2011-29386. Information Collection Request Sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Approval; Migratory Birds and Wetlands Conservation Grant Programs

AGENCY:

Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice; request for comments.

SUMMARY:

We (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) have sent an Information Collection Request (ICR) to OMB for review and approval. We summarize the ICR below and describe the nature of the collection and the estimated burden and cost. This information collection is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2011. 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. However, under OMB regulations, we may continue to conduct or sponsor this information collection while it is pending at OMB.

DATES:

You must submit comments on or before December 15, 2011.

ADDRESSES:

Send your comments and suggestions on this information collection to the Desk Officer for the Department of the Interior at OMB-OIRA at [phone] (fax) or [e-mail] (email). Please provide a copy of your comments to the Service Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS 2042-PDM, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203 (mail), or [e-mail] (email). Please include “1018-0100” in the subject line of your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request additional information about this ICR, contact Hope Grey at [e-mail] (email) or [phone] (telephone). You may review the ICR online at http://www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to review Department of the Interior collections under review by OMB.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

OMB Control Number: 1018-0100.

Title: Migratory Birds and Wetlands Conservation Grant Programs.

Service Form Number(s): None.

Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.

Description of Respondents: Domestic and foreign individuals, businesses and other for-profit organizations; educational organizations; not-for-profit institutions; and Federal, State, local, and/or tribal governments.

Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.

Frequency of Collection: On occasion.

Activity	Number of respondents	Number of responses	Completion time per response (hours)	Total annual burden hours
NAWCA Small Grants—Applications	87	87	58	5,046
NAWCA Small Grants—Reports	109	109	33	3,597
NAWCA U.S. Standard Grants—Applications	77	77	215	16,555
NAWCA Canadian and Mexican Standard Grants—Applications	32	32	80	2,560
NAWCA Standard Grants—Reports	188	188	43	8,084
NMBCA Grant Applications	106	106	62	6,572
NMBCA Reports	71	71	42	2,982
TOTALS	670	670		45,396

Abstract: The Division of Bird Habitat Conservation administers grant programs associated with the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA), Public Law 101-233, and the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (NMBCA), Public Law 106-247. Currently, information that we collect for NMBCA grants is approved under OMB Control No. 1018-0113, which expires March 31, 2012. We are proposing to consolidate NAWCA and NMBCA grants under OMB Control No. 1018-0100. If OMB approves this request, we will discontinue OMB Control Number 1018-0113.

North American Wetlands Conservation Act Grants

NAWCA provides matching grants to organizations and individuals who have developed partnerships to carry out wetlands conservation projects in the United States, Canada, and Mexico for the benefit of wetlands-associated migratory birds and other wildlife. There is a Standard and a Small Grants Program. Both are competitive grants programs and require that grant requests be matched by partner contributions at no less than a 1-to-1 ratio. Funds from U.S. Federal sources may contribute to a project, but are not eligible as match.

The Standard Grants Program supports projects in Canada, the United States, and Mexico that involve long-term protection, restoration, and/or enhancement of wetlands and associated uplands habitats. In Mexico, partners may also conduct projects involving technical training, environmental education and outreach, organizational infrastructure development, and sustainable-use studies.

The Small Grants Program operates only in the United States. It supports the same types of projects and adheres to the same selection criteria and administrative guidelines as the U.S. Standard Grants Program. However, project activities are usually smaller in scope and involve fewer project dollars. Grant requests may not exceed $75,000, and funding priority is given to grantees or partners new to the NAWCA Grants Program.

We publish notices of funding availability on the Grants.gov Web site at http://www.grants.gov as well as in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance at http://cfda.gov. To compete for grant funds, partnerships submit applications that describe in substantial detail project locations, project resources, future benefits, and other characteristics that meet the standards established by the North American Wetlands Conservation Council and the requirements of NAWCA. Materials that describe the program and assist applicants in formulating project proposals are available on our Web site at http://www.fws.gov/​birdhabitat/​Grants/​NAWCA. Persons who do not have access to the Internet may obtain instructional materials by mail. We have not made any major changes in the scope and general nature of the instructions since the OMB first approved the information collection in 1999.

Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act

NMBCA establishes a matching grant program to fund projects that promote the long-term conservation of neotropical migratory birds and their habitats in the United States, Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Principal conservation actions supported are the protection and management of populations; maintenance, management, protection and restoration of habitat; research and monitoring; law enforcement; and community outreach and education. We publish notices of funding availability on the Grants.gov Web site as well as in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. To compete for grant funds, partnerships submit applications that describe in substantial detail project locations, project resources, future benefits, and other characteristics that meet the standards established by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the requirements of NMBCA.

Materials that describe the program and assist applicants in formulating project proposals for consideration are available on our Web site at http://www.fws.gov/​birdhabitat/​Grants/​NMBCA/​index.shtm. Persons who do not have access to the Internet may obtain instructional materials by mail. We have not made any major changes in the scope and general nature of the instructions since the OMB first approved the information collection in 2002.

Comments: On May 24, 2011, we published in the Federal Register (76 FR 30186) a notice of our intent to request that OMB approve this information collection. In that notice, we solicited comments for 60 days, ending on July 25, 2011. We received one comment. The commenter opposed these grant programs, but did not address the information collection requirements. We did not make any changes as a result of this comment.

We again 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. 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 OMB in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that it will be done.

Dated: November 7, 2011.

Tina A. Campbell,

Chief, Division of Policy and Directives Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.