2012-16659. Proposed Information Collection; Federal Subsistence Regulations and Associated Forms

AGENCY:

Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice; request for comments.

SUMMARY:

We (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) will ask the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the information collection (IC) described below. As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and as part of our continuing efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, we invite the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on this IC. This IC is scheduled to expire on January 31, 2013. 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.

DATES:

To ensure that we are able to consider your comments on this IC, we must receive them by September 7, 2012.

ADDRESSES:

Send your comments on the IC 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 “1018-0075” in the subject line of your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request additional information about this IC, contact Hope Grey at [e-mail] (email) or 703-358-2482 (telephone).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) and regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR 100 and 36 CFR 242 require that persons engaged in taking fish, shellfish, and wildlife on public lands in Alaska for subsistence uses must apply for and obtain a permit to do so and comply with reporting provisions of that permit. We use the following forms to collect information from qualified rural residents for subsistence harvest:

(1) FWS Form 3-2326 (Federal Subsistence Hunt Application, Permit, and Report).

(2) FWS Form 3-2327 (Designated Hunter Permit Application, Permit, and Report).

(3) FWS Form 3-2328 (Federal Subsistence Fishing Application, Permit, and Report).

(4) FWS Form 3-2378 (Designated Fishing Permit Application, Permit, and Report).

(5) FWS Form 3-2379 (Federal Subsistence Customary Trade Recordkeeping Form).

We use the information collected to evaluate:

• Eligibility of applicant.
• Subsistence harvest success.
• Effectiveness of season lengths, harvest quotas, and harvest restrictions.
• Hunting patterns and practices.
• Hunter use.

The Federal Subsistence Board uses the harvest data, along with other information, to set future season dates and bag limits for Federal subsistence resource users. These seasons and bag limits are set to meet the needs of subsistence hunters without adversely impacting the health of existing animal populations.

Also included in this IC are three forms associated with recruitment and selection of members for regional advisory councils.

(1) FWS Form 2321 (Federal Subsistence Regional Advisory Council Membership Application/Nomination).

(2) FWS Form 2322 (Regional Advisory Council Candidate Interview).

(3) FWS Form 2323 (Regional Advisory Council Reference/Key Contact Interview).

The member selection process begins with the information that we collect on the application. Ten interagency review panels interview all applicants and nominees, their references, and regional key contacts. These contacts are all based on the information that the applicant provides on the application form. The information that we collect through the application form and subsequent interviews is the basis of the Federal Subsistence Board's recommendations to the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture for appointment and reappointment of council members.

In addition to the above forms, our regulations at 50 CFR 100 and 36 CFR 242 contain requirements for the collection of information. We collect nonform information on:

(1) Repeal of Federal subsistence rules and regulations (50 CFR 100.14 and 36 CFR 242.14).

(2) Proposed changes to Federal subsistence regulations (50 CFR 100.18 and 36 CFR 242.18).

(3) Special action requests (50 CFR 100.19 and 36 CFR 242.19).

(4) Requests for reconsideration (50 CFR 100.20 and 36 CFR 242.20).

(5) Requests for permits and reports, such as traditional religious/cultural/educational permits, fishwheel permits, fyke net permits, and under-ice permits (50 CFR 100.25-27 and 36 CFR 242.25-27).

II. Data

OMB Control Number: 1018-0075.

Title: Federal Subsistence Regulations and Associated Forms, 50 CFR 100 and 36 CFR 242.

Service Form Number(s): FWS Forms 3-2321, 3-2322, 3-2323, 3-2326, 3-2327, 3-2328, 3-2378, and 3-2379.

Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Description of Respondents: Federally defined rural residents in Alaska.

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	Total annual burden hours
3-2321—Membership Application	67	67	2 hours	134
3-2322—Applicant Interview	67	67	30 minutes	34
3-2323—Reference/Contact Interview	171	171	15 minutes	43
3-2326—Hunt Application and Permit	7,250	7,250	10 minutes	1,208
3-2326—Hunt Report	7,250	7,250	5 minutes	604
3-2327—Designated Hunter Application and Permit	645	645	10 minutes	108
3-2327—Designated Hunter—Hunt Report	645	645	5 minutes	54
3-2328—Fishing Application and Permit	1,114	1,114	10 minutes	186
3-2328—Fishing Report	1,114	1,114	5 minutes	93
3-2378—Designated Fishing Application and Permit	29	29	10 minutes	5
3-2378—Designated Fishing Report	29	29	5 minutes	2
3-2379—Customary Trade Recordkeeping Application and Permit	25	25	10 minutes	4
3-2379—Customary Trade Recordkeeping—Report	25	25	5 minutes	2
Petition to Repeal	1	1	2 hours	2
Proposed Changes	92	92	30 minutes	46
Special Actions Request	24	24	30 minutes	12
Request for Reconsideration (Appeal)	3	3	4 hours	12
Traditional/Cultural/Educational Permits and Reports	22	22	30 minutes	11
Fishwheel, Fyke Net, and Under-ice Permits and Reports	8	8	15 minutes	2
Totals	18,581	18,581		2,562

III. Comments

We 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. We will include or summarize each comment in our request to OMB to approve this IC. 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.

Dated: June 29, 2012.

Tina A. Campbell,

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