Document Headings

                    Document headings vary by document type but may contain                    the following:                  
                -                       the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document                    
                -                       the number of the CFR title and the number of each part                      the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly                      related to                    
                -                       the agency docket number / agency internal file number                    
                -                       the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in                      the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory                      Actions                    

                    See the                                          Document Drafting Handbook                                        for more details.                  

###### Department of the Interior

###### Fish and Wildlife Service 

# 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 mid-continent 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