35116 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 106 / Thursday, June 1, 2000 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Information Collection Submitted to

the Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) for Approval Under the

Paperwork Reduction Act

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service has submitted the collection of

information listed below to OMB for

approval under the provisions of the

Paperwork Reduction Act. A copy of the

information collection requirement is

included in this notice. If you wish to

obtain copies of the proposed

information collection requirement,

related forms, and explanatory material,

contact the Service Information

Collection Clearance Officer at the

address listed below.

DATES: OMB has up to 60 days to

approve or disapprove information

collection but may respond after 30

days. Therefore, to ensure maximum

consideration, you must submit

comments on or before July 3, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the

requirement to the Office of

Management and Budget, Attention:

Department of the Interior Desk Officer,

725 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC

20503, and to Rebecca Mullin, Service

Information Collection Clearance

Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,

ms 222–ARLSQ, 1849 C Street NW,

Washington, DC 20204.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To

request a copy of the information

collection request, explanatory

information and related forms, contact

Rebecca A. Mullin at (703) 358–2287, or

electronically to rmullin@fws.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office

of Management and Budget (OMB)

regulations at 5 CFR 1320, which

implement provisions of the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–13),

require that interested members of the

public and affected agencies have an

opportunity to comment on information

collection and recordkeeping activities

(see 5 CFR 1320.8(d)). The U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service (We) has submitted a

request to OMB to renew its approval of

the collection of information for the

Sandhill Crane Harvest Survey. We are

requesting a 3-year term of approval for

this information collection activity. A

previous 60-day notice on this

information collection requirement was

published in the December 2, 1999 (64

FR 67583) Federal Register inviting

public comment. No comments on the

previous notice were received. This

notice provides an additional 30 days in

which to comment on the following

information.

Federal agencies 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 OMB control

number for this collection of

information is 1018–0023.

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16

U.S.C. 703–711) and Fish and Wildlife

Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 742d) designate

the Department of the Interior as the key

agency responsible for the wise

management of migratory bird

populations frequenting the United

States and for the setting of hunting

regulations that allow appropriate

harvests that are within the guidelines

that will allow for those populations’

well-being. These responsibilities

dictate the gathering of accurate data on

various characteristics of migratory bird

populations. The Sandhill Crane

Harvest Survey is an essential part of

the migratory bird management

program. The survey helps determine

sandhill crane harvests and harvest rates

that are used to regulate sandhill crane

populations (by promulgating hunting

regulations) and to encourage hunting

opportunity, especially where crop

depredations are chronic and/or lightly

harvested populations occur.

The annual questionnaire surveys

people who obtained a sandhill crane

hunting permit. At the end of the

hunting season, we randomly select a

sample of permit holders and send those

people a questionnaire that asks them to

report the date, State, county, and

number of birds harvested for each of

their sandhill crane hunts. Their

responses provide estimates of the

temporal and geographic distribution of

the harvest as well as the average

harvest per hunter, which, combined

with the total number of sandhill crane

permits issued, enables us to estimate

the total harvest of sandhill cranes.

The Sandhill Crane Harvest Survey

enables us to annually estimate the

magnitude of the harvest, and the

portion it constitutes of the total midcontinent sandhill crane population.

Based on information from this survey,

sandhill crane hunting regulations are

adjusted as needed to optimize harvest

at levels that provide a maximum of

hunting recreation while keeping

populations at desired levels.

Title: Sandhill Crane Harvest Survey.

Approval Number: 1018–0023.

Service Form Number: 3–530, 3–

530A, and 3–2056N.

Frequency of Collection: Annually.

Description of Respondents:

Individuals and households.

Total Annual Burden Hours: The

reporting burden is estimated to average

5 minutes per respondent. The Total

Annual Burden Hours is 614 hours.

Total Annual Responses: About 7,400

individuals are expected to participate

in the survey.

We invite comments concerning this

renewal on: (1) Whether the collection

of information is necessary for the

proper performance of our migratory

bird management functions, including

whether the information will have

practical utility; (2) the accuracy of our

estimate of the burden of the 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. The information

collections in this program are part of a

system of record covered by the Privacy

Act (5 U.S.C. 552(a)).

Dated: April 4, 2000.

Paul R. Schmidt,

Acting Assistant Director for Refuges and

Wildlife.

[FR Doc. 00–13663 Filed 5–31–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Receipt of Application for Endangered

Species Permit

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of receipt of application

for endangered species permit.

SUMMARY: The following applicants have

applied for permits to conduct certain

activities with endangered species. This

notice is provided pursuant to Section

10(c) of the Endangered Species Act of

1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et

seq.).

If you wish to comment, you may

submit comments by any one of several

methods. You may mail comments to

the Service’s Regional Office (see

ADDRESSES). You may also comment via

the internet to

‘‘kenneth_graham@fws.gov’’. Please

submit comments over the internet as an

ASCII file avoiding the use of special

characters and any form of encryption.

Please also include your name and

return address in your internet message.

If you do not receive a confirmation

from the Service that we have received

your internet message, contact us

directly at either telephone number

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 106 / Thursday, June 1, 2000 / Notices 35117

listed below (see FURTHER INFORMATION).

Finally, you may hand deliver

comments to the Service office listed

below (see ADDRESSES). Our practice is

to make comments, including names

and home addresses of respondents,

available for public review during

regular business hours. Individual

respondents may request that we

withhold their home address from the

administrative record. We will honor

such requests to the extent allowable by

law. There may also be other

circumstances in which we would

withhold from the administrative record

a respondent’s identity, as allowable by

law. If you wish us to withhold your

name and address, you must state this

prominently at the beginning of your

comments. We will not; however,

consider anonymous comments. We

will make all submissions from

organizations or businesses, and from

individuals identifying themselves as

representatives or officials of

organizations or businesses, available

for public inspection in their entirety.

DATES: Written data or comments on

these applications must be received, at

the address given below, by July 3,

2000.

ADDRESSES: Documents and other

information submitted with these

applications are available for review,

subject to the requirements of the

Privacy Act and Freedom of Information

Act, by any party who submits a written

request for a copy of such documents to

the following office within 30 days of

the date of publication of this notice:

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1875

Century Boulevard, Suite 200, Atlanta,

Georgia 30345 (Attn: Ken Graham,

Permits Biologist). Telephone: 404/679–

7358; Facsimile: 404/679–7081.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ken

Graham, Telephone: 404/679–7358;

Facsimile: 404/679–7081.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Applicant: Christopher A. Taylor,

Illinois Natural History Survey,

Champaign, Illinois, TE027337–0

The applicant requests a permit to

capture the Nashville crayfish,

Orconectes shoupi, and to collect one

specimen for genetic/systematics

research on the species, in order to

clarify species classification and for

enhancement of management and

survival of the species.

Applicant: Dr. Paul Yokely, Jr.,

Florence, Alabama, TE027307–0

The applicant requests authorization

to take (capture, identify, release, collect

dead freshwater snail and mussel shells,

and to relocate captured specimens

upstream away from potential harm due

to construction activities) federallylisted fish, snails, and mussels during

the course of aquatic surveys throughout

Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and

Tennessee. Any taking would occur

during routine biological surveys and

monitoring, for the purpose of

enhancement of survival of the species.

Applicant: Michael R. Hurst,

Chattahoochee-Oconee National

Forest, Gainesville, Georgia,

TE027344–0

The applicant requests authorization

to take (capture, band, and harass

during nest monitoring, construction of

artificial cavities, and placement of

restrictor plates) the endangered redcockaded woodpecker, Picoides

borealis, on and adjacent to the Oconee

National Forest in Georgia, for the

purpose of enhancement of survival of

the species.

Applicant: Stuart W. McGregor,

Geological Survey of Alabama,

Tuscaloosa, Alabama, TE027346–0

The applicant requests authorization

to take (survey for, capture, handle,

identify, and release) 44 species of

federally-listed freshwater mussels that

could be potentially encountered during

routine biological surveys throughout

Alabama and in the upper Tombigbee

River system in Mississippi, for the

purpose of conducting status surveys

and enhancement of survival of the

species.

Applicant: Steven D. Maloney, Griggs &

Maloney Incorporated, Murfreesboro,

Tennessee, TE027376–0

The applicant requests authorization

to take (capture, identify, and relocate)

the endangered Nashville Crayfish,

Orconectes shoupi, throughout the

species range in Tennessee, for the

purpose of enhancement of survival of

the species.

Dated: May 25, 2000.

H. Dale Hall,

Acting Regional Director.

[FR Doc. 00–13656 Filed 5–31–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Notice of Availability of a Safe Harbor

Agreement With Assurances and

Receipt of an Application for an

Incidental Take Permit for Activities on

Certain State Lands, by the Arizona

Department of Transportation

SUMMARY: The Arizona Department of

Transportation (Applicant) has applied

to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

(Service) for an enhancement of survival

permit pursuant to Section 10(a) of the

Endangered Species Act (Act). The

Applicant has been assigned permit

number TE–026887–0. The requested

permit, which is for a period of 10 years,

would authorize the incidental take of

the endangered Gila topminnow

(Poeciliopsis occidentalis) and the

endangered desert pupufish

(Cyprinodon macularius). The proposed

take may occur on certain State Lands

owned by the Arizona Department of

Transportation in the State of Arizona.

Non-federal landowners, who commit

to implementing conservation for listed

species through a Safe Harbor

Agreement, will receive assurances from

the Service. The assurances are that

additional conservation measures will

not be required and additional land,

water, or resource use restrictions will

not be imposed. The Service has

prepared the Categorical Exclusion for

the enhancement of survival permit

application. A determination of whether

jeopardy to the species would occur will

not be made until at least 30 days from

the date of publication of this notice.

This notice is provided pursuant to

Section 10(c) of the Act and National

Environmental Policy Act regulations

(40 CFR 1506.6).

DATES: Written comments on the

application should be received on or

before July 3, 2000. The agreement,

along with any supporting

documentation, is available for public

review, subject to the requirements of

the Privacy Act and Freedom of

Information Act, by any party who

submits a written request for a copy of

such documents within the comment

period to the address specified below.

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review

the application may obtain a copy by

writing to the Regional Director, U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box

1306, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87103.

Persons wishing to review the Safe

Harbor Agreement and Categorical

Exclusion may obtain a copy by

contacting Doug Duncan, U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service, Ecological Services

Tucson Sub Office, 300 West Congress,

Room 6J, Tucson, AZ 85701 (520/670–

4860) or David Harlow, U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service, Arizona Ecological

Services Field Office, 2321 West Royal

Palm Road, Suite 103, Phoenix, Arizona

85021 (602/640–2720; fax 602/640–

2730). Documents will be available for

public inspection by written request, by

appointment only, during normal

business hours (7:30 to 4:30) at the

offices above. Written data or comments

concerning the application, Safe Harbor

Agreement, and Categorical Exclusion

should be submitted to the Field