2023-05574. Agency Information Collection Activities; Alaska Native Handicrafts

AGENCY:

Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice of information collection; request for comment.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, are proposing to renew an information collection without change.

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before May 19, 2023.

ADDRESSES:

Send your comments on the information collection request (ICR) by one of the following methods (reference Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Control Number 1018-0168 in the subject line of your comment):

• Internet (preferred): https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R7-MB-2023-0001.

• Email:[e-mail].

• U.S. mail: Service Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: PRB (JAO/3W), Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Madonna L. Baucum, Service Information Collection Clearance Officer, by email at [e-mail], or by telephone at [phone]. Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside the United States should use the relay services offered within their country to make international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA; 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) and its implementing regulations at 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), all information collections require approval under the PRA. We may not conduct or sponsor and you are not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burdens, we invite the public and other Federal agencies 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.

We are especially interested in public comment 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. We will include or summarize each comment in our request to OMB to approve this ICR. 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.

Abstract: The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 (16 U.S.C. 712(1)) authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, in accordance with the treaties with Canada, Mexico, Japan, and Russia, to “issue such regulations as may be necessary to assure that the taking of migratory birds and the collection of their eggs, by the indigenous inhabitants of the State of Alaska, shall be permitted for their own nutritional and other essential needs, as determined by the Secretary of the Interior, during the Alaska spring and summer migratory bird subsistence harvest seasons so as to provide for the preservation and maintenance of stocks of migratory birds.” Article II(4)(b) of the Protocol between the United States and Canada amending the 1916 Convention for the Protection of Migratory Birds in Canada and the United States (Protocol) provides a legal basis for Alaska Native people to be able to sell handicrafts that contain the inedible parts of birds taken for food during the Alaska spring and summer migratory bird subsistence harvest. The Protocol also dictates that sales would be allowed in strictly limited situations, pursuant to a regulation by a competent authority in cooperation with management bodies. The Protocol does not authorize the taking of migratory birds for commercial purposes.

In 2017, we issued a final rule (July 24, 2017, 82 FR 34263), developed under a co-management process involving the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and Alaska Native representatives, that amended the permanent migratory bird subsistence harvest regulations at 50 CFR 92.6 to enable Alaska Native people to sell authentic native articles of handicraft or clothing that contain inedible byproducts from migratory birds that were taken for food during the Alaska migratory bird subsistence harvest season. Article II(4)(b) of the Protocol dictates that sales will be under strictly limited situations. The sale by Alaska Native people of a limited number of handicrafts containing inedible migratory bird parts provides a small source of additional income that we conclude is necessary for the “essential needs” of Alaska Native people in predominantly rural Alaska. This limited opportunity for sale is consistent with the language of the Protocol and is expressly noted in the Letter of Submittal dated May 20, 1996, for the Treaty Protocol, specifically Article II(4)(b) of the Protocol, to be consistent with the customary and traditional uses of Alaska Native people. The activity by Alaska Native people is also consistent with the preservation and maintenance of migratory bird stocks.

Alaska Native artists will show eligibility with a Tribal enrollment card, Bureau of Indian Affairs card, or membership in the Silver Hand program. The State of Alaska Silver Hand program helps Alaska Native artists promote their work in the marketplace and enables consumers to identify and purchase authentic Alaska Native art. The insignia indicates that the artwork on which it appears is created by hand in Alaska by an individual Alaska Native artist. Only original contemporary and traditional Alaska Native artwork, not reproductions or manufactured work, may be identified and marketed with the Silver Hand insignia. To be eligible for a 2-year Silver Hand permit, an Alaska Native artist must be a full-time resident of Alaska, be at least 18 years old, and provide documentation of membership in a federally recognized Alaska Native tribe. The Silver Hand insignia may only be attached to original work that is produced in the State of Alaska.

The final rule requires that FWS Form 3-2484 (a simple certification which is not subject to the PRA) or a Silver Hand insignia accompany each Alaska Native article of handicraft or clothing that contains inedible migratory bird parts. It also requires all consignees, sellers, and purchasers to retain this documentation with each item and produce it upon the request of a law enforcement officer. The final rule also requires that artists maintain adequate records of the certification or Silver Hand insignia with each item and requires artists and sellers/consignees to provide the documentation to buyers. These recordkeeping and third-party notification requirements are subject to the PRA and require OMB approval.

The public may request copies of a Form 3-2484 contained in this information collection by sending a request to the Service Information Collection Clearance Officer (see ADDRESSES ).

Title of Collection: Alaska Native Handicrafts, 50 CFR 92.6.

OMB Control Number: 1018-0168.

Form Numbers: 3-2484.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals and businesses.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 2 (placeholder of 1 respondent associated with the regulatory requirement for each respondent category).

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 2.

Estimated Completion Time per Response: 5 minutes.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 0.

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

Frequency of Collection: On occasion.

Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: None.

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.).

Madonna Baucum,

Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.