[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 246 (Wednesday, December 26, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66294-66296]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-27891]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-HQ-MB-2018-N150; FF09M21200-189-FXMB12320900000; OMB Control
Number 1018-0133]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Control and
Management of Resident Canada Geese
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, are proposing to renew an
information collection.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before
January 25, 2019.
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 OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov; or
via facsimile to (202) 395-5806. 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 Info_Coll@fws.gov. Please reference OMB
Control Number 1018-0133 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 Info_Coll@fws.gov, or by
telephone at (703) 358-2503. 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
April 6, 2018 (83 FR 14879). We received one comment in which the
commenter objected to the collection of this information, but did not
specifically address the information collection requirements. We did
not make changes to our requirements as a result of 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: The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703 et seq.)
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, nest
and eggs. 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. Our regulations at 50 CFR 21.49 allow
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. Our regulations at 50 CFR
21.50 allow 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 website 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 website to report the number of nests with eggs they
destroyed.
Depredation order for agricultural facilities. Our regulations at
50 CFR 21.51 allow 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. Our regulations at 50 CFR 21.52
authorize 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
[[Page 66295]]
the numbers of birds taken and the county where take occurred.
Population control. Our regulations at 50 CFR 21.61 establish 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 or on their Tribal lands.
Our 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.
Title of Collection: Control and Management of Resident Canada
Geese, 50 CFR 20.21, 21.49, 21.50, 21.51, 21.52, and 21.61.
OMB Control Number: 1018-0133.
Form Number: None.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Respondents/Affected Public: State fish and wildlife agencies,
Tribes, and local governments; airports; landowners; and farms.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 8,698.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 8,698.
Estimated Completion Time per Response: Varies from 15 minutes to 8
hours, depending on activity.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 3,360.
Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.
Frequency of Collection: Annually.
Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: None.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Completion
Annual number time per Total annual
Regulation/activity of responses response burden hours *
(hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21.49--Airport Control Order (Annual Report)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Private Sector.................................................. 25 1.5 38
Government...................................................... 25 1.5 38
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21.50--Nest and Egg Depredation Order (Initial Registration)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Individuals..................................................... 126 0.5 63
Private Sector.................................................. 674 0.5 337
Government...................................................... 200 0.5 100
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21.50--Nest and Egg Depredation Order (Renew Registration)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Individuals..................................................... 374 0.25 94
Private Sector.................................................. 2,026 0.25 507
Government...................................................... 600 0.25 150
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21.50--Nest and Egg Depredation Order (Annual Report)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Individuals..................................................... 500 0.25 125
Private Sector.................................................. 2,700 0.25 675
Government...................................................... 800 0.25 200
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21.51--Agricultural Depredation Order (Recordkeeping)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Private Sector.................................................. 600 0.5 300
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21.51--Agricultural Depredation Order (Annual Report)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Government...................................................... 20 8 160
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21.52--Public Health Control Order
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Government...................................................... 20 1 20
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21.49, 21.50, 21.51, and 21.52--Report Take of Endangered Species
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Private Sector.................................................. 2 0.25 1
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21.61--Population Control Approval Request (Annual Report and Recordkeeping)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annual Report--Gov't............................................ 3 12 36
Recordkeeping--Gov't............................................ 12 36
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 66296]]
21.61--Population Control Approval Request (Population and Distribution Estimates)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Government...................................................... 3 160 480
-----------------------------------------------
Totals:..................................................... 8,698 .............. 3,360
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Rounded.
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.).
Dated: December 19, 2018.
Madonna Baucum,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-27891 Filed 12-21-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P