[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 56 (Thursday, March 21, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20231-20233]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-05994]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R7-FAC-2023-N094; FXFR133407AFWFP-245-FF07CAAN00; OMB Control 
Number 1018-New]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget; Yukon River Watershed Ecosystem Action 
Plan

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 a new 
information collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
April 22, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection request (ICR) 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--Yukon River WEAP'' 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 August 17, 2023, we published in the Federal Register (88 FR 
56044) a notice of our intent to request that OMB approve this 
information collection. In that notice, we solicited comments for 60 
days, ending on October 16, 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-FAC-2023-0094) 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 anonymous comment in 
response to that notice which did not address the information 
collection requirements. Therefore, no response 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

[[Page 20232]]

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: Under the authority of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination 
Act (16 U.S.C. 661-666), the Service cooperates with Federal, State, 
and public or private agencies and organizations in the development, 
protection, rearing, and stocking of all species of fish and wildlife, 
resources thereof, and their habitat, in controlling losses of the same 
from disease or other causes, in minimizing damages from overabundant 
species. In order to accomplish this purpose, the Service has the 
authority to conduct surveys and investigations of the wildlife of the 
public domain, including lands and waters or interests therein acquired 
or controlled by any agency of the United States. This work will focus 
on Yukon River Pacific Salmon, which is an interjurisdictional fish and 
thus a Federal trust species of the public domain.
    The Yukon River runs about 2,000 miles from its headwaters in 
British Columbia to the Bering Sea, flowing through dozens of 
communities and an international border along the way. Wild native 
salmon have been a mainstay of the diet of local people since time 
immemorial and are vital to supporting the health, culture, and economy 
of rural communities in the Yukon Watershed today. Salmon stock 
declines resulting in subsistence fishery closures are therefore of 
grave concern; habitat alteration, climate change, and fishing are 
likely contributing factors. The goal of this project is to prepare a 
watershed ecosystem action plan (WEAP) that is directed by local 
communities, informed by traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), 
reviewed by experts, and catalyzes meaningful action.
    The people of the Yukon River rely heavily on the watershed's 
natural resources to feed their families and support their culture. The 
Yukon River Drainage Fisheries Association (YRDFA) will consult 
directly with Yukon River watershed communities and incorporate TEK to 
complete a comprehensive assessment and prioritization of habitat 
restoration needs, to be documented in a watershed-wide action plan. 
This project will employ residents of the rural Yukon villages to carry 
out this effort to the greatest extent possible. This project will take 
place over a 5-year time period and will result in a WEAP that can be 
used to understand and develop actions to address the ongoing crisis of 
salmon declines.
    The YRDFA plans to kick this project off by consulting with local 
communities and TEK. On-the-ground assessments will also be completed 
by local community members. The information collected will be used to 
draft an action plan that prioritizes the known threats to the 
watershed. The WEAP will identify specific restoration projects that 
are likely to improve the health of the watershed. The Service's 
Habitat Restoration Program will provide technical support to create 
scopes of work and cost estimates for the highest priority projects 
that are identified by the WEAP. The identification of specific, high-
priority projects with scoping and cost documents will allow project 
partners to work with landowners to pursue funding from both public and 
private sources to improve the health of the watershed.
    We developed these surveys in consultation with the Yukon River 
Drainage Fisheries Association, an organization created to conserve 
Yukon salmon runs by giving a voice to the Alaska Native people who 
have managed the resource for thousands of years; the Yukon River 
Inter-Tribal Watershed Council, an Indigenous grassroots non-profit 
organization, consisting of 73 First Nations and Tribes, dedicated to 
the protection and preservation of the Yukon River watershed; and the 
State of Alaska. This survey proposes to collect the following 
information from community members who voluntarily attend community 
meetings and Elders within the Alaska Native communities, to address 
growing concerns about the health of the Yukon River watershed and to 
generate a historical timeline of observed changes that affect Yukon 
River salmon:
    1. Community meeting surveys will ask for respondents to provide 
their top three concerns for the health of the watershed, to identify 
community organizations who are working on these concerns, and to 
provide locations for their concerns, if appropriate. This information 
will be used to identify actions that can be taken to improve the 
health of the habitats in the watershed which support Pacific Salmon 
and to partner with communities to address their highest priority 
needs.
    2. Using a qualitative semi-structured interview protocol, we will 
ask respondents general questions about their background and fishing 
experiences, followed by questions about their observations of changes 
in the environment and in the salmon populations. The protocol will 
continue with questions about their ways of knowing when the salmon 
will arrive, how to predict salmon health and run strength, and any 
concerns they may have. This information will be used to generate a 
historical timeline of observed changes that may affect salmon on the 
Yukon River.
    In addition to participating in the interviews, respondents are 
also requested to complete a consent form. The consent form provides 
the respondent with the name and contact number for the project leads 
and requests personally identifiable information (name, mailing 
address, and phone number). This informed consent provides basic 
information about the project, which includes the purpose of the 
research, the funder, information about what we will do with the 
results, and the fact that participation in the interview is voluntary 
and they can participate anonymously.
    The surveys will be conducted for a 5-year period, beginning in 
2024. This project is funded by the Service, the State of Alaska, and 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. The information 
produced through

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these interviews will be used to provide a holistic and long-term 
understanding of Yukon River salmon, their environment, and threats to 
their sustainability.
    Title of Collection: Yukon River Watershed Ecosystem Action Plan.
    OMB Control Number: 1018-New.
    Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: New.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals/households.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 420 (280 respondents 
for the Watershed Community Survey and 140 respondents for the Yukon 
Watershed TEK Interviews.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 420.
    Estimated Completion Time per Response: 15 minutes for the Yukon 
Watershed Community Survey and 1 hour for the Yukon Watershed TEK 
Interviews.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 210.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    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. 2024-05994 Filed 3-20-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P