2017-20165. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife, Experimental Populations

AGENCY:

Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice of information collection; request for comment.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are proposing to renew an information collection.

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before October 23, 2017.

ADDRESSES:

Send written comments on this information collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget's Desk Officer for the Department of the Interior by email at [e-mail]; or via facsimile to [phone]. Please provide a copy of your comments to the Service Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: BPHC, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803 (mail); or by email to [e-mail]. Please reference OMB Control Number 1018-0095 in the subject line of your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request additional information about this ICR, contact Madonna L. Baucum, Service Information Collection Clearance Officer, by email at [e-mail], or by telephone at [phone]. You may also view the ICR at http://www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we provide the general public and other Federal agencies with an opportunity 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.

A Federal Register notice with a 60-day public comment period soliciting comments on this collection of information was published on May 31, 2017 (82 FR 24989). We received one comment that did not address the information collection. No changes were made in response to that comment.

We are again soliciting comments on the proposed ICR that is described below. We are especially interested in public comment addressing the following issues: (1) Is the collection necessary to the proper functions of the Service; (2) will this information be processed and used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden accurate; (4) how might the Service enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (5) how might the Service minimize the burden of this collection on the respondents, including through the use of information technology.

Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of public record. 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: Section 10(j) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA), as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to establish experimental populations of endangered or threatened species. Because individuals of experimental populations are protected under the ESA, the information we collect is important for monitoring the success of reintroduction and recovery efforts. This is a nonform collection (meaning there is no designated form associated with this collection). Information collection requirements for experimental populations of vertebrate endangered and threatened species are found in 50 CFR 17.84. We collect three categories of information, which are specific to each species and are described within 50 CFR 17.84:

(1) General take or removal. Take is defined by the ESA as “[to] harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct.” In this IC, take most commonly takes the form of human-related mortality, including unintentional taking incidental to otherwise lawful activities (e.g., highway mortalities); animal husbandry actions authorized to manage the population (e.g., translocation or providing aid to sick, injured, or orphaned individuals); take in defense of human life; take related to defense of property (if authorized); or take in the form of authorized harassment.

(2) Specimen collection, recovery, or reporting of dead individuals. This information documents incidental or authorized scientific collection. Most of the information collected addresses the reporting of sightings of experimental population animals or the inadvertent discovery of an injured or dead individual.

(3) Depredation-related take. Involves take for management purposes where livestock depredation is documented, and may include authorized harassment or authorized lethal take of experimental population animals in the act of attacking livestock. See 50 CFR 17.84 for specific provisions of harassment for each species within this section.

The information that we collect includes:

• Name, address, and phone number of reporting party.
• Species involved.
• Type of incident.
• Quantity of take.
• Location and time of the reported incident.
• Description of the circumstances related to the incident.

Service recovery specialists use this information to determine the success of reintroductions in relation to established recovery plan goals for the experimental populations of vertebrate endangered and threatened species involved. In addition, this information helps us to assess the effectiveness of control activities in order to develop better means to reduce problems with livestock for those species where depredation is a problem.

Title of Collection: Endangered and Threatened Wildlife, Experimental Populations, 50 CFR 17.84.

OMB Control Number: 1018-0095.

Form Number: None.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals and households, private sector, and State/local/tribal governments.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 105.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 105.

Estimated Completion Time per Response: 30 minutes.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 55.

Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.

Frequency of Collection: On occasion.

Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: The only foreseeable nonhour burden cost to respondents would be a small cost for making a telephone call or sending a facsimile. However, we do not expect that this would occur often and any costs would be negligible.

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 L. Baucum,

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