[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 78 (Monday, April 22, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29361-29362]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-08516]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-HQ-MB-2024-0044; FXMB1231099BPP0-245-FF09M30000; OMB 
Control Number 1018-New]


Agency Information Collection Activities; National Double-Crested 
Cormorant Survey

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 
June 21, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the information collection request 
(ICR) by one of the following methods (please reference ``1018-DCC'' in 
the subject line of your comments):
     Internet (preferred): https://www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-HQ-JAO-2024-
0044.
     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 (PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) and its implementing regulations at 5 
CFR 1320.8(d)(1), 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.
    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 
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

[[Page 29362]]

information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.
    Abstract: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service, we) is the 
Federal agency delegated with the primary responsibility for managing 
migratory birds. Our authority derives from the Migratory Bird Treaty 
Act of 1918 (MBTA; 16 U.S.C. 703-712), as amended, which implements 
conventions with Great Britain (for Canada), Mexico, Japan, and Russia. 
We implement the provisions of the MBTA through the regulations in 
parts 10, 13, 20, 21, 22, and 92 of title 50 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (CFR). The MBTA protects migratory birds (listed in 50 CFR 
10.13) from take directed at birds, except as authorized under the 
MBTA. Regulations pertaining to specific migratory bird permit types 
are at 50 CFR parts 21 and 22.
    The double-crested cormorant (cormorant; Phalacrocorax auritus) is 
a fish-eating migratory bird that is distributed across a large portion 
of North America. There are five different breeding populations--the 
Alaska, Pacific (or Western), Interior, Atlantic, and Southern 
populations. Although each of these populations is categorized by 
breeding range, the populations commingle to various extents on their 
migration and wintering areas, with birds from populations closer to 
each other overlapping more than those that are more distant.
    In response to ongoing damage at aquaculture facilities and other 
damage and conflicts associated with increasing cormorant populations, 
the Service administers regulations that authorize the take of 
cormorants through regular depredation permits (50 CFR 21.100) or the 
special double-crested cormorant permit available only to State and 
Tribal fish and wildlife agencies (50 CFR 21.123). Take through these 
two permit types is supported by assessments that were completed in 
2017 and 2020 under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). The 2017 environmental assessment (EA) supported 
issuance of depredation permits (82 FR 52936; November 15, 2017), and 
the 2020 environmental impact statement (EIS) supported creation of the 
special double-crested cormorant permit (85 FR 85535; December 29, 
2020). To determine sustainable take of cormorants, the 2020 EIS 
contained a potential take limit (PTL) assessment that is used to 
inform permitting decisions.
    Federal, State, Tribal, and many private entities share the 
Service's goal of maintaining sustainable cormorant populations. Many 
of these entities conduct cormorant monitoring and contribute to 
ongoing research and regional or local cormorant management efforts. 
However, to date, coordinated monitoring across the four North American 
flyways (Pacific, Central, Mississippi, and Atlantic), with shared 
objectives and standardized sampling design, does not exist. The desire 
to enhance existing monitoring efforts was shared in comments by 
States, Tribes, nongovernment organizations, and members of the public 
during the 2020 rulemaking process. Therefore, the Service committed to 
work in partnership with the Flyways to develop a monitoring program 
for each subpopulation of cormorants. In the 2020 final EIS, the 
Service made the commitment to monitor cormorant populations and 
produce a report every 5 years that provides analyses from population 
monitoring and other status information. The survey, which was develop 
in coordination with the four Flyways, will be conducted for the first 
time in 2024 and is scheduled to be repeated every 5 years in order to 
update population estimates and PTL assessments.
    A combination of Federal (Service and U.S. Department of 
Agriculture Wildlife Services) and State biologists, coordinated 
through Flyway working groups, will conduct the survey during April 
through June 2024. All surveys will use a standardized data sheet that 
documents the following:
    1. Completion data:
    a. State, county, names of observers, and agency; and
    b. Date/time, weather conditions (wind, sky, temperature).
    2. Nesting colony information:
    a. Colony name;
    b. Latitude/longitude;
    c. Whether the colony was existing, reestablished, or new;
    d. Nest substrate; and
    e. Site habitat condition.
    3. Method used to survey the colony (i.e., ground count or aerial 
count).
    4. Nest counts:
    a. Number of active or inactive nests (with number of unknown);
    b. Whether the entire colony was surveyed;
    c. Whether co-nesting species were observed; and
    d. Whether photos and/or videos were taken.
    5. General comments from the observer.
    To be flexible, States will have the option to use an electronic 
version of the datasheet (ArcGIS Survey123 software) or a paper-based 
survey form. The data the Service collects through the range-wide 
cormorant monitoring program will be used to update cormorant 
population estimates and to update PTL assessments with the most up-to-
date information as specified in the 2020 EIS. The updated take limits 
would also inform future Service permit allocation. The Service will 
share the population estimates and PTL assessments with State and 
Tribal fish and wildlife agencies to inform their respective management 
actions, as well as with other Federal agencies, including the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services program.
    Title of Collection: National Double-Crested Cormorant Survey.
    OMB Control Number: 1018-New.
    Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: New.
    Respondents/Affected Public: State/local/Tribal government (State 
biologists coordinated through the four North American Flyways 
(Pacific, Central, Mississippi, and Atlantic)).
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 40.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 1,016.
    Estimated Completion Time per Response: 4 hours (30 minutes 
reporting and 3.5 hours recordkeeping).
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 4,064.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Frequency of Collection: One time.
    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. 2024-08516 Filed 4-19-24; 8:45 am]
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