[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 98 (Wednesday, May 20, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30730-30732]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-10870]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-HQ-MB-2020-N065; FF07M01000-201-FXMB12310700000; OMB Control
Number 1018-0168]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Alaska Native
Handicrafts
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, 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
June 19, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular
information collection by selecting
[[Page 30731]]
``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using
the search function. Please provide a copy of your comments to the
Service Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, MS: PRB (JAO/3W), 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church,
VA 22041-3803 (mail); or by email to Info_Coll@fws.gov. Please
reference OMB Control Number 1018-0168 in the subject line of your
comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Madonna L. Baucum, Service Information
Collection Clearance Officer, by email at Info_Coll@fws.gov, or by
telephone at (703) 358-2503. Individuals who are hearing or speech
impaired may call the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 for TTY
assistance. 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 (PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), we, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (Service, we), are proposing to reinstate a previously
approved information collection with revisions.
In accordance with the PRA and its implementing regulations at 5
CFR 1320.8(d)(1), 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.
On November 14, 2019, we published in the Federal Register (84 FR
64912) a notice of our intent to request that OMB approve this
information collection. In that notice, we solicited comments for 60
days, ending on January 24, 2019. We received one comment in response
to that notice. The commenter did not address the information
collection requirements; therefore, no response is required.
As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent
burdens, we are again soliciting comments from the public and other
Federal agencies on the proposed ICR that is described below. We are
especially interested in public comment addressing the following:
(1) Whether or not the collection of information is necessary for
the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including
whether or not the information will have practical utility;
(2) The accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this collection
of information, including the validity of the methodology and
assumptions used;
(3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and
(4) How might the agency minimize the burden of the collection of
information on those who are to respond, including through the use of
appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological
collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g.,
permitting electronic submission of response.
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 of 1918 (16 U.S.C. 712(1))
authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, in accordance with the
treaties with Canada, Mexico, Japan, and Russia, to ``issue such
regulations as may be necessary to assure that the taking of migratory
birds and the collection of their eggs, by the indigenous inhabitants
of the State of Alaska, shall be permitted for their own nutritional
and other essential needs, as determined by the Secretary of the
Interior, during the Alaska spring and summer migratory bird
subsistence harvest seasons so as to provide for the preservation and
maintenance of stocks of migratory birds.'' Article II(4)(b) of the
Protocol between the United States and Canada amending the 1916
Convention for the Protection of Migratory Birds in Canada and the
United States provides a legal basis for Alaska Natives to be able to
sell handicrafts that contain the inedible parts of birds taken for
food during the Alaska spring and summer migratory bird subsistence
harvest. The Protocol also dictates that sales would be allowed in
strictly limited situations, pursuant to a regulation by a competent
authority in cooperation with management bodies. The Protocol does not
authorize the taking of migratory birds for commercial purposes.
In 2017, we issued a final rule (82 FR 34263), developed under a
co-management process involving the Alaska Department of Fish and Game
and Alaska Native representatives, that amended the permanent migratory
bird subsistence harvest regulations at 50 CFR 92.6 to enable Alaska
Natives to sell authentic native articles of handicraft or clothing
that contain inedible byproducts from migratory birds that were taken
for food during the Alaska migratory bird subsistence harvest season.
Article II(4)(b) of the Protocol dictates that sales will be under a
strictly limited situation. Allowing Alaska Natives to sell a limited
number of handicrafts containing inedible migratory bird parts provides
a small source of additional income that we conclude is necessary for
the ``essential needs'' of Alaska Natives in predominantly rural
Alaska. This limited opportunity for sale is consistent with the
language of the Protocol and is expressly noted in the Letter of
Submittal to be consistent with the customary and traditional uses of
Alaska Natives. Allowing this activity by Alaska Natives is also
consistent with the preservation and maintenance of migratory bird
stocks.
Eligibility will be shown by a Tribal Enrollment Card, Bureau of
Indian Affairs card, or membership in the Silver Hand program. The
State of Alaska Silver Hand program helps Alaska Native artists promote
their work in the marketplace and enables consumers to identify and
purchase authentic Alaska Native art. The insignia indicates that the
artwork on which it appears is created by hand in Alaska by an
individual Alaska Native artist. Only original contemporary and
traditional Alaska Native artwork, not reproductions or manufactured
work, may be identified and marketed with the Silver Hand insignia. To
be eligible for a 2-year Silver Hand permit, an Alaska Native artist
must be a full-time resident of Alaska, be at least 18 years old, and
provide documentation of membership in a federally recognized Alaska
Native tribe. The Silver Hand insignia may only be attached to original
work that is produced in the State of Alaska.
The final rule requires that FWS Form 3-2484 (a simple
certification which is not subject to the PRA) or a Silver Hand
insignia accompany each Alaska Native article of handicraft or clothing
that contains inedible migratory bird parts. It also requires all
consignees, sellers, and purchasers to retain this documentation with
each item and produce it upon the request of a law enforcement officer.
The final rule also requires that artists maintain adequate records of
the certification or Silver Hand insignia
[[Page 30732]]
with each item and requires artists and sellers/consignees provide the
documentation to buyers. These recordkeeping and third-party
notification requirements are subject to the PRA and require OMB
approval.
Title of Collection: Alaska Native Handicrafts, 50 CFR 92.6.
OMB Control Number: 1018-0168.
Form Numbers: FWS Form 3-2484.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals and businesses.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 2.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 2.
Estimated Completion Time per Response: 5 minutes.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 0.
Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.
Frequency of Collection: On occasion.
Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: None.
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: May 15, 2020.
Madonna Baucum,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-10870 Filed 5-19-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P