SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (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 soliciting comments from the public and other Federal agencies on the proposed ICR described below. We are especially interested in public comments 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 personally identifiable information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment—including your personally identifiable information—may be publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personally identifiable information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Abstract: The Endangered Species Act (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) provides a means to conserve the ecosystems upon which endangered and threatened species depend, to provide a program for the conservation of these endangered and threatened species, and to take the appropriate steps that are necessary to bring any endangered or threatened species to the point where measures provided for under the ESA are no longer necessary. Section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA authorizes us to issue permits for otherwise prohibited activities in order to enhance the propagation or survival of the affected species. Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA authorizes us to issue permits if the taking is incidental to the carrying out of an otherwise lawful activity. ESA section 10(d) requires that such permits be applied for in good faith and, if granted, that the permit not operate to the disadvantage of endangered species, and that the permit be consistent with the purposes of the ESA.

Our regulations implementing the ESA are in chapter I, subchapter B of title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR; 50 CFR parts 13 and 17). The regulations stipulate general and specific requirements that, when met, allow us to issue permits to authorize activities that are otherwise prohibited. Upon receipt of a complete application, the Director may issue a permit authorizing any activity otherwise prohibited by § 17.21, in accordance with the issuance criteria of this section, for scientific purposes, for enhancing the propagation or survival, or for the incidental taking of endangered wildlife. Such permits may authorize a single transaction, a series of transactions, or a number of activities over a specific period of time. (See § 17.32 for permits for threatened species.)

We collect information associated with application forms to determine the eligibility of applicants for permits requested in accordance with the criteria in section 10 of the ESA. The Service uses the following permit application forms for activities associated with native endangered and threatened species:

• Form 3-200-54, Enhancement of Survival Permits Associated with Conservation Benefit Agreements;
• Form 3-200-56, Incidental Take Permits Associated with a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP);
• Form 3-200-59, Scientific, Enhancement of Propagation, or Survival (i.e., Purposeful Take for Recovery); and
• Form 3-200-60, Interstate Commerce.

Annual reporting of the results subsequent to the activity authorized by the permit is required in most cases (under the authority of section 10(a)(1)(A) and 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA and its implementing regulations at 50 CFR part 17). These reports allow us to evaluate the success of the project, formulate further research, and develop and adjust management and recovery plans for the species. We currently use the following reports specific to particular species (and regions, where appropriate):

• Form 3-202-55a, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Geographic Area: Southwestern Bat Reporting Form;
• Form 3-202-55b, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Geographic Area: Midwestern Bat Reporting Form;
• Form 3-202-55c, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Geographic Area: Southeastern Bat Reporting Form;
• Form 3-202-55d, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Geographic Area: Northeastern Bat Reporting Form; and
• Form 3-202-55e, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Geographic Area: Plains/Rockies Bat Reporting Form.
• Form 3-202-55f, Non-Releasable Sea Turtle Annual Report; and
• Form 3-202-55g, Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Annual Report.
• Form 3-2523, Midwest Geographic Area: Freshwater Mussel Reporting Form; ( printed page 32997)
• Form 3-2526, Midwest Geographic Area: Bumble Bee Reporting Form;
• Form 3-2530, California/Nevada/Klamath Basin, OR Recovery Permit Annual Summary Report Form;
• Form 3-2532, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Geographic Area: Alaska Bat Reporting Form;
• Form 3-2533, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Geographic Area: Northwestern Bat Reporting Form; and
• Form 3-2534, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Geographic Area: Western Bat Reporting Form.

Annual reporting of the results subsequent to the activity authorized by the permit is required in most cases (under the authority of section 10(a)(1)(A) and section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA and its implementing regulations at 50 CFR part 17). The Service designed the forms to facilitate the electronic reporting specifically for each species. The Service will use the reported data to evaluate the success of the permitted project, formulate further research, and develop and adjust management and recovery plans for the species. The data will also inform 5-year reviews and Species Status Assessments (SSA) conducted under the ESA.

Additionally, we require that the following notifications be made to the Service:

• Private landowners who have an enhancement of survival permit (and accompanying safe harbor agreement or candidate conservation agreement with assurances) must notify us if their land management activities incidentally take a listed or candidate species covered under their permit.
• We issue enhancement of survival permits to landowners, and their name is printed on the permit. If ownership of the land changes, this permit does not automatically transfer to the new landowner. Therefore, we ask the permittee to notify us if there is a change in land ownership so that we may update the permit; and
• If a recovery or interstate commerce permit authorizes activities that include keeping wildlife in captivity, we ask the permittee to notify us if any of the captive wildlife escape.

Proposed Revisions

1. We propose to split this collection into two collections. The original Control No., 1018-0094, will retain the Incidental Take Permit and Enhancement of Survival Permit application forms and their associated reporting and notification requirements. We will ask OMB to approve a new control number for the Recovery Permit and Interstate Commerce Permit application forms and their associated reporting forms.

The new control number will contain the collection of information to inform the development of SSAs and recovery plans as developed under Section 4(f) of the ESA. There are no forms associated with this collection. We are required to use the best scientific and commercial data available when reviewing a species' status under the ESA and when developing recovery plans. This new collection will include the new information collections listed below:

a. When developing a new or revised SSA to inform a recovery plan, we send out a request to external partners asking for information related to the species' scientific information, which could include, but is not limited to, the species' current or historical range, distribution, occurrence data, information on potential stressors, or past, on-going, or planned activities, including specific projects or conservation efforts, within the species' range.

b. Once the SSA is complete, the draft SSA report undergoes peer and technical review to increase the quality and credibility of our science and ensure we base our decisions on the best information available.

c. When developing a new or revised draft recovery plan, we send out a request to external partners asking for information related to current threats to the species, ongoing beneficial management efforts, or potential recovery actions.

d. As required by Section 4(f)(4) of the Act, we provide public notice and an opportunity for public review and comment on draft recovery plans. We publish a report on ECOS and ask for information from the public that could include, but is not limited to, current threats to the species, ongoing beneficial management efforts, and the costs associated with implementing the recommended recovery actions.

2. Form 3-2526, “Bumble Bee Reporting Form” —We propose the following revisions to Form 3-2526 to:

a. Reflect simplified protocols and methods of detection, as detailed in the voluntary document titled “Technical Assistance for Surveyors and Researchers” (available at https://www.fws.gov/​media/​survey-and-monitoring-technical-assistance-rusty-patched-bumble-bee).

b. Update the “Instructions” worksheet, in general, to reflect simplified data collection needs as well as updating the worksheet tabs to reflect simplified data-collection needs.

c. Replace the “Primary Information” worksheet with a new “Site Data” worksheet. All fields will remain; however, we will add a column for “Field Observer” and will move the following fields—previously located in the “Effort and Area” worksheet—into this worksheet: “Sampling Unit Location (centroid latitude),” “Sampling Unit Location (centroid longitude),” and “Area of Sampling Unit.” We will also add a new field, “Percentage of Sampling Unit in Bloom.”

d. Replace the “Effort and Area” and “Bee Abundance” worksheets with a new “Bee Survey Data” worksheet. This new worksheet will remove several extraneous fields and will add the fields “Method of Detection” and “Specimen Number,” the latter of which will help surveyors track multiple specimen photographs if needed. The dropdown list for the “Bumble Bee Species” field will include corrected species names.

e. Simplify the “Habitat Data” worksheet to include only “Dominant Habitat Type” and the option fields “Management History,” “Sampling Unit Condition,” “Floral Resource,” “Floral Resource Abundance Category,” and two fields capturing observed Bombus presence on noted floral resources.

f. Remove the “Detailed Habitat Assessment” and “Photographs” worksheets. Photographs required for species verification will be submitted separately by permittees ( e.g., in a zipped folder) and will no longer be embedded in the worksheet.

g. Rename the “Printable Survey Forms” worksheet to “Example Field Data Sheet.” We will also revise the example data sheet to reflect the updated data-collection needs described in the “Technical Assistance for Surveyors and Researchers” document (available at https://www.fws.gov/​media/​survey-and-monitoring-technical-assistance-rusty-patched-bumble-bee).

h. Add a “Definitions” worksheet to explain each field in each worksheet and to provide descriptions of the type of data accepted in each column ( e.g., text, whole numbers, dropdown list).

3. Revise Seven Existing Forms:

a. Form 3-202-55b, “U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Geographic Area: Midwestern Bat Reporting Form”;

b. Form 3-202-55c, “U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Geographic Area: Southeastern Bat Reporting Form”;

c. Form 3-202-55d, “U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Geographic Area: Northeastern Bat Reporting Form”;

d. Form 3-202-55e, “U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Geographic Area: Plains/Rockies Bat Reporting Form”;

e. Form 3-2532, “U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Geographic Area: Alaska Bat Reporting Form”; ( printed page 32998)

f. Form 3-2533, “U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Geographic Area: Northwestern Bat Reporting Form”; and,

g. Form 3-2534, “U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Geographic Area: Western Bat Reporting Form”

The revisions include the addition of two new worksheets: one for reporting hibernacula survey results and another for documenting banded bats encountered during those surveys. These additions were made to address a recurring issue in which surveyors were submitting hibernacula data within the roost tree worksheet. That worksheet was not designed to capture such information, resulting in data inconsistencies and processing challenges. While these changes will affect a relatively small number of surveyors, they resolve a significant data management issue.

4. Form 3-200-59, “ Recovery Permit Application Form” —The form will be revised to:

a. Clarify instructions for completing the form and distinguishing between new, renewal, and amended permit applications;

b. Add required information for business applicants;

c. Clarify questions in “Specific Relevant Activity” section, including highlighting required questions frequently missed, clarifying questions on take;

d. Provide examples of requested tables for submission of information; and,

e. Numerous other minor clarifying edits.

5. Form 3-200-56, “Incidental Take Permits with Habitat Conservation Plans” —This form will be revised to:

a. Update types of supporting materials accepted;

b. Provide clarified language on fees associated with new, renewal, or amendments of permits;

c. Clarify language describing the required HCP that must be submitted in association with this permit application form; and

d. Finalize numerous minor clarifying edits.

The public may request copies of any form contained in this information collection by sending a request to the Service Information Collection Clearance Officer (see ADDRESSES ).

Existing Collection

Title of Collection: Federal Fish and Wildlife Permit Applications and Reports—Native Endangered and Threatened Species; 50 CFR parts 10, 13, and 17.

OMB Control Number: 1018-0094.

Form Numbers: 3-200-54 and 3-200-56.

Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.

Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals; private sector; and State/local/Tribal governments.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 1,941.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 1,941.

Estimated Completion Time per Response: Varies from 30 minutes to 2,080 hours, depending on activity.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 205,640.

Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.

Frequency of Collection: On occasion, annually, one time.

Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: $19,359,100 for fees associated with permit applications and amendments.

Proposed New Collection

Title of Collection: Federal Fish and Wildlife Permit Applications and Reports—Native Endangered and Threatened Species Recovery; 50 CFR parts 10, 13, and 17.

OMB Control Number: 1018-NEW.

Form Numbers: 3-200-59, 3-200-60, 3-202-55a through 3-202-55g, 3-2523, 3-2526, 3-2530, and 3-2532 through 3-2534.

Type of Review: New.

Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals; private sector; and State/local/Tribal governments.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 5,959.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 5,959.

Estimated Completion Time per Response: Varies from 30 minutes to 8 hours, depending on activity.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 14,450.

Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.

Frequency of Collection: On occasion, annually, one time.

Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: $56,360 for fees associated with permit applications and amendments.

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.).

91 FR 32995