[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 15, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 14194-14196]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-6292]
[[Page 14193]]
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Part VIII
Department of the Interior
_______________________________________________________________________
Fish and Wildlife Service
_______________________________________________________________________
50 CFR Part 20
Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program; Proposed Rule
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 50 / Wednesday, March 15, 1995 /
Proposed Rules
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[[Page 14194]]
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 20
RIN 1018-AD08
Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service (hereinafter Service) herein
proposes to amend the Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program
(hereinafter Program) regulations. The Service plans to add Michigan,
Oklahoma, and Oregon (beginning with the 1995-96 hunting season) to the
list of participating States, and to implement some additional
modifications to the Program. This regulatory action will continue to
require all licensed hunters who hunt migratory game birds in
participating States to identify themselves as migratory bird hunters
to the State licensing authority, and to supply their name, address,
and date of birth to the State. Hunters will be required to have
evidence of current participation in the Program on their person while
hunting migratory game birds in participating States. The quality and
extent of information about harvests of migratory game birds must be
improved in order to better manage these populations. Hunters' names
and addresses are necessary to provide a sample frame for voluntary
hunter surveys to improve harvest estimates for all migratory game
birds. States will gather migratory bird hunters' names and addresses
and the Service will conduct the harvest surveys.
DATES: The written comment period for the proposed rule will end on
April 1, 1995.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to the Chief, Office of
Migratory Bird Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 10815
Loblolly Pine Drive, Laurel, Maryland 20708-4028. Comments received
will be available for public inspection during normal business hours in
Building 158, 10815 Loblolly Pine Drive (Gate 4, Patuxent Environmental
Science Center), Laurel, Maryland 20708-4028.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul I. Padding, Office of Migratory
Bird Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, (301) 497-5980, FAX
(301) 497-5981.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of this rule is to expand the
Program to include the States of Michigan, Oklahoma, and Oregon
beginning in the 1995-96 hunting season, and to make minor
modifications to the Program.
Background
The purpose of this cooperative Program is to obtain annually a
nationwide sample frame of migratory bird hunters, from which
representative samples of hunters will be selected and asked to
participate in voluntary harvest surveys. State wildlife agencies will
provide the sample frame by annually collecting the name, address, and
date of birth of each licensed migratory bird hunter in the State. To
reduce survey costs and to identify hunters who hunt less commonly-
hunted species, States will also request that each migratory bird
hunter provide a brief summary of his or her migratory bird hunting
activity for the previous year. States will send this information to
the Service, and the Service will sample hunters and conduct national
hunter activity and harvest surveys.
A notice of intent to establish the Program was published in the
June 24, 1991, Federal Register (56 FR 28812). A final rule that
established the Program and initiated a 2-year pilot phase in three
volunteer States (California, Missouri, and South Dakota) was published
in the March 19, 1993, Federal Register (58 FR 15093). The pilot phase
was completed following the 1993-94 migratory bird hunting seasons in
California, Missouri, and South Dakota.
A State/Federal technical group was formed to evaluate Program
requirements, the different approaches used by the pilot States, and
the Service's survey procedures during the pilot phase. Changes
incorporated into the Program as a result of the technical group's
evaluation were specified in a final rule, published in the October 21,
1994, Federal Register (59 FR 53334), that initiated the implementation
phase of the Program.
Currently, all licensed hunters who hunt migratory game birds in
participating States are required to have a Program validation,
indicating that they have identified themselves as migratory bird
hunters and have provided the required information to the State
wildlife agency. Hunters must provide the required information to each
State in which they hunt migratory birds. Validations are printed on or
attached to the annual State hunting license or on a State-specific
supplementary permit. The State may charge hunters a small handling fee
to compensate agents and to cover the State's administrative costs
associated with conducting this Program.
The State/Federal technical group continues to evaluate the Program
to determine the adequacy and timeliness of the sample frame and the
time burden, cost, and other impacts on hunters, State license agents,
State wildlife agencies, and the Service. Emphasis is currently on the
time requirement for the sample frame and on alternative survey methods
for special groups of unlicensed hunters (e.g., junior and senior
hunters).
The Service's current survey design calls for hunting-record forms
to be distributed to hunters selected for the survey before they forget
the details of their hunts. Because of this design requirement, States
have only a short time to obtain hunter names and addresses from
license vendors and to provide those names and addresses to the
Service. Currently, participating States must send the required
information to the Service within 5 business days of issuance of the
hunting license or permit (10 business days if the information is
provided in electronic form). Several States have expressed concern
that they can not meet this time requirement. The Service conducted an
experiment during the 1994-95 hunting season to determine whether
extending the time requirement would adversely affect the accuracy of
survey results. The results and implications of that experiment will be
discussed at the next meeting of the State/Federal technical group,
prior to publication of a final rule in 1995.
The Service previously stated that additional States will continue
to be added until all States participate in 1998. The suggested
schedule was included in a final rule published in the October 21,
1994, Federal Register (59 FR 53334). Seven States requested changes to
the suggested schedule; in response to those requests, four States were
moved back in the agenda (Louisiana, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and
Texas) while three States were advanced (Idaho, Michigan, and Ohio).
Several States have subsequently indicated that they may not be
able to implement the Program by the year that the current schedule
requires them to enter the Program. The States and the Service are
presently developing mutually acceptable measures for ensuring that the
Program will achieve full implementation on schedule.
Proposed Modifications to the Program
In addition to implementation of the Program in Michigan, Oklahoma,
and Oregon, the Service is proposing several other modifications to the
Program. One [[Page 14195]] such modification would increase the time
allowed for providing names and addresses to the Service. Results of
the Service's experiment (described above) will provide the basis for
determining the extent to which the time requirement should be changed.
Another modification being proposed is to require harvest estimates
for hunters who are exempted from a permit requirement and those that
are also exempted from State licensing requirements. This would include
several categories of hunters such as junior hunters, senior hunters,
landowners, and other special categories. These exemptions vary on a
State-by-State basis. The requirement would likewise vary by State and
be incorporated into individual cooperative agreements with the
Service.
Excluding those hunters who are not required to obtain an annual
State hunting license from the Program also excludes their harvest from
the estimates. The importance of their harvest depends on how many
hunters are excluded and on the number of birds they bag. Excluding
these hunters may result in serious bias. Minimum survey standards are
being developed for exempted categories. States may require exempted
hunters to obtain permits (e.g., Maryland required exempted hunters to
obtain permits upon entry to the Program in 1994).
NEPA Consideration
The establishment of this Harvest Information Program and options
have been considered in the ``Environmental Assessment: Migratory Bird
Harvest Information Program.'' Copies of this document are available
from the Service at the address indicated under the caption FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
Regulatory Flexibility Act and the Paperwork Reduction Act
On June 14, 1991, the Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and
Parks concluded that the rule would not have a significant effect on a
substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory Flexibility
Act 5 USC 601 et seq. This rule will eventually affect about 3-5
million migratory game bird hunters when it is fully implemented. It
will require licensed migratory game bird hunters to identify
themselves and to supply their names, addresses, and birth dates to the
State licensing authority. Additional information will be requested in
order that they can be efficiently sampled for a voluntary national
harvest survey. Hunters will be required to have evidence of current
participation in the Program on their person while hunting migratory
game birds.
The States may require a small handling fee to compensate their
hunting-license vendors and to cover their administrative costs. Many
of the State hunting-license vendors are small entities, but this rule
should not economically impact those vendors. Only migratory game bird
hunters, individuals, would be required to provide this information, so
this rule should not adversely affect small entities.
The collection of information contained in this rule has been
approved by the Office of Management and Budget under 44 U.S.C. 3501 et
seq. and assigned clearance number 1018-0015. The information is
required from licensed hunters to obtain the benefit of hunting
migratory game birds.
The public reporting burden for this collection of information is
estimated to average 0.015 hours per response, including the time for
reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and
maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the
collection of information. Comments regarding the burden estimate or
any other aspect of these reporting requirements should be directed to
the Service Information Collection Clearance Officer, ms 224--ARLSQ,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1849 C Street, NW., Washington, DC
20240, or the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction
Project 1018-0015, Washington, DC 20503.
Executive Order 12866
This rule was not subject to Office of Management and Budget review
under Executive Order 12866.
Executive Order 12612 - Federalism
The regulations do not have significant Federalism effects as
provided in Executive Order 12612. Due to the migratory nature of
certain species of birds, the Federal Government has been given
responsibility over these species by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
State harvest surveys presently cannot provide adequate national
estimates of migratory game bird harvests for the following reasons:
(1) some States do not now conduct annual harvest surveys or maintain
accessible lists of hunter names and addresses; (2) comparable
information is not available from all States because States have
different licensing laws regulating who must buy a hunting license and
different survey procedures; (3) currently, many State license lists
are not available in time to permit distribution of hunter records
early in the hunting season; and (4) budget constraints often prevent
States from conducting harvest surveys during certain years or could
cause some States to eliminate them completely.
These rules do not have a substantial direct effect on fiscal
capacity, change the roles or responsibilities of Federal or State
Governments, or intrude on State policy or administration. Therefore,
these regulations do not have significant Federalism effects and do not
have sufficient Federalism implications to warrant the preparation of a
Federalism Assessment. In fact, the Service would cooperate with States
in providing special surveys to meet mutual management needs, and
increased cooperation between Federal and State agencies would reduce
duplication of survey efforts.
Executive Order 12360 - Taking of Individual Property Rights
Executive Order 12360 discussed guidelines for the taking of
individual property rights. These rules, authorized by the Migratory
Bird Treaty Act, do not affect any constitutionally-protected property
rights. These rules would not result in the physical occupancy of
property, the physical invasion of property, or the regulatory taking
of any property.
Authorship
The primary author of this rule is Paul I. Padding, Office of
Migratory Bird Management.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 20
Exports, Hunting, Imports, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Transportation, Wildlife.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 20 is proposed
to be amended as set forth below.
PART 20 - MIGRATORY BIRD HUNTING
1. The authority citation for part 20 continues to read as follows:
Authority: The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (July 3, 1918), as
amended, (16 U.S.C. 703-711); the Fish and Wildlife Improvement Act
of 1978 (November 8, 1978), as amended, (16 U.S.C. 712); and the
Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (August 8, 1956), as amended, (16
U.S.C. 742 a--d and e--j).
2. Section 20.20 is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 20.20 Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program.
(a) Information collection requirements. The collections of
information contained in Sec. 20.20 have been approved by the Office
of [[Page 14196]] Management and Budget under 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.
and assigned clearance number 1018-0015. The information will be used
to provide a sampling frame for the national Migratory Bird Harvest
Survey. Response is required from licensed hunters to obtain the
benefit of hunting migratory game birds. Public reporting burden for
this information is estimated to average 0.015 hours per response,
including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data
sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and
reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this
burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information,
including suggestions for reducing the burden, to the Service
Information Collection Clearance Officer, MS-224 ARLSQ, Fish and
Wildlife Service, Washington, DC 20240, or the Office of Management and
Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project 1018-0015, Washington, DC 20503.
(b) General provisions. Each person hunting migratory game birds in
California, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oregon, and South
Dakota shall have identified himself or herself as a migratory bird
hunter and given his or her name, address, and date of birth to the
respective State hunting licensing authority and shall have on his or
her person evidence, provided by that State, of compliance with this
requirement.
(c) Tribal exemptions. Nothing in paragraph (b) of this section
shall apply to hunters on Federal Indian Reservations or to tribal
members hunting on ceded lands.
(d) State exemptions. Nothing in paragraph (b) of this section
shall apply to those hunters who are exempted from State-licensing
requirements in the State in which they are hunting.
(e) Implementation schedule. The Service is continuing to implement
this Program over the next 3-year period from 1996-1998, which will
incorporate approximately a half million additional migratory bird
hunters each year. It it proposed that the States participate on or
before the following schedule:
1996--Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine,
Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas,
and Vermont.
1997--Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Ohio, South
Carolina, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
1998--Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas,
Massachusetts, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey,
New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Utah, Washington,
West Virginia, and Wyoming.
Dated: February 27, 1995.
George T. Frampton, Jr.,
Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks.
[FR Doc. 95-6292 Filed 3-14-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-F
