of terrapin nesting activity is observed (e.g., a nesting 
terrapin, terrapin tracks, or eggshells), contributors would document 
the date, time, location, habitat, and environmental variables 
(including the presence of any invasive species), and the presence of 
predators and (or) potential anthropogenic threats (e.g., pets, 
garbage, or boats). Citizens also provide the date and time that their 
survey begins and ends, along with their initials and a way to contact 
them. Finally, monthly head count surveys are also conducted at each 
site which involves contributors sitting at the site for 30 minutes and 
documenting the number of terrapin heads that appear above the water's 
surface during that time period.
    Title of Collection: Panhandle Terrapin Project.
    OMB Control Number: 1028-NEW.
    Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: New.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 100.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 1,200.
    Estimated Completion Time per Response: 60 minutes.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 1,200 hours.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Frequency of Collection: Weekly.
    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 PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

Margaret M. Lamont,
Research Biologist, USGS Wetland and Aquatic Research Center.
[FR Doc. 2024-02591 Filed 2-7-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4338-11-P