2015-20335. Proposed Information Collection; Control and Management of Resident Canada Geese

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 December 31, 2015. 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 October 19, 2015.

ADDRESSES:

Send your comments on the IC to the Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS BPHC, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803 (mail); or [e-mail] (email). Please include “1018-0133” 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 Migratory Bird Treaty Act prohibits the take, possession, import, export, transport, sale, purchase, or bartering of migratory birds or their parts except as permitted under the terms of a valid permit or as permitted by regulations. In 2006, we issued regulations establishing two depredation orders and three control orders that allow State and tribal wildlife agencies, private landowners, and airports to conduct resident Canada goose population management, including the take of birds. We monitor the data collected for activities under these orders and may rescind an order if monitoring indicates that activities are inconsistent with conservation of Canada geese.

Control order for airports. 50 CFR 21.49 allows managers at commercial, public, and private airports and military airfields and their employees or agents to implement management of resident Canada geese to resolve or prevent threats to public safety. An airport must be part of the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems and have received Federal grant-in-aid assistance or be a military airfield under the jurisdiction, custody, or control of the Secretary of a military department. Each facility exercising the privileges of the order must submit an annual report with the date, numbers, and locations of birds, nests, and eggs taken.

Depredation order for nests and eggs. 50 CFR 21.50 allows private landowners and managers of public lands to destroy resident Canada goose nests and eggs on property under their jurisdiction, provided they register annually on our Web site at https://epermits.fws.gov/​eRCGR. Registrants must provide basic information, such as name, address, phone number, and email, and identify where the control work will occur and who will conduct it. Registrants must return to the Web site to report the number of nests with eggs they destroyed.

Depredation order for agricultural facilities. 50 CFR 21.51 allows States and tribes, via their wildlife agencies, to implement programs to allow landowners, operators, and tenants actively engaged in commercial agriculture to conduct damage management control when geese are committing depredations or to resolve or prevent other injury to agricultural interests. State and tribal wildlife agencies in the Atlantic, Central, and Mississippi Flyway portions of 41 States may implement the provisions of the order. Each implementing agricultural producer must maintain a log of the date and number of birds taken under this authorization. Each State and tribe exercising the privileges of the order must submit an annual report of the numbers of birds, nests, and eggs taken, and the county or counties where take occurred.

Public health control order. 50 CFR 21.52 authorizes States and tribes of the lower 48 States to conduct (via the State or tribal wildlife agency) resident Canada goose control and management activities when the geese pose a direct threat to human health. States and tribes operating under this order must submit an annual report summarizing activities, including the numbers of birds taken and the county where take occurred.

Population control. 50 CFR 21.61 establishes a managed take program to reduce and stabilize resident Canada goose populations when traditional and otherwise authorized management measures are not successful or feasible. A State or tribal wildlife agency in the Atlantic, Mississippi, or Central Flyway may request approval for this population control program. If approved, the State or tribe may use hunters to harvest resident Canada geese during the month of August. Requests for approval must include a discussion of the State's or tribe's efforts to address its injurious situations using other methods, or a discussion of the reasons why the methods are not feasible. If the Service Director approves a request, the State or tribe must (1) keep annual records of activities carried out under the authority of the program, and (2) provide an annual summary, including number of individuals participating in the program and the number of resident Canada geese shot. Additionally, participating States and tribes must monitor the spring breeding population by providing an annual estimate of the breeding population and distribution of resident Canada geese in their State.

Regulations at 50 CFR 21.49, 21.50, 21.51, and 21.52 require that persons or entities operating under the depredation and control orders must immediately report the take of any species protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This information ensures that the incidental take limits authorized under Section 7 of the ESA are not exceeded.

II. Data

OMB Control Number: 1018-0133.

Title: Control and Management of Resident Canada Geese, 50 CFR 20.21, 21.49, 21.50, 21.51, 21.52, and 21.61.

Service Form Number: None.

Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Description of Respondents: State fish and wildlife agencies, tribes, and local governments; airports; landowners; and farms.

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

Frequency of Collection: Annually.

Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: None.

Activity	Number of respondents	Number of responses	Completion time per response	Total annual burden hours *
21.49—Airport Control Order—Annual Report	50	50	1.5 hours	76
21.50—Nest and Egg Depredation Order—Initial Registration	1,000	1,000	30 minutes	500
21.50—Nest and Egg Depredation Order—Renew Registration	3,000	3,000	15 minutes	751
21.50—Nest and Egg Depredation Order—Annual Report	4,000	4,000	15 minutes	1,000
21.51—Agricultural Depredation Order—Recordkeeping	600	600	30 minutes	300
21.51—Agricultural Depredation Order—Annual Report	20	20	8 hours	160
21.52—Public Health Control Order—Annual Report	20	20	1 hour	20
21.49, 21.50, 21.51, and 21.52—Report Take of Endangered Species	2	2	15 minutes	1
21.61—Population Control Approval Request—Recordkeeping and Annual Report	8	8	24 hours	192
21.61—Population Control Approval Request—Population Estimates	8	8	160 hours	1,280
Totals	8,708	8,708		4,280
* Rounded.

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: August 13, 2015.

Tina A. Campbell,

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