82 FR 30883 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Conservation Order for Light Geese

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 126 (July 3, 2017)

We (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Service) will ask the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the information collection (IC) described below. As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and as part of our continuing efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, we invite the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on this IC. This information collection is scheduled to expire on April 30, 2018. We 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.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 126 (Monday, July 3, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30883-30884]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-13883]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-HQ-MB-2017-N088; FF09M21200-167-FXMB1231099BPP0; OMB Control 
Number 1018-0103]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Conservation Order for 
Light Geese

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Service) will ask the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the information 
collection (IC) described below. As required by the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 and as part of our continuing efforts to reduce paperwork 
and respondent burden, we invite the general public and other Federal 
agencies to take this opportunity to comment on this IC. This 
information collection is scheduled to expire on April 30, 2018. We 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.

DATES: To ensure that we are able to consider your comments on this IC, 
we must receive them by September 1, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the IC to the Service Information 
Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: BPHC, 
5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803 (mail); or 
[email protected] (email). Please include ``1018-0103'' in the subject 
line of your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Service Information Collection 
Clearance Officer at [email protected] (email) or (703) 358-2503 
(telephone).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (Act; 16 U.S.C. 703-712) implements 
the four bilateral migratory bird treaties the United States entered 
into with Great Britain (for Canada), Mexico, Japan, and Russia. The 
Act authorizes and directs the Secretary of the Interior to allow 
hunting, taking, etc., of migratory birds subject to the provisions of 
and in order to carry out the purposes of the four treaties. Section 
VII of the U.S.-Canada Migratory Bird Treaty authorizes the taking of 
migratory birds that, under extraordinary conditions, become seriously 
injurious to agricultural or other interests.
    The number of light geese (lesser snow, greater snow, and Ross' 
geese) in the midcontinent region has nearly quadrupled during the past 
several decades, due to a decline in adult mortality and an increase in 
winter survival. We refer to these species and subspecies as light 
geese because of their light coloration, as opposed to dark geese, such 
as white-fronted or Canada geese. Because of their feeding activity, 
light geese have become seriously injurious to their habitat, as well 
as to habitat important to other migratory birds. This poses a serious 
threat to the short- and long-term health and status of some migratory 
bird populations. We believe that the number of light geese in the 
midcontinent region has exceeded long-term sustainable levels for their 
arctic and subarctic breeding habitats, and that the populations must 
be reduced. Title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at part 
21 provides authority for the management of overabundant light geese.
    Regulations at 50 CFR 21.60 authorize States and tribes in the 
midcontinent and Atlantic flyway regions to control light geese within 
the United States through the use of alternative regulatory strategies. 
The conservation order authorizes States and tribes to implement 
population control measures without having to obtain a Federal permit, 
thus significantly reducing their administrative burden. The 
conservation order is a streamlined process that affords an efficient 
and effective population reduction strategy, rather than addressing the 
issue through our permitting process. Furthermore, this strategy 
precludes the use of more drastic and costly direct population-
reduction measures such as trapping and culling geese. States and 
tribes participating in the conservation order must:
     Designate participants and inform them of the requirements 
and conditions of the conservation order. Individual States and tribes 
determine the method to designate participants and how they will 
collect information from participants.
     Keep records of activities carried out under the authority 
of the conservation order, including:
    (1) Number of persons participating in the conservation order;
    (2) Number of days people participated in the conservation order;
    (3) Number of light geese shot and retrieved under the conservation 
order; and
    (4) Number of light geese shot, but not retrieved.
     Submit an annual report summarizing the activities 
conducted under the conservation order on or before September 15 of 
each year. Tribal information can be incorporated in State reports to 
reduce the number of reports submitted.

II. Data

    OMB Control Number: 1018-0103.
    Title: Conservation Order for Light Geese, 50 CFR 21.60.
    Service Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Description of Respondents: State and tribal governments; 
individuals who participate in the conservation order.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.
    Frequency of Collection: Annually.

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                                                  Annual number     Number of     Total annual                                             Annual burden
                    Activity                     of respondents  responses each     responses          Completion time per response           hours *
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Conservation Order for Control of Light Geese
 (State/Tribal Governments):
    Reporting..................................              39               1              39  42 hours...............................           1,638
    Recordkeeping..............................                                                  3 hours................................             117
Conservation Order Participants--Provide
 Information to States (Individuals or
 Households):

[[Page 30884]]

 
    Reporting..................................          21,538               1          21,538  8 minutes..............................           2,872
                                                --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Total..................................          21,577  ..............          21,577  .......................................           4,627
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* Rounded.

    Estimated Annual Non-hour Burden Cost: $78,000, primarily for State 
overhead costs (materials, printing, postage, etc.).

III. Comments

    We invite comments concerning this information collection on:
     Whether or not the collection of information is necessary, 
including whether or not the information will have practical utility;
     The accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this 
collection of information;
     Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of 
information on respondents.
    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 IC. 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.

IV. Authorities

    The authorities for this action are the Migratory Bird Treaty Act 
(16 U.S.C. 703-712) and the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3501 et seq.).

    Dated: June 27, 2017.
Madonna L. Baucum,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-13883 Filed 6-30-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P