4972 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 17 / Wednesday, January 28, 2009 / Notices 

Total Estimated Burden Hours: 250. 

Status: New Collection. 

Authority: Section 3507 of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 35, as 

amended. 

Dated: January 22, 2009. 

Lillian L. Deitzer, 

Departmental Paperwork Reduction Act 

Officer, Office of the Chief Information 

Officer. 

[FR Doc. E9–1823 Filed 1–27–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4210–67–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS-R9-ES-2009-N0012; 92210-1111-0000- 

B3] 

Information Collection Sent to the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) for Approval; OMB Control 

Number 1018-0119; Policy for 

Evaluation of Conservation Efforts 

When Making Listing Decisions (PECE) 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: We (Fish and Wildlife 

Service) have sent an Information 

Collection Request (ICR) to OMB for 

review and approval. The ICR, which is 

summarized below, describes the nature 

of the collection and the estimated 

burden. This ICR is scheduled to expire 

on January 31, 2009. 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. 

However, under OMB regulations, we 

may continue to conduct or sponsor this 

information collection while it is 

pending at OMB. 

DATES: You must send comments on or 

before February 27, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Send your comments and 

suggestions on this ICR to the Desk 

Officer for the Department of the 

Interior at OMB-OIRA at (202) 395-6566 

(fax) or OIRA_DOCKET@OMB.eop.gov 

(e-mail). Please provide a copy of your 

comments to Hope Grey, Information 

Collection Clearance Officer, Fish and 

Wildlife Service, MS 222-ARLSQ, 4401 

North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 

22203 (mail) or hope_grey@fws.gov (email). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To 

request additional information about 

this ICR, contact Hope Grey by mail or 

e-mail (see ADDRESSES) or by 

telephone at (703) 358–2482. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

OMB Control Number: 1018-0119. 

Title: Policy for Evaluation of 

Conservation Efforts When Making 

Listing Decisions (PECE). 

Service Form Number(s): None. 

Type of Request: Extension of 

currently approved collection. 

Affected Public: Primarily State, local, 

or tribal governments. However, 

individuals, businesses, and not-forprofit organizations could develop 

agreements/plans or may agree to 

implement certain conservation efforts 

identified in a State agreement/plan. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Required to 

obtain or retain a benefit. 

Frequency of Collection: On occasion. 

Activity Number of annual 

respondents 

Number of annual 

responses 

Completion time 

per response 

Annual burden 

hours 

Original Agreement .................................................................. 4 4 2,000 hours ..... 8,000 

Monitoring ................................................................................ 7 7 600 hours ........ 4,200 

Reporting ................................................................................. 7 7 120 hours ........ 840 

Totals ................................................................................ 18 18 ..................... 13,040 

Abstract: Section 4 of the Endangered 

Species Act (ESA) specifies the process 

by which we can list species as 

threatened or endangered. When we 

consider whether or not to list a species, 

the ESA requires us to take into account 

the efforts being made by any State or 

any political subdivision of a State to 

protect such species. We also take into 

account the efforts being made by other 

entities. States or other entities often 

formalize conservation efforts in 

conservation agreements, conservation 

plans, management plans, or similar 

documents. The conservation efforts 

recommended or called for in such 

documents could prevent some species 

from becoming so imperiled that they 

meet the definition of a threatened or 

endangered species under the ESA. 

The Policy for Evaluation of 

Conservation Efforts When Making 

Listing Decisions (PECE) encourages the 

development of conservation 

agreements/plans and provides certainty 

about the standard that an individual 

conservation effort must meet for us to 

consider whether it contributes to 

forming a basis for making a decision 

about the listing of a species. PECE 

applies to ‘‘formalized conservation 

efforts’’ that have not been implemented 

or have been implemented but have not 

yet demonstrated if they are effective at 

the time of a listing decision. 

Under PECE, formalized conservation 

efforts are defined as conservation 

efforts (specific actions, activities, or 

programs designed to eliminate or 

reduce threats or otherwise improve the 

status of a species) identified in a 

conservation agreement, conservation 

plan, management plan, or similar 

document (68 FR 15100). The 

development of such agreements/plans 

is voluntary. There is no requirement 

that the individual conservation efforts 

included in such documents be 

designed to meet the standard in PECE. 

Comments: On November 24, 2008, 

we published in the Federal Register 

(73 FR 71041) a notice of our intent to 

request that OMB renew this ICR. In that 

notice, we solicited comments for 60 

days, ending on January 23, 2009. We 

received one comment in response to 

this notice. The commenter did not 

address the information collection 

requirements, but did object to the 

continuation of this program. We have 

not made any changes to our 

information collection requirements as a 

result of this comment. 

We again invite comments concerning 

this information collection on: 

(1) Whether or not the collection of 

information is necessary, including 

whether or not the information will 

have practical utility; 

(2) The accuracy of our estimate of the 

burden for this collection of 

information; 

(3) Ways to enhance the quality, 

utility, and clarity of the information to 

be collected; and 

(4) 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. Before including your 

address, phone number, e-mail 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 OMB in your comment to 

withhold your personal identifying 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 17 / Wednesday, January 28, 2009 / Notices 4973 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that it will be done. 

Hope Grey, 

Information Collection Clearance Officer, 

Fish and Wildlife Service. 

FR Doc. E9–1833 Filed 1–27–09; 8:45 am 

BILLING CODE 4310-55-S 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS-R9-IA-2009-N0011; 96200-1672-0050- 

7D] 

Proposed Information Collection; 

Evaluation of Great Ape Conservation 

Fund Grant Activities 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: We (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. 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: You must submit comments on 

or before March 30, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the 

IC to Hope Grey, Information Collection 

Clearance Officer, Fish and Wildlife 

Service, MS 222–ARLSQ, 4401 North 

Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203 

(mail); hope_grey@fws.gov (e-mail). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To 

request additional information about 

this ICR, contact Hope Grey by mail, or 

e-mail (see ADDRESSES) or by 

telephone at (703) 358–2482. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

The Fish and Wildlife Service (we, 

Service) has contracted with Frederick 

Sowers Consulting to conduct an 

independent evaluation of Great Ape 

Conservation Fund (GACF) grants. The 

evaluation will be limited to those 

grants we financed during Fiscal Years 

2006 through 2008 through a $2.5 

million/year resource transfer from the 

Agency for International Development 

in support of the Central Africa Regional 

Program for the Environment. 

In the central African region, 

conservation efforts are focused around 

approximately 12 large landscapes 

where conservation organizations take 

the lead in a multi-stakeholder process 

of land use and conservation planning. 

We plan to survey the direct recipients 

of GACF grants and their associated 

partners (e.g. international and African 

conservation and development 

nongovernmental organizations, 

stakeholder groups, civic organizations, 

and other funding agencies). The survey 

will cover both leading partners and 

smaller implementing partners within 

the landscape. 

The 74 grantees, who serve in direct 

contact with the public, are spread 

across five countries in the central 

African region. We plan to use an online 

survey as an efficient and minimally 

disruptive means of collecting 

information on grants management 

mechanics and operations and grantee 

performance in achieving conservation 

aims. The online survey will be open for 

an adequate period of time to allow 

respondents ample time to complete 

and update the survey questionnaire. 

We plan to collect: 

(1) Basic demographic data about the 

institutions, such as the size of the 

organization, the length and duration of 

its presence in the landscape, the nature 

of its activities, and its relationship with 

other stakeholders. 

(2) Information on the quality and 

nature of the relationships between 

grant recipients and the Government. 

(3) Effectiveness of the program in 

contributing to conservation objectives. 

II. Data 

OMB Control Number: None. This is 

a new collection. 

Title: Evaluation of Great Ape 

Conservation Fund Grant Activities. 

Service Form Number(s): None. 

Type of Request: New. 

Affected Public: GACF grantees and 

associated partners (e.g., 

nongovernment organizations, 

stakeholder groups, civic organizations, 

and other funding agencies). 

Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary. 

Frequency of Collection: One time. 

Total Annual Number of Responses: 

160. 

Completion Time per Response: 1.5 

hours. 

Total Annual Burden Hours: 240 

hours. 

III. Request for Comments 

We invite comments concerning this 

IC on: 

(1) whether or not the collection of 

information is necessary, including 

whether or not the information will 

have practical utility; 

(2) the accuracy of our estimate of the 

burden for this collection of 

information; 

(3) ways to enhance the quality, 

utility, and clarity of the information to 

be collected; and 

(4) 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, 

e-mail 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: January 12, 2009 

Hope Grey, 

Information Collection Clearance Officer, 

Fish and Wildlife Service. 

FR Doc. E9–1834 Filed 1–27–09; 8:45 am 

BILLING CODE 4310-55-S 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

U.S. Geological Survey 

Scientific Earthquake Studies Advisory 

Committee 

AGENCY: U.S. Geological Survey. 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to Public Law 106– 

503, the Scientific Earthquake Studies 

Advisory Committee (SESAC) will hold 

its 19th meeting. The meeting location 

is the Silver Cloud Inn/University 

District, 3056 25th Avenue, NE., Seattle, 

Washington 98105. The Committee is 

comprised of members from academia, 

industry, and State government. The 

Committee shall advise the Director of 

the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) on 

matters relating to the USGS’s 

participation in the National Earthquake 

Hazards Reduction Program. 

The Committee will be hearing 

updates on the USGS Earthquake 

Hazards Program with a focus on 

partnered activities in the Pacific 

Northwest, discuss lessons learned from 

the Great Southern California Shakeout, 

and make assignments for annual report 

preparation. 

Meetings of the Scientific Earthquake 

Studies Advisory Committee are open to 

the public. 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES