[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 144 (Tuesday, July 28, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40303-40305]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-20054]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Information Collection Renewal To be Submitted to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for Approval Under the Paperwork Reduction
Act
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The collection of information listed below has been submitted
to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for renewal under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act. Copies of the specific
information collection requirements, related forms, and explanatory
material may be obtained by contacting the Service Information
Collection Clearance Officer at the address listed below.
[[Page 40304]]
DATES: Consideration will be given to all comments received on or
before August 27, 1998. OMB has up to 60 days to approve or disapprove
information collection but may respond after 30 days. Therefore, to
ensure maximum consideration OMB should receive public comments by
August 27, 1998.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request a copy of the information
collection request, explanatory information and related forms, contact
Rebecca A. Mullin at (703) 358-2287, or electronically to
rmullin@fws.gov.
ADDRESSES: Comments and suggestions on the requirement should be sent
to the Office of Management and Budget, Attention: Department of the
Interior Desk Officer, 725 17th Street, NW Washington, DC 20503, and to
Rebecca Mullin, Service Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, ms 224-ARLSQ, 1849 C Street NW., Washington,
DC 20240.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
regulations at 5 CFR 1320, which implement provisions of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13), require that interested members
of the public and affected agencies have an opportunity to comment on
information collection and recordkeeping activities (see 5 CFR
1320.8(d)). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has submitted
a request to OMB to renew its approval of the collection of information
for the Migratory Bird Harvest Surveys (16 U.S.C. 703-711) and Fish and
Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 742d). The Service is requesting a 3-
year term of approval for this information collection activity. A
previous 60 day notice on this information collection requirement was
published in the March 19, 1998 (63 FR 13421) Federal Register inviting
public comment. No comments on the previous notice were received as of
July 1, 1998. This notice provides an additional 30 days in which to
comment on the following information.
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 OMB control number for this
collection of information is listed in 5 CFR 1320.8(d) and 16 U.S.C.
742d, which is 1018-0015.
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703-711) and Fish and
Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 742d) designate the Department of the
Interior as the key agency responsible for the wise management of
migratory bird populations frequenting the United States and for the
setting of hunting regulations that allow appropriate harvests that are
within the guidelines that will allow for those populations' well
being. These responsibilities dictate the gathering of accurate data on
various characteristics of migratory bird harvest of a geographic and
temporal nature. Knowledge attained by determining harvests and harvest
rates of migratory game birds is used to regulate populations (by
promulgating hunting regulations) and to encourage hunting opportunity,
especially where crop depredations are chronic and/or lightly harvested
populations occur. Based on information from harvest surveys, hunting
regulations can be adjusted as needed to optimize harvests at levels
that provide a maximum of hunting recreation while keeping populations
at desired levels.
This information collection approval request combines three sets of
surveys (the Waterfowl Hunter Survey, the Migratory Bird Hunter Survey,
OMB Approval 1018-0015, and the Parts Collection Survey, OMB Approval
1018-0009) and associated forms because they are interrelated and/or
dependent upon each other.
The Waterfowl Hunter Survey, which estimates the harvest of ducks
and geese, is based on Federal Duck Stamp sales. This survey asks
people who purchase Federal Duck Stamps from randomly sampled Post
Offices and other stamp vendors to complete and return a postcard (form
3-1823A) with their name and address. Hunters who complete and return
the postcard are sent a postcard questionnaire (form 3-2056G) at the
end of the hunting season, asking them to report their harvest of ducks
and geese. Their responses provide estimates of the average harvest per
hunter, which, combined with total Federal Duck Stamp sales, enables
the Service to estimate the total harvest of ducks and geese.
The Migratory Bird Hunter Survey is based on the Migratory Bird
Harvest Information Program, under which each State annually provides a
list of all licensed migratory bird hunters in the State. Randomly
selected migratory bird hunters are sent either a waterfowl
questionnaire (form 3-2056J), a dove and band-tailed pigeon
questionnaire (form 3-2056K), a woodcock questionnaire (form 3-2056L),
or a snipe, rail, gallinule, and coot questionnaire (form 3-2056M) and
are asked to report their harvest of those species. The resulting
estimates of harvest per hunter are combined with the complete list of
migratory bird hunters to provide estimates of the total harvest of
those species. This survey will replace the Waterfowl Hunter Survey
after it has been fully implemented in all States and comparisons of
results with Waterfowl Hunter Survey results have been completed.
The Parts Collection Survey estimates the species, sex, and age
composition of the harvest, and the geographic and temporal
distribution of the harvest. Randomly selected successful hunters who
responded to the Waterfowl Hunter Survey or the Migratory Bird Hunter
Survey the previous year are asked to complete and return a postcard
(forms 3-165A and C) if they are willing to participate in the Parts
Collection Survey. Respondents are provided postage-paid envelopes
before the hunting season and asked to send in a wing or the tail
feathers from each duck, goose, or coot (form 3-165) they harvest, or a
wing from each woodcock, band-tailed pigeon, snipe, rail, or gallinule
(form 3-165B) they harvest. The wings and tail feathers are used to
identify the species, age, and sex of the harvested sample. Respondents
are also asked to report on the envelope the date and location (state
and county) of harvest for each bird. Results of this survey are
combined with harvest estimates from the Waterfowl Hunter Survey and
the Migratory Bird Hunter Survey to provide species-specific national
harvest estimates.
The combined results of these surveys enable the Service to
evaluate the effects of season length, season dates, and bag limits on
the harvest of each species, and thus help determine appropriate
hunting regulations.
Title: Migratory Bird Harvest Surveys.
Approval Number: 1018-0015.
Service Form Number(s): 3-1823A, 3-2056G, 3-165, 3-165A-C, 3-2056J-
M.
Frequency of Collection: Annually.
Description of Respondents: Individuals and households.
Total Annual Burden Hours: The reporting burden is estimated to
average 2 minutes per respondent for the Migratory Bird Harvest
Information Program, 8 minutes per respondent for the Waterfowl Hunter
Survey, 4 minutes per respondent for the Migratory Bird Hunter Survey,
and 50 minutes per respondent for the Parts Collection Survey. The
Total Annual Burden hours is 131,992 hours.
Total Annual Responses: About 3,300,000 individuals are expected to
participate in the Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program. Recent
Service experience indicates that about 34,000 hunters will respond to
the Waterfowl Hunter Survey each year, and about 12,000 hunters will
respond to the Parts Collection Survey annually. The Service
anticipates that about 105,000
[[Page 40305]]
hunters will respond to the Migratory Bird Hunter Survey annually when
that survey is conducted nationwide, beginning in 1998.
Pursuant to this renewal, comments are invited on: (1) whether the
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of
the functions of the agency, including whether the information will
have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of
the burden of the 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. The information collections in this program will not be
part of a system of record covered by the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C.
552(a)).
Dated: July 17, 1998.
Paul R. Schmidt,
Acting Assistant Director for Refuges and Wildlife.
[FR Doc. 98-20054 Filed 7-27-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P
