E7-23133. Information Collection Sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Approval; OMB Control Number 1018-0095; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife, Experimental Populations

AGENCY:

Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice; request for comments.

SUMMARY:

We (Fish and Wildlife Service) have sent an Information Collection Request (ICR) to OMB for review and approval. The ICR, which is summarized below, describes the nature of the collection and the estimated burden and cost. This ICR is scheduled to expire on November 30, 2007. 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 28, 2007.

ADDRESSES:

Send your comments and suggestions on this ICR to the Desk Officer for the Department of the Interior at OMB-OIRA at [phone] (fax) or [e-mail] (e-mail). Please provide a copy of your comments to Hope Grey, Information Collection Clearance Officer, Fish and Wildlife Service, MS 222-ARLSQ, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203 (mail); [phone] (fax); or [e-mail] (e-mail).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request additional information about this ICR, contact Hope Grey by mail, fax, or e-mail (see ADDRESSES) or by telephone at [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

OMB Control Number: 1018-0095.

Title: Endangered and Threatened Wildlife, Experimental Populations, 50 CFR 17.84 and 17.85.

Service Form Number(s): None.

Type of Request: Extension of currently approved collection.

Affected Public: Individuals and households, private sector, and State/local/tribal governments.

Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.

Frequency of Collection: On occasion.

Activity	Number of annual respondents	Number of annual responses	Completion time per response	Annual burden hours
Notification—general take or removal	25	25	15 minutes	6
Notification—depredation-related take	22	22	15 minutes	6
Notification—specimen collection	25	25	15 minutes	6
Totals	72	72		18

Abstract: Section 10(j) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA), as amended, (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to establish experimental populations of endangered or threatened species. Because individuals of experimental populations are categorically protected under the ESA, the information we collect is important for monitoring the success of reintroduction efforts and recovery efforts in general. Information collection requirements for experimental populations of endangered and threatened species are in 50 CFR 17.84. We collect three categories of information:

(1) General take or removal. Relates to human-related mortality including unintentional taking incidental to otherwise lawful activities (e.g., highway mortalities); animal husbandry actions authorized to manage the population (e.g., translocation or providing aid to sick, injured, or orphaned individuals); take in defense of human life; take related to defense of property (if authorized); or take in the form of authorized harassment.

(2) Depredation-related take. Involves take for management purposes where livestock depredation is documented, and may include authorized harassment or authorized lethal take of experimental animals in the act of attacking livestock.

(3) Specimen collection, recovery, or reporting of dead individuals. This information documents incidental or authorized scientific collection. Most of the contacts with the public deal primarily with the reporting of sightings of experimental population animals or the inadvertent discovery of an injured or dead individual.

The information that we collect includes:

(1) Name, address, and phone number of reporting party.

(2) Species involved.

(3) Type of incident.

(4) Location and time of the reported incident.

(5) Description of the circumstances related to the incident.

This information helps us to assess the effectiveness of control activities and to develop better means to reduce problems with livestock for those species where depredation is a problem. Service recovery specialists use the information to determine the success of reintroductions in relation to established recovery plan goals for the threatened and endangered species involved.

Comments: On July 11, 2007, we published in the Federal Register (72 FR 37793) a notice of our intent to request that OMB renew this information collection. In that notice, we solicited comments for 60 days, ending on September 10, 2007. We received no comments.

We again invite comments concerning this information collection on:

(1) whether or not the collection of information is necessary, including whether or not the information will have practical utility;

(2) the accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this collection of information;

(3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and

(4) 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, e-mail 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 14, 2007

Hope Grey,

Information Collection Clearance Officer, Fish and Wildlife Service.