Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 159 / Thursday, August 17, 2006 / Proposed Rules 47461 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Internal Revenue Service 

26 CFR Parts 1 and 31 

[REG–146893–02; REG–115037–00; REG–

138603–03] 

RIN 1545–BB31, 1545–AY38, 1545–BC52 

Treatment of Services Under Section 

482 Allocation of Income and 

Deductions From Intangibles 

Stewardship Expense 

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service, 

Treasury. 

ACTION: Notice of public hearing on 

proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: This document contains a 

notice of public hearing on proposed 

regulations relating to the treatment of 

controlled services transactions under 

section 482. 

DATES: The public hearing is being held 

on October 27, 2006, at 10 a.m. The IRS 

must receive outlines of the topics to be 

discussed at the hearing by October 6, 

2006. Written or electronic comments 

must be received by October 6, 2006. 

ADDRESSES: The public hearing is being 

held in the auditorium of the New 

Carrollton Federal Building, 5000 Ellin 

Road, Lanham, MD 20706. Submissions 

may be sent to: CC:PA:LPD:PR (REG–

146893–02; REG–115037–00; REG–

138603–03), Internal Revenue Service, 

POB 7604, Ben Franklin Station, 

Washington, DC 20044. Alternatively, 

submissions may be sent electronically, 

via the IRS Internet site at http:// 

www.irs.gov/regs or via Federal 

eRulemaking Portal at http:// 

www.regulations.gov (IRS REG–146983–

02, REG–115037–00, and REG–138603–

03). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Concerning submission of comments, 

the hearing, and/or to be placed on the 

building access to attend the hearing, 

Kelly Banks at (202) 622–0392 (not a 

toll-free number) or by e-mail at 

Kelly.d.banks@irscounsel.treas.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

subject of the public hearing is the 

notice of proposed rulemaking (REG–

146893–02; REG–115037–00; REG–

138603–03) that was published in the 

Federal Register on August 4, 2006 (71 

FR 44247). 

The rules of 26 CFR 601.601(a)(3) 

apply to the hearing. 

A period of 10 minutes is allotted to 

each person for presenting oral 

comments. The IRS will prepare an 

agenda containing the schedule of 

speakers. Copies of the agenda will be 

made available, free of charge, at the 

hearing. 

Because of access restriction, the IRS 

will not admit visitors beyond the 

immediate entrance area more than 30 

minutes before the hearing starts. For 

information about having your name 

placed on the building access list to 

attend the hearing, see the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section of this 

document. 

Guy R. Traynor, 

Branch Chief, Publications and Regulations 

Branch, Legal Processing Division, Associate 

Chief Counsel (Procedure and 

Administration). 

[FR Doc. E6–13530 Filed 8–16–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4830–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

50 CFR Part 20 

RIN 1018–AU42 

Migratory Bird Hunting; Proposed 

Migratory Bird Hunting Regulations on 

Certain Federal Indian Reservations 

and Ceded Lands for the 2006–07 

Season 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service (hereinafter, Service or we) 

proposes special migratory bird hunting 

regulations for certain Tribes on Federal 

Indian reservations, off-reservation trust 

lands, and ceded lands for the 2006–07 

migratory bird hunting season. 

DATES: We will accept all comments on 

the proposed regulations that are 

postmarked or received in our office by 

August 28, 2006. 

ADDRESSES: Send your comments on 

these proposals to the Chief, Division of 

Migratory Bird Management, U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service, Department of the 

Interior, MS MBSP–4107–ARLSQ, 1849 

C Street, NW., Washington, DC 20240, 

or fax comments to (703) 358–2272. All 

comments received will become part of 

the public record. You may inspect 

comments during normal business 

hours in room 4107, 4501 N. Fairfax 

Drive, Arlington, Virginia. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ron 

W. Kokel, Division of Migratory Bird 

Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service, (703) 358–1714. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the 

April 11, 2006, Federal Register (71 FR 

18562), we requested proposals from 

Indian Tribes wishing to establish 

special migratory bird hunting 

regulations for the 2006–07 hunting 

season, under the guidelines described 

in the June 4, 1985, Federal Register (50 

FR 23467). In this supplemental 

proposed rule, we propose special 

migratory bird hunting regulations for 

28 Indian Tribes, based on the input we 

received in response to the April 11, 

2006, proposed rule. As described in 

that document/proposed rule, the 

promulgation of annual migratory bird 

hunting regulations involves a series of 

rulemaking actions each year. This 

proposed rule is part of that series. 

We developed the guidelines for 

establishing special migratory bird 

hunting regulations for Indian Tribes in 

response to tribal requests for 

recognition of their reserved hunting 

rights and, for some Tribes, recognition 

of their authority to regulate hunting by 

both tribal and nontribal hunters on 

their reservations. The guidelines 

include possibilities for: 

(1) On-reservation hunting by both 

tribal and nontribal hunters, with 

hunting by nontribal hunters on some 

reservations to take place within Federal 

frameworks but on dates different from 

those selected by the surrounding 

State(s); 

(2) On-reservation hunting by tribal 

members only, outside of the usual 

Federal frameworks for season dates and 

length, and for daily bag and possession 

limits; and 

(3) Off-reservation hunting by tribal 

members on ceded lands, outside of 

usual framework dates and season 

length, with some added flexibility in 

daily bag and possession limits. 

In all cases, the regulations 

established under the guidelines must 

be consistent with the March 10 to 

September 1 closed season mandated by 

the 1916 Convention Between the 

United States and Great Britain (for 

Canada) for the Protection of Migratory 

Birds (Treaty). The guidelines apply to 

those Tribes having recognized reserved 

hunting rights on Federal Indian 

reservations (including off-reservation 

trust lands) and on ceded lands. They 

also apply to establishing migratory bird 

hunting regulations for nontribal 

hunters on all lands within the exterior 

boundaries of reservations where Tribes 

have full wildlife management authority 

over such hunting or where the Tribes 

and affected States otherwise have 

reached agreement over hunting by 

nontribal hunters on lands owned by 

non-Indians within the reservation. 

Tribes usually have the authority to 

regulate migratory bird hunting by 

nonmembers on Indian-owned 

reservation lands, subject to Service 


hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with PROPOSALS
47462 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 159 / Thursday, August 17, 2006 / Proposed Rules 

approval. The question of jurisdiction is 

more complex on reservations that 

include lands owned by non-Indians, 

especially when the surrounding States 

have established or intend to establish 

regulations governing hunting by nonIndians on these lands. In such cases, 

we encourage the Tribes and States to 

reach agreement on regulations that 

would apply throughout the 

reservations. When appropriate, we will 

consult with a Tribe and State with the 

aim of facilitating an accord. We also 

will consult jointly with tribal and State 

officials in the affected States where 

Tribes wish to establish special hunting 

regulations for tribal members on ceded 

lands. 

Because of past questions regarding 

interpretation of what events trigger the 

consultation process, as well as who 

initiates it, we provide the following 

clarification. We routinely provide 

copies of Federal Register publications 

pertaining to migratory bird 

management to all State Directors, 

Tribes, and other interested parties. It is 

the responsibility of the States, Tribes, 

and others to notify us of any concern 

regarding any feature(s) of any 

regulations. When we receive such 

notification, we will initiate 

consultation. 

Our guidelines provide for the 

continued harvest of waterfowl and 

other migratory game birds by tribal 

members on reservations where such 

harvest has been a customary practice. 

We do not oppose this harvest, provided 

it does not take place during the closed 

season defined by the Treaty, and does 

not adversely affect the status of the 

migratory bird resource. Before 

developing the guidelines, we reviewed 

available information on the current 

status of migratory bird populations; 

reviewed the current status of migratory 

bird hunting on Federal Indian 

reservations; and evaluated the potential 

impact of such guidelines on migratory 

birds. We concluded that the impact of 

migratory bird harvest by tribal 

members hunting on their reservations 

is minimal. 

One area of interest in Indian 

migratory bird hunting regulations 

relates to hunting seasons for nontribal 

hunters on dates that are within Federal 

frameworks, but which are different 

from those established by the State(s) 

where the reservation is located. A large 

influx of nontribal hunters onto a 

reservation at a time when the season is 

closed in the surrounding State(s) could 

result in adverse population impacts on 

one or more migratory bird species. The 

guidelines make this unlikely, however, 

because tribal proposals must include: 

(a) Harvest anticipated under the 

requested regulations; (b) methods that 

will be employed to measure or monitor 

harvest (such as bag checks, mail 

questionnaires, etc.); (c) steps that will 

be taken to limit level of harvest, where 

it could be shown that failure to limit 

such harvest would adversely impact 

the migratory bird resource; and (d) 

tribal capabilities to establish and 

enforce migratory bird hunting 

regulations. We may modify regulations 

or establish experimental special hunts, 

after evaluation and confirmation of 

harvest information obtained by the 

Tribes. 

We believe the guidelines provide 

appropriate opportunity to 

accommodate the reserved hunting 

rights and management authority of 

Indian Tribes while ensuring that the 

migratory bird resource receives 

necessary protection. The conservation 

of this important international resource 

is paramount. The guidelines should not 

be viewed as inflexible. In this regard, 

we note that they have been employed 

successfully since 1985. We believe they 

have been tested adequately and, 

therefore, we made them final beginning 

with the 1988–89 hunting season. We 

should stress here, however, that use of 

the guidelines is not mandatory and no 

action is required if a Tribe wishes to 

observe the hunting regulations 

established by the State(s) in which the 

reservation is located. 

Population Status and Harvest 

The following paragraphs provide 

preliminary information on the status of 

waterfowl and information on the status 

and harvest of migratory shore and 

upland game birds. 

May Breeding Waterfowl and Habitat 

Survey 

Despite a very warm winter, the 

quality of habitat for breeding waterfowl 

in the U.S. and Canada is slightly better 

this year than last year. Improvements 

in Canadian and U.S. prairie habitats 

were primarily due to average to aboveaverage precipitation, warm spring 

temperatures, and carry-over effects 

from the good summer conditions of 

2005. Improved habitat conditions were 

reflected in the higher number of ponds 

counted in Prairie Canada this year 

compared to last year. The 2006 

estimate of ponds in Prairie Canada was 

4.4 ± 0.2 million ponds, a 13% increase 

from last year’s estimate of 3.9 ± 0.2 

million ponds and 32% above the 1955–

2005 average. The parkland and 

northern grassland regions of southern 

Manitoba and Saskatchewan received 

abundant rain in March and April, 

which created good to excellent habitat 

conditions. Higher water tables 

prevented farm activities in wetland 

basins and excellent residual nesting 

cover remained around the potholes. 

Many of the wetlands flooded beyond 

their normal basins and into the 

surrounding uplands. Deeper water in 

permanent and semi-permanent 

wetlands, coupled with increased 

amounts of flooded emergent vegetation 

and woodland, likely benefited diving 

ducks and overwater- and cavity-nesting 

species. However, spring precipitation 

in the grasslands of southern 

Saskatchewan and southwestern 

Manitoba was insufficient to fill 

seasonal and semi-permanent wetlands 

or create temporary wetlands for 

waterfowl, leaving these regions in fair 

or poor condition. Above-average 

precipitation in the fall and spring in 

parts of southern Alberta improved 

conditions in this historically important 

pintail breeding region. This region has 

been dry since 1998, with the exception 

of 2003. However, central Alberta 

remained dry. 

Habitat conditions in the U.S. prairies 

were more variable than those in the 

Canadian prairies. The 2006 pond 

estimate for the north-central U.S. (1.6 

± 0.1 million) was similar to last year’s 

estimate and the long-term average. The 

total pond estimate (Prairie Canada and 

U.S. combined) was 6.1 ± 0.2 million 

ponds. This was 13 percent greater than 

last year’s estimate of 5.4 ± 0.2 million 

and 26 percent higher than the longterm average of 4.8 ± 0.1 million ponds. 

Habitat quality improved minimally in 

the easternmost regions of North and 

South Dakota relative to 2005. Small 

areas of the Eastern Dakotas were in 

good-to-excellent condition, helped by 

warm April temperatures and spring 

rains that advanced vegetation growth 

by about 2 weeks. However, most of the 

Drift Prairie, the Missouri Coteau, and 

the Coteau Slope remained in fair to 

poor condition due to lack of temporary 

and seasonal water and the deteriorated 

condition of semi-permanent basins. 

Permanent wetlands and dugouts were 

typically in various stages of recession. 

The Western Dakotas were generally in 

fair condition. Most wetland and upland 

habitats in Montana benefited modestly 

from average to above-average fall and 

winter precipitation and improvements 

in nesting habitat last year. Spring 

precipitation in Montana during March 

and April also helped to mitigate several 

years of drought. A large portion of 

central Montana was in good condition 

due to ample late winter and early 

spring precipitation. Biologists also 

noted improvements in upland 

vegetation over previous years. In this 

central region, most pond basins were 


hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 159 / Thursday, August 17, 2006 / Proposed Rules 47463 

full and stream systems were flowing. 

However, nesting habitat was largely 

fair to poor for most of the northern 

portion of Montana. 

Habitat conditions in most northern 

regions of Canada were improved over 

last year due to an early ice break-up, 

warm spring temperatures, and good 

precipitation levels. In northern 

Saskatchewan, northern Manitoba, and 

western Ontario, winter snowfall was 

sufficient to recharge most beaver ponds 

and small lakes. Larger lakes and rivers 

tended to have higher water levels than 

in recent years. Conditions in the 

smaller wetlands were ideal. However, 

in northern Manitoba and northern 

Saskatchewan, some lakes associated 

with major rivers were flooded, with 

some flooded well into the surrounding 

upland vegetation. The potential for 

habitat loss due to flooding caused 

biologists to classify this region as good. 

In Alberta, water levels improved to the 

north, except for the Athabasca Delta 

only, where wetlands, especially 

seasonal wetlands, generally had low 

water levels. Most of the Northwest 

Territories had good water levels. The 

exceptions were the southern part of the 

Territory where recent heavy rains in 

May have caused some flooding of 

nesting habitat, and a dry swath across 

the central part of the province. In 

contrast to most of the survey region 

and to the past few years, spring did not 

arrive early in Alaska this year. Overall, 

a more normal spring phenology 

occurred throughout most of Alaska and 

the Yukon Territory, with ice lingering 

in the following regions: The outer coast 

of the Yukon Delta, the northern Seward 

Peninsula, and on the Old Crow Flats. 

Some flooding occurred on a few major 

rivers. Overall, good waterfowl 

production is anticipated this year from 

the northwestern continental area if 

temperatures remain seasonable. 

Spring-like conditions also arrived 

early in the East, with an early ice 

break-up and relatively mild 

temperatures. Biologists reported that 

habitat conditions were generally good 

across most of the survey area. Most 

regions had a warm, dry winter and a 

dry start to spring. Extreme southern 

Ontario was relatively dry during the 

survey period and habitats were in fair 

to poor condition. However, 

precipitation after survey completion 

improved habitat conditions in this 

region. Abundant rain in May improved 

water levels in Maine, the Maritimes, 

southern Ontario, and Quebec, but 

caused some flooding in southern 

Ontario and Quebec and along the coast 

of Maine, New Brunswick, and Nova 

Scotia. In Quebec, a very early spring 

assured good habitat availability. 

Despite the early spring and the 

abundance of spring precipitation, a dry 

winter still left most of the marshes and 

rivers drier than in past years. Many 

bogs were noticeably drier than past 

years or dry entirely in a few cases. 

Winter precipitation increased to the 

west and north, resulting in generally 

good levels in central and northern 

Ontario. Conditions were good to 

excellent in central and northern 

Ontario due to the early spring 

phenology, generally good water levels, 

and warm spring temperatures. 

Status of Teal 

The estimate of blue-winged teal 

numbers from the Traditional Survey 

Area is 5.9 million. This represents a 28 

percent increase from 2005 and is 30 

percent above the 1955–2005 average. 

By the criteria developed for the teal 

season harvest strategy, this population 

size estimate indicates that a 16-day 

September teal season is appropriate in 

2006. 

Sandhill Cranes 

The Mid-Continent Population of 

Sandhill Cranes has generally stabilized 

at comparatively high levels, following 

increases in the 1970s. The Central 

Platte River Valley, Nebraska spring 

index for 2006, uncorrected for visibility 

bias, was 183,000. The photo-corrected 

3-year average for 2003–05 was 422,133, 

which is within the established 

population-objective range of 349,000–

472,000 cranes. All Central Flyway 

States, except Nebraska, allowed crane 

hunting in portions of their respective 

States during 2005–06. About 9,950 

hunters participated in these seasons, 

which was 8 percent higher than the 

number that participated in the 2004–

2005 season. Hunters harvested 18,575 

cranes in the U.S. portion of the Central 

Flyway during the 2005–06 seasons, 

which was 28 percent higher than the 

estimated harvest for the previous year. 

The retrieved harvest of cranes in hunt 

areas for the Rocky Mountain 

Population of Sandhill Cranes Arizona, 

New Mexico, Alaska, Canada, and 

Mexico combined was estimated at 

13,587 during 2005–06. The preliminary 

estimate for the North American sport 

harvest, including crippling losses, was 

36,674, which is 11 percent higher than 

the previous year’s estimate of 33,182. 

The long-term (1982–2004) trends 

indicate that harvests have been 

increasing at a higher rate than 

population growth. 

The fall 2005 pre-migration survey 

estimate for the Rocky Mountain 

Population of Greater sandhill Cranes 

was 20,865, which was 13 percent 

higher than the previous year’s estimate 

of 18,510. The 3-year average for 2003–

05 is 19,633, which is within 

established population objectives of 

17,000–21,000. Hunting seasons during 

2005–06 in portions of Arizona, Idaho, 

Montana, New Mexico, Utah, and 

Wyoming resulted in a harvest of 702 

cranes, an 18 percent increase from the 

harvest of 594 the year before. 

Woodcock 

Singing-ground and Wing-collection 

Surveys were conducted to assess the 

population status of the American 

woodcock (Scolopax minor). Singingground Survey data for 2006 indicate 

that the number of displaying woodcock 

in the Eastern Region in 2006 was 

unchanged from 2005; however, the 

Central Region experienced an 8 percent 

decline. There was no significant trend 

in woodcock heard in either the Eastern 

or Central Regions during 1996–2006. 

This represents the third consecutive 

year since 1992 that the 10-year trend 

estimate for either region did not 

indicate a significant decline. There 

were long-term (1968–2006) declines of 

1.9 percent per year in the Eastern 

Region and 1.8 percent per year in the 

Central Region. Wing-collection survey 

data indicate that the 2005 recruitment 

index for the U.S. portion of the Eastern 

Region (1.6 immatures per adult female) 

was 17 percent lower than the 2004 

index, and 1 percent lower than the 

long-term average. The recruitment 

index for the U.S. portion of the Central 

Region (1.5 immatures per adult female) 

was 9 percent higher than the 2004 

index, but was 9 percent below the longterm average. 

Band-Tailed Pigeons and Doves 

Analyses of Breeding Bird Survey 

(BBS) data over the most recent 10 years 

and from 1968–2005 showed no 

significant long-term trend in either 

time period for the Pacific Coast 

population of band-tailed pigeons. A 

rangewide mineral site survey 

conducted in British Columbia, 

Washington, Oregon, and California 

showed an increase in pigeons between 

2001 and 2005 of over 10 percent per 

year. The preliminary 2005 harvest 

estimate from the Harvest Information 

Program (HIP) was 13,500. For the 

Interior band-tailed pigeon population, 

BBS analyses indicated no trend over 

either time period. The preliminary 

2005 harvest estimate was 2,700. 

Analyses of Mourning Dove Callcount Survey data over the most recent 

10 years indicated no significant trend 

for doves heard in either the Eastern or 

Western Management Units while the 

Central Unit showed a significant 

decline. Over the 41-year period, 1966–


hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with PROPOSALS
47464 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 159 / Thursday, August 17, 2006 / Proposed Rules 

2006, all 3 units exhibited significant 

declines. In contrast, for doves seen over 

the 10-year period, a significant increase 

was found in the Eastern Unit, while no 

trends were found in the Central and 

Western Units. Over 41 years, no trend 

was found for doves seen in the Eastern 

and Central Units while a significant 

decline was indicated for the Western 

Unit. The preliminary 2005 harvest 

estimate for the United States was 

22,149,900 doves. A banding project is 

under-way to obtain current information 

in order to develop mourning dove 

population models for each unit to 

provide guidance for improving our 

decision-making process with respect to 

harvest management. 

The two key States with a whitewinged dove population are Arizona 

and Texas. California and New Mexico 

have much smaller populations. In 

Arizona, the white-winged dove 

population showed a significant decline 

between 1962 and 2005. However, the 

number of whitewings has been fairly 

stable since the 1970s, but then showed 

an apparent decline since 2000. To 

adjust harvest with population size, the 

bag limits, season length, and shooting 

hours have been reduced over the years, 

most recently in 1988. In recent years, 

the decline is thought to be largely due 

to drought conditions in the State, along 

with declining production of cereal 

grains. Arizona is currently 

experiencing the greatest drought in 

recorded history. In 2006, the Call-count 

index was 24.7. According to HIP 

surveys, the 2005 harvest estimate was 

110,100. 

In Texas, white-winged doves are now 

found throughout most of the State. A 

comprehensive dataset for 2006 was not 

available at this time. However, in 2005, 

the whitewing population in Texas was 

estimated to be 2.8 million. The 

preliminary 2005 HIP harvest estimate 

was 1,095,100. 

In California, BBS data indicates that 

there has been a significant increase in 

the population between 1968 and 2005, 

while no trend was indicated over the 

most recent 10 years. According to HIP 

surveys, the preliminary harvest 

estimate for 2005 was 63,600. The longterm trend for whitewings in New 

Mexico also shows an increase, while 

there was no trend indicated over 10 

years. In 2005, the estimated harvest 

was 52,100. 

White-tipped doves are maintaining a 

relatively stable population in the 

Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas. They 

are most abundant in cities and, for the 

most part, are not available to hunting. 

New surveys were initiated in 2001. No 

2006 data were available at the time of 

this report. However, data from 1987–

2005 indicate an apparent slight 

increase over that time period. The 

count in 2005 averaged 0.95 birds per 

stop compared to 0.91 in 2004. The 

estimated harvest in 2005 from State 

surveys during the special 4-day 

whitewing season was about 1,300. 

Hunting Season Proposals From Indian 

Tribes and Organizations 

For the 2006–07 hunting season, we 

received requests from 26 Tribes and 

Indian organizations and 

communications from an additional 2 

Tribes from whom we expect to receive 

proposals. We actively solicit regulatory 

proposals from other tribal groups that 

are interested in working cooperatively 

for the benefit of waterfowl and other 

migratory game birds. We encourage 

Tribes to work with us to develop 

agreements for management of 

migratory bird resources on tribal lands. 

It should be noted that this proposed 

rule includes generalized regulations for 

both early- and late-season hunting. A 

final rule will be published in a midAugust 2006 Federal Register that will 

include tribal regulations for the earlyhunting season. 

The early season generally begins on 

September 1 each year and most 

commonly includes such species as 

American woodcock, sandhill cranes, 

mourning doves, and white-winged 

doves. A final rule will also be 

published in the Federal Register in 

September 2006 that will include 

regulations for late-season hunting. The 

late season begins on or around 

September 24 and most commonly 

includes waterfowl species. 

In this current rulemaking, because of 

the compressed timeframe for 

establishing regulations for Indian 

Tribes and because final frameworks 

dates and other specific information are 

not available, the regulations for many 

tribal hunting seasons are described in 

relation to the season dates, season 

length, and limits that will be permitted 

when final Federal frameworks are 

announced for early- and late-season 

regulations. For example, daily bag and 

possession limits for ducks on some 

areas are shown as the same as 

permitted in Pacific Flyway States 

under final Federal frameworks, and 

limits for geese will be shown as the 

same permitted by the State(s) in which 

the tribal hunting area is located. 

The proposed frameworks for earlyseason regulations were published in 

the Federal Register on July 28, 2006 

(71 FR 43008); early-season final 

frameworks will be published in midAugust. Proposed late-season 

frameworks for waterfowl and coots will 

be published in mid-August, and the 

final frameworks for the late seasons 

will be published in mid-September. We 

will notify affected Tribes of season 

dates, bag limits, etc., as soon as final 

frameworks are established. As 

previously discussed, no action is 

required by Tribes wishing to observe 

migratory bird hunting regulations 

established by the State(s) where they 

are located. The proposed regulations 

for the 26 Tribes that have submitted 

proposals that meet the established 

criteria and an additional 2 Tribes from 

whom we expect to receive proposals 

are shown below. 

(a) Colorado River Indian Tribes, 

Colorado River Indian Reservation, 

Parker, Arizona (Tribal Members and 

Nontribal Hunters) 

The Colorado River Indian 

Reservation is located in Arizona and 

California. The Tribes own almost all 

lands on the reservation, and have full 

wildlife management authority. 

In their 2006–07 proposal, the 

Colorado River Indian Tribes requested 

split dove seasons. They propose their 

early season begin September 1 and end 

September 15, 2006. Daily bag limits 

would be 10 mourning or white-winged 

doves in the aggregate. The late season 

for doves is proposed to open November 

11, 2006, and close December 25, 2006. 

The daily bag limit would be 10 

mourning doves. The possession limit 

would be twice the daily bag limit. 

Shooting hours would be from one-half 

hour before sunrise to noon in the early 

season and until sunset in the late 

season. Other special tribally set 

regulations would apply. 

The Tribes also propose duck hunting 

seasons. The season would open 

October 14, 2006, and run until January 

28, 2007. The Tribes propose the same 

season dates for mergansers, coots, and 

common moorhens. The daily bag limit 

for ducks, including mergansers, would 

be seven, except that the daily bag limits 

could contain no more than two hen 

mallards, two redheads, two Mexican 

ducks, two goldeneye, three scaup, and 

two cinnamon teal. The seasons on 

canvasback and pintail are closed. The 

possession limit would be twice the 

daily bag limit after the first day of the 

season. The daily bag and possession 

limit for coots and common moorhens 

would be 25, singly or in the aggregate. 

For geese, the Colorado River Indian 

Tribes propose a season of October 21, 

2006, through January 28, 2007. The 

daily bag limit for geese would be three 

light geese and three dark geese. The 

possession limit would be six light 

geese and six dark geese after opening 

day. 


hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 159 / Thursday, August 17, 2006 / Proposed Rules 47465 

In 1996, the Tribe conducted a 

detailed assessment of dove hunting. 

Results showed approximately 16,100 

mourning doves and 13,600 whitewinged doves were harvested by 

approximately 2,660 hunters who 

averaged 1.45 hunter-days. Field 

observations and permit sales indicate 

that fewer than 200 hunters participate 

in waterfowl seasons. Under the 

proposed regulations described here 

and, based upon past seasons, we and 

the Tribes estimate harvest will be 

similar. 

Hunters must have a valid Colorado 

River Indian Reservation hunting permit 

in their possession while hunting. Other 

special tribally set regulations would 

apply. As in the past, the regulations 

would apply both to tribal and nontribal hunters, and nontoxic shot is 

required for waterfowl hunting. 

We propose to approve the Colorado 

River Indian Tribes regulations for the 

2006–07 hunting season. 

(b) Confederated Salish and Kootenai 

Tribes, Flathead Indian Reservation, 

Pablo, Montana (Tribal and Nontribal 

Hunters) 

For the past several years, the 

Confederated Salish and Kootenai 

Tribes and the State of Montana have 

entered into cooperative agreements for 

the regulation of hunting on the 

Flathead Indian Reservation. The State 

and the Tribes are currently operating 

under a cooperative agreement signed in 

1990 that addresses fishing and hunting 

management and regulation issues of 

mutual concern. This agreement enables 

all hunters to utilize waterfowl hunting 

opportunities on the reservation. 

As in the past, tribal regulations for 

nontribal hunters would be at least as 

restrictive as those established for the 

Pacific Flyway portion of Montana. 

Goose season dates would also be at 

least as restrictive as those established 

for the Pacific Flyway portion of 

Montana. Shooting hours for waterfowl 

hunting on the Flathead Reservation are 

sunrise to sunset. Steel shot or other 

federally approved nontoxic shots are 

the only legal shotgun loads on the 

reservation for waterfowl or other game 

birds. 

For tribal members the Tribe proposes 

outside frameworks for ducks and geese 

of September 1, 2006, through March 9, 

2007. Daily bag and possession limits 

were not proposed for tribal members. 

The requested season dates and bag 

limits are similar to past regulations. 

Harvest levels are not expected to 

change significantly. Standardized 

check station data from the 1993–94 and 

1994–95 hunting seasons indicated no 

significant changes in harvest levels and 

that the large majority of the harvest is 

by non-tribal hunters. 

We propose to approve the Tribes’

request for special migratory bird 

regulations for the 2006–07 hunting 

season. 

(c) Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, Crow Creek 

Indian Reservation, Fort Thompson, 

South Dakota (Tribal Members and 

Nontribal Hunters) 

The Crow Creek Indian Reservation 

has a checkerboard pattern of land 

ownership, with much of the land 

owned by non-Indians. Since the 1993–

94 season, the Tribe has selected special 

waterfowl hunting regulations 

independent of the State of South 

Dakota. The Tribe observes migratory 

bird hunting regulations contained in 50 

CFR part 20. 

We have not yet received the Tribe’s 

2006 proposal. We assume the Tribe 

will request a duck and merganser 

season of October 1 to December 12, 

2006, with a daily bag limit of six ducks, 

including no more than five mallards 

(only two of which may be hens), two 

redheads, two wood ducks, and three 

scaup. The merganser daily bag limit 

would be five and include no more than 

one hooded merganser. The daily bag 

limit for coots would be 15. We assume 

the pintail and canvasback season 

would run from October 1 to November 

9, 2006, with a daily bag limit of one 

pintail and one canvasback. 

For Canada geese, we assume the 

Tribe will propose an October 15, 2006, 

to January 17, 2007, season with a threebird daily bag limit. For white-fronted 

geese, we assume the Tribe will propose 

a September 24 to December 18, 2006, 

season with a daily bag limit of two. For 

snow geese, we assume the Tribe will 

propose a September 24, 2006, to 

December 29, 2006, season with a daily 

bag limit of 20. 

Similar to the last several years, we 

assume the Tribe will also request a 

sandhill crane season from September 

10 to October 16, 2006, with a daily bag 

limit of three. We assume the Tribe will 

propose a mourning dove season from 

September 1 to October 30, 2006, with 

a daily bag limit of 15. 

In all cases, except snow geese, the 

possession limits would be twice the 

daily bag limit. There would be no 

possession limit for snow geese. 

Shooting hours would be from one-half 

hour before sunrise to sunset. 

We assume the season and bag limits 

would be essentially the same as last 

year and as such, the Tribe would 

expect similar harvest. In 1994–95, duck 

harvest was 48 birds, down from 67 in 

1993–94. Goose harvest during recent 

past seasons has been less than 100 

geese. Total harvest on the reservation 

in 2000 was estimated to be 179 ducks 

and 868 geese. 

The Service proposes to approve the 

request for special migratory bird 

hunting regulations for the Crow Creek 

Sioux Tribe upon receipt of their special 

migratory bird hunting proposal. We 

also remind the Tribe that all sandhill 

crane hunters are required to obtain a 

Federal sandhill crane permit. As such, 

the Tribe should contact us for further 

information on obtaining the needed 

permits. In addition, as with all other 

groups, we request the Tribe continue to 

survey and report harvest. 

(d) Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior 

Chippewa Indians, Cloquet, Minnesota 

(Tribal Members Only) 

Since 1996, the Service and the Fond 

du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa 

Indians have cooperated to establish 

special migratory bird hunting 

regulations for tribal members. The 

Fond du Lac’s May 29, 2006, proposal 

covers land set apart for the band under 

the Treaties of 1837 and 1854 in 

northeast and east-central Minnesota. 

The band’s proposal for 2006–07 is 

essentially the same as that approved 

last year. Specifically, the Fond du Lac 

Band proposes a September 15 to 

December 3, 2006, season on ducks, 

mergansers, coots, and moorhens, and a 

September 1 to December 3, 2006, 

season for geese. For sora and Virginia 

rails, snipe, and woodcock, the Fond du 

Lac Band proposes a September 1 to 

December 3, 2006, season. The band 

proposes a September 1 to October 30, 

2006, season for mourning doves. 

Proposed daily bag limits would consist 

of the following: 

Ducks: 18 ducks, including no more 

than 12 mallards (only 6 of which may 

be hens), 3 black ducks, 6 scaup, 4 wood 

ducks, 6 redheads, 3 pintails, and 3 

canvasbacks. 

Mergansers: 15 mergansers, including 

no more than 3 hooded mergansers. 

Geese: 12 geese. 

Coots and Common Moorhens 

(Common Gallinules): 20 coots and 

common moorhens, singly or in the 

aggregate. 

Sora and Virginia Rails: 25 sora and 

Virginia rails, singly or in the aggregate. 

Common Snipe: Eight common snipe. 

Woodcock: Three woodcock. 

Mourning dove: 30 mourning dove. 

The following general conditions 

apply: 

1. While hunting waterfowl, a tribal 

member must carry on his/her person a 

valid Ceded Territory License. 

2. Shooting hours for migratory birds 

are one-half hour before sunrise to onehalf hour after sunset. 


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47466 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 159 / Thursday, August 17, 2006 / Proposed Rules 

3. Except as otherwise noted, tribal 

members will be required to comply 

with tribal codes that will be no less 

restrictive than the provisions of 

Chapter 10 of the Model Off-Reservation 

Code. Except as modified by the Service 

rules adopted in response to this 

proposal, these amended regulations 

parallel Federal requirements in 50 CFR 

part 20 as to hunting methods, 

transportation, sale, exportation, and 

other conditions generally applicable to 

migratory bird hunting. 

4. Band members in each zone will 

comply with State regulations providing 

for closed and restricted waterfowl 

hunting areas. 

5. There are no possession limits on 

any species, unless otherwise noted 

above. For purposes of enforcing bag 

limits, all migratory birds in the 

possession or custody of band members 

on ceded lands will be considered to 

have been taken on those lands unless 

tagged by a tribal or State conservation 

warden as having been taken onreservation. All migratory birds that fall 

on reservation lands will not count as 

part of any off-reservation bag or 

possession limit. 

The band anticipates harvest will be 

fewer than 500 ducks and geese. 

We propose to approve the request for 

special migratory bird hunting 

regulations for the Fond du Lac Band of 

Lake Superior Chippewas. 

(e) Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and 

Chippewa Indians, Suttons Bay, 

Michigan (Tribal Members Only) 

In the 1995–96 migratory bird 

seasons, the Grand Traverse Band of 

Ottawa and Chippewa Indians and the 

Service first cooperated to establish 

special regulations for waterfowl. The 

Grand Traverse Band is a self-governing, 

federally recognized Tribe located on 

the west arm of Grand Traverse Bay in 

Leelanau County, Michigan. The Grand 

Traverse Band is a signatory Tribe of the 

Treaty of 1836. We have approved 

special regulations for tribal members of 

the 1836 treaty’s signatory Tribes on 

ceded lands in Michigan since the 

1986–87 hunting season. 

For the 2006–07 season, the Tribe 

requests that the tribal member duck 

season run from September 22, 2006, 

through January 21, 2007. A daily bag 

limit of 12 would include no more than 

2 pintail, 2 canvasback, 1 hooded 

merganser, 3 black ducks, 3 wood 

ducks, 3 redheads, and 6 mallards (only 

3 of which may be hens). 

For Canada and snow geese, the Tribe 

proposes a September 1 through 

November 30, 2006, and a January 1 

through February 8, 2007, season. For 

white-fronted geese and brant, the Tribe 

proposes a September 20 through 

November 30, 2006, season. The daily 

bag limit for all geese (including brant) 

would be five birds. Based on our 

information, it is unlikely that any 

Canada geese from the Southern James 

Bay Population will be harvested by the 

Tribe. 

For woodcock, the Tribe proposes a 

September 1 through November 14, 

2006, season. The daily bag limit will 

not exceed five birds. For mourning 

doves, snipe and rails, the Tribe 

proposes a September 1 through 

November 14, 2006, season. The daily 

bag limit would be 10 per species. 

All other Federal regulations 

contained in 50 CFR part 20 would 

apply. The Tribe proposes to monitor 

harvest closely through game bag 

checks, patrols, and mail surveys. 

Harvest surveys from the 2005–06 

hunting season indicated that 

approximately 15 tribal hunters 

harvested an estimated 80 ducks and 35 

Canada geese. 

We propose to approve the Grand 

Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa 

Indians requested 2006–07 special 

migratory bird hunting regulations. 

(f) Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife 

Commission, Odanah, Wisconsin (Tribal 

Members Only) 

Since 1985, various bands of the Lake 

Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians 

have exercised judicially recognized offreservation hunting rights for migratory 

birds in Wisconsin. The specific 

regulations were established by the 

Service in consultation with the 

Wisconsin Department of Natural 

Resources and the Great Lakes Indian 

Fish and Wildlife Commission 

(GLIFWC, which represents the various 

bands). Beginning in 1986, a tribal 

season on ceded lands in the western 

portion of the State’s Upper Peninsula 

was developed in coordination with the 

Michigan Department of Natural 

Resources, and we have approved 

special regulations for tribal members in 

both Michigan and Wisconsin since the 

1986–87 hunting season. In 1987, the 

GLIFWC requested, and we approved, 

special regulations to permit tribal 

members to hunt on ceded lands in 

Minnesota, as well as in Michigan and 

Wisconsin. The States of Michigan and 

Wisconsin originally concurred with the 

regulations, although Wisconsin has 

raised concerns in the past and 

Michigan now annually raises 

objections. Minnesota did not concur 

with the original regulations, stressing 

that the State would not recognize 

Chippewa Indian hunting rights in 

Minnesota’s treaty area until a court 

with jurisdiction over the State 

acknowledges and defines the extent of 

these rights. We acknowledge all of the 

States’ concerns, but point out that the 

U.S. Government has recognized the 

Indian hunting rights decided in the Lac 

Courte Oreilles v. State of Wisconsin 

(Voigt) case, and that acceptable hunting 

regulations have been negotiated 

successfully in both Michigan and 

Wisconsin even though the Voigt 

decision did not specifically address 

ceded land outside Wisconsin. We 

believe this is appropriate because the 

treaties in question cover ceded lands in 

Michigan (and Minnesota), as well as in 

Wisconsin. 

Consequently, in view of the above, 

we have approved special regulations 

since the 1987–88 hunting season on 

ceded lands in all three States. In fact, 

this recognition of the principle of 

reserved treaty rights for band members 

to hunt and fish was pivotal in our 

decision to approve a special 1991–92 

season for the 1836 ceded area in 

Michigan. 

For 2006, the GLIFWC proposed offreservation special migratory bird 

hunting regulations on behalf of the 

member Tribes of the Voigt Intertribal 

Task Force of the GLIFWC (for the 1837 

and 1842 Treaty areas) and the Bay 

Mills Indian Community (for the 1836 

Treaty area). Member Tribes of the Task 

Force are: The Bad River Band of the 

Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa 

Indians, the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of 

Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, the 

Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior 

Chippewa Indians, the Red Cliff Band of 

Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, the St. 

Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin, 

the Sokaogon Chippewa Community 

(Mole Lake Band), all in Wisconsin; the 

Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians in 

Minnesota; and the Lac Vieux Desert 

Band of Chippewa Indians and the 

Keweenaw Bay Indian Community in 

Michigan. 

The GLIFWC 2006 proposal is 

generally similar to last year’s 

regulations, except that it includes 

significantly increased bag limits for 

most species in the 1837 and 1842 

Treaty Areas, and it proposes to remove 

the restriction on waterfowl baiting. 

More specifically, the proposal includes 

increasing the daily bag limit for ducks, 

geese, and mergansers in the 1837 and 

1842 Treaty Areas to 40, 20, and 10 

birds, respectively (from 20, 10, and 5 

birds in 2005, respectively), and 

increasing the daily bag limit for coots 

and common moorhens to 40 (from 20 

in 2005) in the same areas. The proposal 

also calls for increasing the daily bag 

limit for snipe, woodcock, and 

mourning doves to 16, 10, and 30 birds, 

respectively (from 8, 5, and 15 birds in 


hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 159 / Thursday, August 17, 2006 / Proposed Rules 47467 

2005, respectively), in the 1837 and 

1842 Treaty Areas. Lastly, the proposal 

does reduce the daily bag limit for rails 

from 25 to 20 birds. Regarding baiting, 

in an effort to increase hunter 

participation, the GLIFWC proposal 

would remove the restrictions on the 

baiting of waterfowl in the 1837 and 

1842 Treaty Areas. 

Under the GLIFWC proposed 

regulations, GLIFWC expects harvest to 

increase with their proposed more 

liberal bag limits and removal of the 

restrictions on baiting in the 1837 and 

1842 Treaty Areas. The GLIFWC states 

that although it is expected these 

proposed changes will increase harvest, 

it is difficult to anticipate to what 

degree that may occur, as harvest will 

continue to be limited by the number of 

hunters, their opportunity to hunt, their 

personal interest in baiting, the strength 

of the fall flight, weather conditions, 

and other factors. Given these factors, 

the Tribe expects harvest would likely 

remain below 5,000 ducks and 1,000 

geese. 

The issue of baiting for migratory 

game bird hunting is highly 

controversial, highly debated, and 

complex regulations govern and define 

what is and what is not allowed when 

hunting migratory game birds. Baiting, 

the luring or attracting of migratory 

game birds to hunters by placing or 

scattering salt, grain, or other feed was 

Federally prohibited in 1935 because of 

its effectiveness in aiding the harvest of 

migratory birds and is not considered a 

legitimate component of hunting. Since 

their establishment, baiting regulations 

have been a focal point of many 

regulatory, ethical, and conservationoriented discussions. Amendments to 

baiting regulations have occurred 

relatively infrequently since the 1940s. 

However, in 1999, the migratory bird 

baiting regulations were revised to 

clarify the current regulations and to 

provide a framework for sound 

migratory bird habitat management, 

normal agricultural activities, and other 

management practices as they relate to 

lawful migratory game bird hunting 

(Federal Register 64 FR 29799). 

Given the fact that tribal waterfowl 

hunting covered by this proposal would 

occur on ceded lands that are not in the 

ownership of the Tribes, we believe the 

use of bait to take waterfowl would lead 

to confusion and frustration on the part 

of the public, hunters, wildlifemanagement agencies, and law 

enforcement officials due to the 

inherent difficulties of different sets of 

baiting regulations for different areas 

and groups of hunters. Currently, the 

baiting regulations differentiate between 

waterfowl species and other migratory 

game birds, such as doves and pigeons. 

Some agricultural management practices 

that are allowed in connection with 

dove hunting are not allowed when 

hunting waterfowl. To create an 

additional division between tribal 

members on ceded lands and the rest of 

the general hunting public would only 

further complicate the regulations and 

confuse the public. Moreover, the 

allowance of baiting for tribal hunting 

on ceded lands would make those lands 

and other adjacent areas off-limits to 

waterfowl hunting. 

Recent GLIFWC harvest surveys 

(1996–98, 2001, and 2004) indicate that 

tribal off-reservation waterfowl harvest 

has averaged less than 1,000 ducks and 

120 geese annually. In the latest survey 

year (2004), an estimated 53 hunters 

took an estimated 421 trips and 

harvested 645 ducks (1.5 ducks per trip) 

and 84 geese (0.2 geese per trip). 

Further, in the last five years of harvest 

surveys, only one hunter reported 

harvesting 20 ducks in a single day. 

Analysis of hunter survey data over the 

period in question (1996–2004) 

indicates a general downward trend in 

both harvest and hunter participation. 

Given the above information, we 

believe that the regulations advanced by 

the GLIFWC for the 2006–07 hunting 

season are not in the best interests of the 

Service, the GLIFWC, the general 

public, or the migratory bird resource. 

While we acknowledge that tribal 

harvest and participation has declined 

in recent years, we are not of the 

opinion that allowing baiting is the best 

way to increase Tribal hunter 

participation. As we stated above, 

removing the present restrictions on 

waterfowl baiting would only lead to 

confusion and frustration on the part of 

the public, hunters, wildlifemanagement agencies, and law 

enforcement officials due to the 

inherent difficulties of different sets of 

baiting regulations for different areas 

and groups of hunters, especially on 

ceded lands that are not in the 

ownership of the Tribes. 

Furthermore, we do not support the 

GLIFWC’s proposal for significantly 

increased daily bag limits for most 

species in the 1837 and 1842 Treaty 

Areas. Based on the GLIFWC’s own 

harvest data, present daily bag limits do 

not appear to be a hindrance or limiting 

factor for Tribal harvest. Until we are 

presented information otherwise, we 

cannot support increasing daily bag 

limits for waterfowl, coots and common 

moorhens, and mourning doves to the 

extent GLIFWC has proposed. We do, 

however, support the proposals for 

increasing the daily bag limits for 

mergansers, snipe, and woodcock in the 

1837 and 1842 Treaty Areas to bring 

them more in line with current GLIFWC 

daily bag limits for ducks and geese. In 

addition, the Service is willing to meet 

with the GLIFWC to explore possible 

ways to increase tribal participation in 

migratory bird hunting opportunities. 

Finally, we continue to request that the 

GLIFWC closely monitor the member 

bands’ harvest and take any actions 

necessary to reduce harvest if locally 

nesting populations are being 

significantly impacted. 

The Commission and the Service are 

parties to a Memorandum of Agreement 

(MOA) designed to facilitate the ongoing 

enforcement of Service-approved tribal 

migratory bird regulations. Its intent is 

to provide long-term cooperative 

application. 

Also, as in recent seasons, the 

proposal contains references to Chapter 

10 of the Migratory Bird Harvesting 

Regulations of the Model OffReservation Conservation Code. Chapter 

10 regulations parallel State and Federal 

regulations and, in effect, are not 

changed by this proposal. 

The proposed 2006–07 waterfowl 

hunting season regulations for GLIFWC 

are as follows: 

Ducks 

A. Wisconsin and Minnesota 1837 

and 1842 Treaty Areas: 

Season Dates: Begin September 15 

and end December 1, 2006. 

Daily Bag Limit: 20 ducks, including 

no more than 10 mallards (only 5 of 

which may be hens), 4 black ducks, 4 

redheads, 4 pintails, and 2 canvasbacks. 

B. Michigan 1836 Treaty Area: 

Season Dates: Begin September 15 

and end December 1, 2006. 

Daily Bag Limit: 10 ducks, including 

no more than 5 mallards (only 2 of 

which may be hens), 2 black ducks, 2 

redheads, 2 pintails, and 1 canvasback. 

Mergansers 

A. Wisconsin and Minnesota 1837 

and 1842 Treaty Areas: 

Season Dates: Begin September 15 

and end December 1, 2006. 

Daily Bag Limit: 10 mergansers. 

B. Michigan 1836 Treaty Area: 

Season Dates: Begin September 15 

and end December 1, 2006. 

Daily Bag Limit: Five mergansers. 

Geese: All Ceded Areas: 

Season Dates: Begin September 1 and 

end December 1, 2006. In addition, any 

portion of the ceded territory that is 

open to State-licensed hunters for goose 

hunting after December 1 will also be 

open concurrently for tribal members. 

Daily Bag Limit: 10 geese in aggregate. 


hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with PROPOSALS
47468 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 159 / Thursday, August 17, 2006 / Proposed Rules 

Other Migratory Birds 

A. Coots and Common Moorhens 

(Common Gallinules): 

Season Dates: Begin September 15 

and end December 1, 2006. 

Daily Bag Limit: 20 coots and 

common moorhens (common 

gallinules), singly or in the aggregate. 

B. Sora and Virginia Rails: 

Season Dates: Begin September 15 

and end December 1, 2006. 

Daily Bag Limit: 20 sora and Virginia 

rails, singly or in the aggregate. 

Possession Limit: 25. 

C. Common Snipe: 

Season Dates: Begin September 15 

and end December 1, 2006. 

Daily Bag Limit: 16 common snipe in 

the 1837 and 1842 Treaty Areas; and 8, 

in the 1836 Treaty Area. 

D. Woodcock: 

Season Dates: Begin September 5 and 

end December 1, 2006. 

Daily Bag Limit: 10 woodcock in the 

1837 and 1842 Treaty Areas; and 5, in 

the 1836 Treaty Area. 

E. Mourning Dove: 1837 and 1842 

Ceded Territories. 

Season Dates: Begin September 1 and 

end October 30, 2006. 

Daily Bag Limit: 15. 

General Conditions 

A. All tribal members will be required 

to obtain a valid tribal waterfowl 

hunting permit. 

B. Except as otherwise noted, tribal 

members will be required to comply 

with tribal codes that will be no less 

restrictive than the model ceded 

territory conservation codes approved 

by Federal courts in the Lac Courte 

Oreilles v. State of Wisconsin (Voigt) 

and Mille Lacs Band v. State of 

Minnesota cases. Chapter 10 in each of 

these model codes regulates ceded 

territory migratory bird hunting. Both 

versions of Chapter 10 parallel Federal 

requirements as to hunting methods, 

transportation, sale, exportation and 

other conditions generally applicable to 

migratory bird hunting. They also 

automatically incorporate by reference 

the Federal migratory bird regulations 

adopted in response to this proposal. 

C. Particular regulations of note 

include: 

1. Nontoxic shot will be required for 

all off-reservation waterfowl hunting by 

tribal members. 

2. Tribal members in each zone will 

comply with tribal regulations 

providing for closed and restricted 

waterfowl hunting areas. These 

regulations generally incorporate the 

same restrictions contained in parallel 

State regulations. 

3. Possession limits for each species 

are double the daily bag limit, except on 

the opening day of the season, when the 

possession limit equals the daily bag 

limit, unless otherwise noted above. 

Possession limits are applicable only to 

transportation and do not include birds 

that are cleaned, dressed, and at a 

member’s primary residence. For 

purposes of enforcing bag and 

possession limits, all migratory birds in 

the possession and custody of tribal 

members on ceded lands will be 

considered to have been taken on those 

lands unless tagged by a tribal or State 

conservation warden as taken on 

reservation lands. All migratory birds 

that fall on reservation lands will not 

count as part of any off-reservation bag 

or possession limit. 

4. The baiting restrictions included in 

the respective sections 10.05(2)(h) of the 

model ceded territory conservation 

codes will be amended to include 

language which parallels that in place 

for non-tribal members as published in 

64 FR 29799, June 3, 1999. 

5. The shell limit restrictions 

included in the respective sections 

10.05 (2)(b) of the model ceded territory 

conservation codes will be removed. 

D. Michigan—Duck Blinds and 

Decoys. Tribal members hunting in 

Michigan will comply with tribal codes 

that contain provisions parallel to 

Michigan law regarding duck blinds and 

decoys. 

(g) Jicarilla Apache Tribe, Jicarilla 

Indian Reservation, Dulce, New Mexico 

(Tribal Members and Nontribal Hunters) 

The Jicarilla Apache Tribe has had 

special migratory bird hunting 

regulations for tribal members and 

nonmembers since the 1986–87 hunting 

season. The Tribe owns all lands on the 

reservation and has recognized full 

wildlife management authority. In 

general, the proposed seasons would be 

more conservative than allowed by the 

Federal frameworks of last season and 

by States in the Pacific Flyway. 

The Tribe proposed a 2006–07 

waterfowl and Canada goose season 

beginning with the earliest possible 

opening date in the Pacific Flyway 

States, October 7, 2006, and a closing 

date of November 30, 2006. Daily bag 

and possession limits for waterfowl 

would be the same as Pacific Flyway 

States. The Tribe proposes a daily bay 

limit for Canada geese of two. Other 

regulations specific to the Pacific 

Flyway guidelines for New Mexico 

would be in effect. 

During the Jicarilla Game and Fish 

Department’s 2005–06 season, estimated 

duck harvest was 606, which is within 

the historical harvest range. The species 

composition in the past has included 

mainly mallards, gadwall, wigeon, and 

teal. Northern pintail comprised 1 

percent of the total harvest in 2004. The 

estimated harvest of geese was 12 birds. 

The proposed regulations are 

essentially the same as were established 

last year. The Tribe anticipates the 

maximum 2006–07 waterfowl harvest 

would be around 500–750 ducks and 

10–25 geese. 

We propose to approve the Tribe’s 

requested 2006–07 hunting seasons. 

(h) Kalispel Tribe, Kalispel Reservation, 

Usk, Washington (Tribal Members and 

Nontribal Hunters) 

The Kalispel Reservation was 

established by Executive Order in 1914, 

and currently comprises approximately 

4,600 acres. The Tribe owns all 

Reservation land and has full 

management authority. The Kalispel 

Tribe has a fully developed wildlife 

program with hunting and fishing 

codes. The Tribe enjoys excellent 

wildlife management relations with the 

State. The Tribe and the State have an 

operational Memorandum of 

Understanding with emphasis on 

fisheries but also for wildlife. 

The nontribal member seasons 

described below pertain to a 176-acre 

waterfowl management unit and 800 

acres of reservation land with a guide 

for waterfowl hunting. The Tribe is 

utilizing this opportunity to rehabilitate 

an area that needs protection because of 

past land use practices, as well as to 

provide additional waterfowl hunting in 

the area. Beginning in 1996, the 

requested regulations also included a 

proposal for Kalispel-member-only 

migratory bird hunting on Kalispelceded lands within Washington, 

Montana, and Idaho. 

For the 2006–07 migratory bird 

hunting seasons, the Kalispel Tribe 

proposed tribal and nontribal member 

waterfowl seasons. The Tribe requests 

that both duck and goose seasons open 

at the earliest possible date and close on 

the latest date under Federal 

frameworks. 

For nontribal hunters, the Tribe 

requests that the season for ducks begin 

September 23, 2006, and end January 

31, 2007. In that period, nontribal 

hunters would be allowed to hunt 

approximately 101 days. Hunters should 

obtain further information on specific 

hunt days from the Kalispel Tribe. 

The Tribe also requests the season for 

geese run from September 1 to 

September 17, 2006, and from October 

1, 2006, to January 31, 2007. Total 

number of days would not exceed 107. 

Nontribal hunters should obtain further 

information on specific hunt days from 

the Tribe. Daily bag and possession 


hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 159 / Thursday, August 17, 2006 / Proposed Rules 47469 

limits would be the same as those for 

the State of Washington. 

The Tribe reports a 2005–06 nontribal 

harvest of 80 ducks and 0 geese. Under 

the proposal, the Tribe expects harvest 

to be similar to last year and less than 

100 geese and 200 ducks. 

All other State and Federal 

regulations contained in 50 CFR part 20, 

such as use of nontoxic shot and 

possession of a signed migratory bird 

hunting stamp, would be required. 

For tribal members on Kalispel-ceded 

lands, the Kalispel propose outside 

frameworks for ducks and geese of 

September 1, 2006, through January 31, 

2007. The Tribe requests that both duck 

and goose seasons open at the earliest 

possible date and close on the latest 

date under Federal frameworks. 

However, during that period, the Tribe 

proposes that the season run 

continuously. Daily bag and possession 

limits would be concurrent with the 

Federal rule. 

The Tribe reports that there was no 

2004–05 tribal harvest. Under the 

proposal, the Tribe expects harvest to be 

less than 500 birds for the season with 

less than 200 geese. Tribal members 

would be required to possess a signed 

Federal migratory bird stamp and a 

tribal ceded lands permit. 

We propose to approve the 

regulations requested by the Kalispel 

Tribe, provided that the nontribal 

seasons conform to Treaty limitations 

and final Federal frameworks for the 

Pacific Flyway. All seasons for nontribal 

hunters must conform with the 107-day 

maximum season length established by 

the Treaty. 

(i) Klamath Tribe, Chiloquin, Oregon 

(Tribal Members Only) 

The Klamath Tribe currently has no 

reservation, per se. However, the 

Klamath Tribe has reserved hunting, 

fishing, and gathering rights within its 

former reservation boundary. This area 

of former reservation, granted to the 

Klamaths by the Treaty of 1864, is over 

1 million acres. Tribal natural resource 

management authority is derived from 

the Treaty of 1864, and carried out 

cooperatively under the judicially 

enforced Consent Decree of 1981. The 

parties to this Consent Decree are the 

Federal Government, the State of 

Oregon, and the Klamaths. The Klamath 

Indian Game Commission sets the 

seasons. The tribal biological staff and 

tribal Regulatory Enforcement Officers 

monitor tribal harvest by frequent bag 

checks and hunter interviews. 

For the 2006–07 season, the Tribe 

requests proposed season dates of 

October 1, 2006, through January 28, 

2007. Daily bag limits would be nine for 

ducks and six for geese, with possession 

limits twice the daily bag limit. The 

daily bag and possession limit for coots 

would be 25. Shooting hours would be 

one-half hour before sunrise to one-half 

hour after sunset. Steel shot is required. 

Based on the number of birds 

produced in the Klamath Basin, this 

year’s harvest would be similar to last 

year’s. Information on tribal harvest 

suggests that more than 70 percent of 

the annual goose harvest is local birds 

produced in the Klamath Basin. 

We propose to approve the Klamath 

Tribe’s requested 2006–07 special 

migratory bird hunting regulations. 

(j) Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, Cass 

Lake, Minnesota (Tribal Members Only) 

The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe is a 

federally recognized Tribe located in 

Cass Lake, Minnesota. The reservation 

employs conservation officers to enforce 

conservation regulations. The Service 

and the Tribe have cooperatively 

established migratory bird hunting 

regulations since 2000. 

For the 2006–07 season, the Tribe 

requests a duck season starting on 

September 23 and ending December 31, 

2006, and a goose season to run from 

September 1 through December 31, 

2006. Daily bag limits for both ducks 

and geese would be 20. Possession 

limits would be twice the daily bag 

limit. Shooting hours are one-half hour 

before sunrise to one-half hour after 

sunset. 

The annual harvest by tribal members 

on the Leech Lake Reservation is 

estimated at 500–1,000 birds. 

We propose to approve the Leech 

Lake Band of Ojibwe’s special migratory 

bird hunting season. 

(k) Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, 

Manistee, Michigan (Tribal Members 

Only) 

The Little River Band of Ottawa 

Indians is a self-governing, federally 

recognized Tribe located in Manistee, 

Michigan, and a signatory Tribe of the 

Treaty of 1836. We have approved 

special regulations for tribal members of 

the 1836 treaty’s signatory Tribes on 

ceded lands in Michigan since the 

1986–87 hunting season. Ceded lands 

are located in Lake, Mason, Manistee, 

and Wexford Counties. 

For the 2006–07 season, the Little 

River Band of Ottawa Indians proposes 

a duck and merganser season from 

September 15, 2006, through January 20, 

2007. A daily bag limit of 12 ducks 

would include no more than 2 pintail, 

2 canvasback, 3 black duck, 3 wood 

ducks, 3 redheads, 6 mallards (only 3 of 

which may be a hen), and 1 hooded 

merganser. Possession limits would be 

twice the daily bag limit. 

For white-fronted geese, snow geese, 

and brant, the Tribe proposes a 

September 20 through November 30, 

2006, season. Daily bag limits would be 

five geese. 

For Canada geese only, the Tribe 

proposes a September 1, 2006, through 

February 8, 2007, season with a daily 

bag limit of five Canada geese. The 

possession limit would be twice the 

daily bag limit. 

For snipe, woodcock, rails, and 

mourning doves, the Tribe proposes a 

September 1 to November 14, 2006, 

season. The daily bag limit would be 10 

common snipe, 5 woodcock, 10 rails, 

and 10 mourning doves. Possession 

limits for all species would be twice the 

daily bag limit. 

The Tribe monitored harvest through 

mail surveys. General Conditions were 

as follows: 

A. All tribal members will be required 

to obtain a valid tribal resource card and 

2006–07 hunting license. 

B. Except as modified by the Service 

rules adopted in response to this 

proposal, these amended regulations 

parallel all Federal regulations 

contained in 50 CFR part 20. 

C. Particular regulations of note 

include: 

(1) Nontoxic shot will be required for 

all waterfowl hunting by tribal 

members. 

(2) Tribal members in each zone will 

comply with tribal regulations 

providing for closed and restricted 

waterfowl hunting areas. These 

regulations generally incorporate the 

same restrictions contained in parallel 

State regulations. 

D. Tribal members hunting in 

Michigan will comply with tribal codes 

that contain provisions parallel to 

Michigan law regarding duck blinds and 

decoys. 

We propose to approve Little River 

Band of Ottawa Indians special 

migratory bird hunting seasons. 

(l) The Little Traverse Bay Bands of 

Odawa Indians, Petoskey, Michigan 

(Tribal Members Only) 

The Little Traverse Bay Bands of 

Odawa Indians is a self-governing, 

federally recognized Tribe located in 

Petoskey, Michigan, and a signatory 

Tribe of the Treaty of 1836. We have 

approved special regulations for tribal 

members of the 1836 treaty’s signatory 

Tribes on ceded lands in Michigan since 

the 1986–87 hunting season. 

For the 2006–07 season, the Little 

Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians 

propose regulations similar to those of 

other Tribes in the 1836 treaty area. The 


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tribal member duck, merganser, coot, 

and gallinule season would run from 

September 15, 2006, through January 20, 

2007. A daily bag limit of 12 would 

include no more than 2 pintail, 2 

canvasback, 1 hooded merganser, 3 

black ducks, 3 wood ducks, 3 redheads, 

and 6 mallards (only 3 of which may be 

hens). 

For Canada geese, the Tribe proposes 

a September 1, 2006, through February 

8, 2007, season. For white-fronted geese, 

brant, and snow geese, the Tribe 

proposes a September 1 through 

November 30, 2006, season. The daily 

bag limit for Canada geese would be 5 

birds, and for snow geese, brant, and 

white-fronted geese, 10 birds. Based on 

our information, it is unlikely that any 

Canada geese from the Southern James 

Bay Population would be harvested by 

the Tribe. Possession limits are twice 

the daily bag limit. 

For woodcock, the Tribe proposes a 

September 1, 2006, to November 14, 

2006, season. The daily bag limit will 

not exceed five birds. For snipe, 

mourning doves, and sora rail, the Tribe 

proposes a September 1 to November 

14, 2006, season. The daily bag limit 

will not exceed 10 birds per species. 

The possession limit will not exceed 

two days bag limit for all birds. All 

other Federal regulations contained in 

50 CFR part 20 would apply. 

The Tribe proposes to monitor harvest 

closely through game bag checks, 

patrols, and mail surveys. In particular, 

the Tribe proposes monitoring the 

harvest of Southern James Bay Canada 

geese to assess any impacts of tribal 

hunting on the population. 

We propose to approve the Little 

Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians’

requested 2006–07 special migratory 

bird hunting regulations. 

(m) Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, Lower 

Brule Reservation, Lower Brule, South 

Dakota (Tribal Members and Nontribal 

Hunters) 

The Lower Brule Sioux Tribe first 

established tribal migratory bird hunting 

regulations for the Lower Brule 

Reservation in 1994. The Lower Brule 

Reservation is about 214,000 acres in 

size and is located on and adjacent to 

the Missouri River, south of Pierre. Land 

ownership on the reservation is mixed, 

and until recently, the Lower Brule 

Tribe had full management authority 

over fish and wildlife via an MOA with 

the State of South Dakota. The MOA 

provided the Tribe jurisdiction over fish 

and wildlife on reservation lands, 

including deeded and Corps of 

Engineers-taken lands. For the 2006–07 

season, the two parties have come to an 

agreement that provides the public a 

clear understanding of the Lower Brule 

Sioux Wildlife Department license 

requirements and hunting season 

regulations. The Lower Brule 

Reservation waterfowl season is open to 

tribal and non-tribal hunters. 

For the 2006–07 migratory bird 

hunting season, the Lower Brule Sioux 

Tribe proposes a nontribal member 

duck, merganser, and coot season length 

of 97 days, the same number of days 

tentatively allowed under the liberal 

regulatory alternative in the High Plains 

Management Unit for this season. The 

Tribe proposes a season from October 

14, 2006, through January 19, 2007. For 

pintail only, the tribe proposes a season 

from October 21, 2006, through 

November 28, 2006. The daily bag limit 

would be six birds, including no more 

than five mallards (only one of which 

may be a hen), one pintail (only when 

the season is open), two redheads, two 

wood ducks, three scaup, and one 

mottled duck. The canvasback season 

for nontribal hunters is closed. The 

daily bag limit for mergansers would be 

five, only one of which could be a 

hooded merganser. The daily bag limit 

for coots would be 15. Possession limits 

would be twice the daily bag limits. The 

Tribe also proposes a youth waterfowl 

hunt on September 23–24, 2006, with 

the daily bag and possession limits the 

same as above. 

The Tribe’s proposed nontribal 

member Canada goose season would run 

from October 28, 2006, through January 

31, 2007 (95 day season length), with a 

daily bag limit of three Canada geese. 

The Tribe’s proposed nontribal member 

white-fronted goose season would run 

from October 7, 2006, through December 

31, 2006, with a daily bag limit of two 

white-fronted geese. The Tribe’s 

proposed nontribal member light goose 

season would run from October 14, 

2006, through January 16, 2007, and 

February 25 through March 10, 2007. 

The light goose daily bag limit would be 

20. Possession limits would be twice the 

daily bag limits. 

For tribal members, the Lower Brule 

Sioux Tribe proposes a duck, merganser, 

and coot season from September 30, 

2006, through March 10, 2007. The 

daily bag limit would be six birds, 

including no more than five mallards 

(only one of which may be a hen), one 

pintail, two redheads, one canvasback, 

two wood ducks, three scaup, and one 

mottled duck. The daily bag limit for 

mergansers would be five, only one of 

which could be a hooded merganser. 

The daily bag limit for coots would be 

15. Possession limits would be twice the 

daily bag limits. The Tribe also proposes 

a youth waterfowl hunt on September 

23–24, 2006, with the daily bag and 

possession limits the same as above. 

The Tribe’s proposed Canada goose 

season for tribal members would run 

from October 14, 2006, through March 

10, 2007, with a daily bag limit of three 

Canada geese. The Tribe’s proposed 

white-fronted goose tribal season would 

run from October 7, 2006, through 

March 10, 2007, with a daily bag limit 

of two white-fronted geese. The Tribe’s 

proposed light goose tribal season 

would run from October 14, 2006, 

through March 10, 2007. The light goose 

daily bag limit would be 20. Possession 

limits would be twice the daily bag 

limits. 

In the 2005–06 season, hunters 

harvested an estimated 760 geese and 96 

ducks. In the 2005–06 season, duck 

harvest species composition was 

primarily mallard (82 percent), greenwinged teal (9 percent), gadwall (2 

percent), blue-winged teal (7 percent), 

and wood duck (1 percent). 

Goose harvest species composition in 

2005–06 at Mni Sho Sho was 

approximately 83 percent Canada geese, 

15 percent snow geese, and 2 percent 

white-fronted geese. Harvest of geese 

harvested by other hunters was 

approximately 96 percent Canada geese 

and 4 percent snow geese. 

The Tribe anticipates a duck harvest 

similar to those of the previous three 

years and a goose harvest below the 

target harvest level of 3,000 to 4,000 

geese. All basic Federal regulations 

contained in 50 CFR part 20, including 

the use of steel shot, Migratory 

Waterfowl Hunting and Conservation 

Stamp, etc., would be observed by the 

Tribe’s proposed regulations. In 

addition, the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe 

has an official Conservation Code that 

was established by Tribal Council 

Resolution in June 1982 and updated in 

1996. 

We propose to approve the Tribe’s 

requested regulations for the Lower 

Brule Reservation. 

(n) Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, Port 

Angeles, Washington (Tribal Members 

Only) 

Since 1996, the Service and the Point 

No Point Treaty Tribes, of which Lower 

Elwha was one, have cooperated to 

establish special regulations for 

migratory bird hunting. The Tribes are 

now acting independently and the 

Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe would like 

to establish migratory bird hunting 

regulations for tribal members for the 

2005–2006 season. The Tribe has a 

reservation on the Olympic Peninsula in 

Washington State and is a successor to 

the signatories of the Treaty of Point No 

Point of 1855. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 159 / Thursday, August 17, 2006 / Proposed Rules 47471 

For the 2006–07 season, we have not 

yet heard from the Tribe. We assume the 

Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe will request 

a duck and coot season from September 

15, 2006, to December 30, 2006. The 

daily bag limit will be seven ducks 

including no more than two hen 

mallards, one pintail, one canvasback, 

and two redheads. The daily bag and 

possession limit on harlequin duck will 

be one per season. The coot daily bag 

limit will be 25. The possession limit 

will be twice the daily bag limit, except 

as noted above. 

For geese, we assume the Tribe will 

request a season from September 15, 

2006, to December 30, 2006. The daily 

bag limit will be four, including no 

more than three light geese. The season 

on Aleutian Canada geese will be 

closed. 

For Brant, we assume the Tribe will 

propose a season from November 1, 

2006, to February 15, 2007, with a daily 

bag limit of two. The possession limit 

will be twice the daily bag limit. 

For mourning doves, band-tailed 

pigeon, and snipe, we assume the Tribe 

will request a season from September 

15, 2006, to December 30, 2006, with a 

daily bag limit of 10, 2, and 8, 

respectively. The possession limit will 

be twice the daily bag limit. 

All Tribal hunters authorized to hunt 

migratory birds are required to obtain a 

tribal hunting permit from the Lower 

Elwha Klallam Tribe pursuant to tribal 

law. Hunting hours would be from onehalf hour before sunrise to sunset. Only 

steel, tungsten-iron, tungsten-polymer, 

tungsten-matrix, and tin shot are 

allowed for hunting waterfowl. It is 

unlawful to use or possess lead shot 

while hunting waterfowl. 

The Tribe typically anticipates 

harvest to be fewer than 100 birds. 

Tribal reservation police and Tribal 

Fisheries enforcement officers have the 

authority to enforce these migratory bird 

hunting regulations. 

The Service proposes to approve the 

request for special migratory bird 

hunting regulations for the Lower Elwha 

Klallam Tribe’s upon receipt of their 

special migratory bird hunting proposal. 

(o) Makah Indian Tribe, Neah Bay, 

Washington (Tribal Members Only) 

The Makah Indian Tribe and the 

Service have been cooperating to 

establish special regulations for 

migratory game birds on the Makah 

Reservation and traditional hunting 

land off the Makah Reservation since 

the 2001–02 hunting season. Lands off 

the Makah Reservation are those 

contained within the boundaries of the 

State of Washington Game Management 

Units 601–603 and 607. 

The Makah Indian Tribe proposes a 

duck and coot hunting season from 

September 23, 2006, to January 21, 

2007. The daily bag limit is seven 

ducks, including no more than one 

canvasback, one pintail, and one 

redhead. The daily bag limit for coots is 

25. The Tribe has a year-round closure 

on wood ducks and harlequin ducks. 

For geese, the Tribe proposes the 

season open on September 23, 2006, and 

close January 21, 2007. The daily bag 

limit for geese is four and one brant. The 

Tribe notes that there is a year-round 

closure on Aleutian and Dusky Canada 

geese. 

For band-tailed pigeons, the Tribe 

proposes the season open September 1, 

2006, and close October 31, 2006. The 

daily bag limit for band-tailed pigeons is 

two. Shooting hours for all species of 

waterfowl are one-half hour before 

sunrise to sunset. 

The Tribe anticipates that harvest 

under this regulation will be relatively 

low since fewer than 20 hunters are 

likely to participate during the proposed 

season. The Tribe expects fewer than 50 

total waterfowl to be harvested during 

the 2006–07 migratory bird hunting 

season. 

All other Federal regulations 

contained in 50 CFR part 20 would 

apply. The following restrictions are 

also proposed by the Tribe: 

(1) As per Makah Ordinance 44, only 

shotguns may be used to hunt any 

species of waterfowl. Additionally, 

shotguns must not be discharged within 

0.25 miles of an occupied area; 

(2) Hunters must be eligible, enrolled 

Makah tribal members and must carry 

their Indian Treaty Fishing and Hunting 

Identification Card while hunting. No 

tags or permits are required to hunt 

waterfowl; 

(3) The Cape Flattery area is open to 

waterfowl hunting, except in designated 

wilderness areas, or within one mile of 

Cape Flattery Trail, or in any area that 

is closed to hunting by another 

ordinance or regulation; 

(4) The use of live decoys and/or 

baiting to pursue any species of 

waterfowl is prohibited; 

(5) Steel or bismuth shot only for 

waterfowl is allowed; the use of lead 

shot is prohibited; 

(6) The use of dogs is permitted to 

hunt waterfowl. 

We propose to approve the Makah 

Indian Tribe’s requested 2006–07 

special migratory bird hunting 

regulations. 

(p) Navajo Nation, Navajo Indian 

Reservation, Window Rock, Arizona 

(Tribal Members and Nontribal Hunters) 

Since 1985, we have established 

uniform migratory bird hunting 

regulations for tribal members and 

nonmembers on the Navajo Indian 

Reservation (in parts of Arizona, New 

Mexico, and Utah). The Navajo Nation 

owns almost all lands on the reservation 

and has full wildlife management 

authority. 

For the 2006–07 season, the Navajo 

Nation requests special migratory bird 

hunting regulations on the reservation 

for both tribal and nontribal hunters for 

the 2006–07 hunting season for ducks 

(including mergansers), Canada geese, 

coots, band-tailed pigeons, and 

mourning doves. For ducks, mergansers, 

Canada geese, and coots, the Tribe 

requests the earliest opening dates and 

longest seasons, and the same daily bag 

and possession limits allowed to Pacific 

Flyway States under final Federal 

frameworks. 

For both mourning dove and bandtailed pigeons, the Navajo Nation 

proposes seasons of September 1 

through September 30, 2006, with daily 

bag limits of 10 and 5, respectively. 

Possession limits would be twice the 

daily bag limits. 

The Nation requires tribal members 

and nonmembers to comply with all 

basic Federal migratory bird hunting 

regulations in 50 CFR part 20 pertaining 

to shooting hours and manner of taking. 

In addition, each waterfowl hunter 16 

years of age or over must carry on his/ 

her person a valid Migratory Bird 

Hunting and Conservation Stamp (Duck 

Stamp), which must be signed in ink 

across the face. Special regulations 

established by the Navajo Nation also 

apply on the reservation. 

The Tribe usually anticipates a total 

harvest of fewer than 500 mourning 

doves; 20 band-tailed pigeons; 1,000 

ducks, coots, and mergansers; and 1,000 

Canada geese for the 2006–07 season. 

Harvest will be measured by mail 

survey forms. Through the established 

Tribal Nation Code, Title 17 and 18 

U.S.C. 1165, the Tribe will take action 

to close the season, reduce bag limits, or 

take other appropriate actions if the 

harvest is detrimental to the migratory 

bird resource. 

We propose to approve the Navajo 

Nation’s special migratory bird season. 

(q) Oneida Tribe of Indians of 

Wisconsin, Oneida, Wisconsin (Tribal 

Members Only) 

Since 1991–92, the Oneida Tribe of 

Indians of Wisconsin and the Service 

have cooperated to establish uniform 


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47472 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 159 / Thursday, August 17, 2006 / Proposed Rules 

regulations for migratory bird hunting 

by tribal and non-tribal hunters within 

the original Oneida Reservation 

boundaries. Since 1985, the Oneida 

Tribe’s Conservation Department has 

enforced the Tribe’s hunting regulations 

within those original reservation limits. 

The Oneida Tribe also has a good 

working relationship with the State of 

Wisconsin and the majority of the 

seasons and limits are the same for the 

Tribe and Wisconsin. 

In a May 31, 2006, letter, the Tribe 

proposed special migratory bird hunting 

regulations. For ducks, the Tribe 

described the general outside dates as 

being September 23 through December 

3, 2006, with a closed segment of 

November 18 to 26, 2006. The Tribe 

proposes a daily bag limit of six birds, 

which could include no more than six 

mallards (three hen mallards), six wood 

duck, one redhead, two pintail, and one 

hooded merganser. 

For geese, the Tribe requests a season 

between September 1 and December 31, 

2006, with a daily bag limit of three 

Canada geese. Hunters will be issued 

three tribal tags for geese in order to 

monitor goose harvest. An additional 

three tags will be issued each time birds 

are registered. The Tribe will close the 

season November 18 to 26, 2006. If a 

quota of 300 geese is attained before the 

season concludes, the Tribe will 

recommend closing the season early. 

For woodcock, the Tribe proposes a 

season between September 1 and 

November 17, 2006, with a daily bag 

and possession limit of 5 and 10, 

respectively. 

For mourning dove, the Tribe 

proposes a season between September 1 

and November 12, 2006, with a daily 

bag and possession limit of 10 and 20, 

respectively. 

The Tribe proposes shooting hours be 

one-half hour before sunrise to one-half 

hour after sunset. Nontribal hunters 

hunting on the Reservation or on lands 

under the jurisdiction of the Tribe must 

comply with all State of Wisconsin 

regulations, including shooting hours of 

one-half hour before sunrise to sunset, 

season dates, and daily bag limits. 

Tribal members and nontribal hunters 

hunting on the Reservation or on lands 

under the jurisdiction of the Tribe must 

observe all basic Federal migratory bird 

hunting regulations found in 50 CFR 

part 20, with the following exceptions: 

Oneida members would be exempt from 

the purchase of the Migratory Waterfowl 

Hunting and Conservation Stamp (Duck 

Stamp); and shotgun capacity is not 

limited to three shells. Tribal member 

shooting hours will be from one-half 

hour before sunrise to one-half hour 

after sunset. 

The Service proposes to approve the 

request for special migratory bird 

hunting regulations for the Oneida Tribe 

of Indians of Wisconsin. 

(r) Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, Fort Hall 

Indian Reservation, Fort Hall, Idaho 

(Nontribal Hunters) 

Almost all of the Fort Hall Indian 

Reservation is tribally owned. The 

Tribes claim full wildlife management 

authority throughout the reservation, 

but the Idaho Fish and Game 

Department has disputed tribal 

jurisdiction, especially for hunting by 

non-tribal members on reservation lands 

owned by non-Indians. As a 

compromise, since 1985, we have 

established the same waterfowl hunting 

regulations on the reservation and in a 

surrounding off-reservation State zone. 

The regulations were requested by the 

Tribes and provided for different season 

dates than in the remainder of the State. 

We agreed to the season dates because 

they seemed to provide additional 

protection to mallards and pintails. The 

State of Idaho concurred with the 

zoning arrangement. We have no 

objection to the State’s use of this zone 

again in the 2006–07 hunting season, 

provided the duck and goose hunting 

season dates are the same as on the 

reservation. 

In a proposal for the 2006–07 hunting 

season, the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes 

requested a continuous duck (including 

mergansers) season, with the maximum 

number of days and the same daily bag 

and possession limits permitted for 

Pacific Flyway States under final 

Federal frameworks. The Tribes propose 

that, if the same number of hunting days 

are permitted as last year, the season 

would have an opening date of October 

7, 2006, and a closing date of January 

19, 2007. Coot and snipe season dates 

would be the same as for ducks, with 

the same daily bag and possession limits 

permitted for Pacific Flyway States. The 

Tribes anticipate harvest will be 

between 2,000 and 5,000 ducks. 

The Tribes also requested a 

continuous goose season with the 

maximum number of days and the same 

daily bag and possession limits 

permitted in Idaho under Federal 

frameworks. The Tribes propose that, if 

the same number of hunting days is 

permitted as in previous years, the 

season would have an opening date of 

October 7, 2006, and a closing date of 

January 19, 2007. The Tribes anticipate 

harvest will be between 4,000 and 6,000 

geese. 

The Tribe requests a common snipe 

season with the maximum number of 

days and the same daily bag and 

possession limits permitted in Idaho 

under Federal frameworks. The Tribes 

propose that, if the same number of 

hunting days are permitted as in 

previous years, the season would have 

an opening date of October 7, 2006, and 

a closing date of January 19, 2007. 

Nontribal hunters must comply with 

all basic Federal migratory bird hunting 

regulations in 50 CFR part 20 pertaining 

to shooting hours, use of steel shot, and 

manner of taking. Special regulations 

established by the Shoshone-Bannock 

Tribes also apply on the reservation. 

We note that the requested regulations 

are nearly identical to those of last year 

and propose they be approved for the 

2006–07 hunting season. 

(s) Skokomish Tribe, Shelton, 

Washington (Tribal Members Only) 

Since 1996, the Service and the Point 

No Point Treaty Tribes, of which Lower 

Elwha was one, have cooperated to 

establish special regulations for 

migratory bird hunting. The Tribes are 

now acting independently, and the 

Skokomish Tribe would like to establish 

migratory bird hunting regulations for 

tribal members for the 2005–2006 

season. The Tribe has a reservation on 

the Olympic Peninsula in Washington 

State and is a successor to the 

signatories of the Treaty of Point No 

Point of 1855. 

The Skokomish Tribe requests a duck 

and coot season from September 16, 

2006, to December 31, 2006. The daily 

bag limit is seven ducks, including no 

more than two hen mallards, one 

pintail, one canvasback, and two 

redheads. The daily bag and possession 

limit on harlequin duck is one per 

season. The coot daily bag limit is 25. 

The possession limit is twice the daily 

bag limit except as noted above. 

For geese, the Tribe requests a season 

from September 16, 2006, to December 

31, 2006. The daily bag limit is four, 

including no more than three light 

geese. The season on Aleutian Canada 

geese is closed. For Brant, the Tribe 

proposes a season from November 1, 

2006, to February 15, 2007, with a daily 

bag limit of two. The possession limit is 

twice the daily bag limit. 

For mourning doves, band-tailed 

pigeon, and snipe, the Tribe requests a 

season from September 16, 2006, to 

December 31, 2006, with a daily bag 

limit of 10, 2, and 8, respectively. The 

possession limit is twice the daily bag 

limit. 

All Tribal hunters authorized to hunt 

migratory birds are required to obtain a 

tribal hunting permit from the 

Skokomish Tribe pursuant to tribal law. 

Hunting hours would be from one-half 

hour before sunrise to sunset. Only 

steel, tungsten-iron, tungsten-polymer, 


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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 159 / Thursday, August 17, 2006 / Proposed Rules 47473 

tungsten-matrix, and tin shot are 

allowed for hunting waterfowl. It is 

unlawful to use or possess lead shot 

while hunting waterfowl. 

The Tribe anticipates harvest to be 

fewer than 150 birds. The Skokomish 

Public Safety Office enforcement 

officers have the authority to enforce 

these migratory bird hunting 

regulations. 

We propose to approve the 

Skokomish Tribe’s requested migratory 

bird hunting season. 

(t) Squaxin Island Tribe, Squaxin Island 

Reservation, Shelton, Washington 

(Tribal Members Only) 

The Squaxin Island Tribe of 

Washington and the Service have 

cooperated since 1995 to establish 

special tribal migratory bird hunting 

regulations. These special regulations 

apply to tribal members on the Squaxin 

Island Reservation, located in western 

Washington near Olympia, and all lands 

within the traditional hunting grounds 

of the Squaxin Island Tribe. 

For the 2006–07 season, the Tribe 

requests to establish duck and coot 

seasons that would run from September 

1, 2006, through January 15, 2007. The 

daily bag limit for ducks is five per day 

and could include only one canvasback. 

The season on harlequin ducks is 

closed. For coots the daily bag limit is 

25. For snipe, the Tribe proposes the 

season start on September 15, 2006, and 

end on January 15, 2007. The daily bag 

limit for snipe is eight. For band-tailed 

pigeon, the Tribe proposes the season 

start on September 1, 2006, and end on 

December 31, 2006. The daily bag limit 

is five. The possession limit is twice the 

daily bag limit. 

The Tribe proposes a season on geese 

starting September 15, 2006, and ending 

on January 15, 2007. The daily bag limit 

for geese is four, including no more than 

two snow geese. The season on Aleutian 

and Cackling Canada geese is closed. 

For Brant, the Tribe proposes the season 

start on September 1, 2006, and end on 

December 31, 2006. The daily bag limit 

for brant is two. The possession limit is 

twice the daily bag limit. 

We propose to approve the Squaxin 

Island Tribe’s requested 2006–07 special 

migratory bird hunting regulations. 

(u) Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians, 

Arlington, Washington (Tribal Members 

Only) 

The Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians 

and the Service have cooperated to 

establish special regulations for 

migratory game birds since 2001. The 

Tribe is proposing regulations to hunt 

all open and unclaimed lands under the 

Treaty of Point Elliott of January 22, 

1855, including their main hunting 

grounds around Camano Island, Skagit 

Flats, and Port Susan to the border of 

the Tulalip Tribes Reservation. Ceded 

lands are located in Whatcom, Skagit, 

Snohomish, and Kings Counties, and a 

portion of Pierce County, Washington. 

The Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians is a 

federally recognized Tribe and reserves 

the Treaty Right to hunt (U.S. v. 

Washington). 

The Tribe proposes that duck 

(including mergansers) and goose 

seasons run from October 1, 2006, to 

February 15, 2007. The daily bag limit 

on ducks (including sea ducks and 

mergansers) is 10 and must include no 

more than 7 mallards (only 3 of which 

can be hens), 3 pintail, 3 redhead, 3 

scaup, and 3 canvasback. For geese, the 

daily bag limit is six. Possession limits 

are totals of two daily bag limits. 

The Tribe proposes that coot, brant, 

and snipe seasons run from October 1, 

2006, to January 31, 2007. The daily bag 

limit for coot is 25. The daily bag limit 

on brant is three. The daily bag limit for 

snipe is ten. Possession limits are totals 

of two daily bag limits. 

Harvest is regulated by a punch card 

system. Tribal members hunting on 

lands under this proposal will observe 

all basic Federal migratory bird hunting 

regulations found in 50 CFR part 20, 

which will be enforced by the 

Stillaguamish Tribal Law Enforcement. 

Tribal members are required to use steel 

shot or a nontoxic shot as required by 

Federal regulations. 

The Tribe anticipates a total harvest of 

200 ducks, 100 geese, 50 mergansers, 50 

brant, 100 coots, and 100 snipe. 

Anticipated harvest needs include 

subsistence and ceremonial needs. 

Certain species may be closed to 

hunting for conservation purposes, and 

consideration for the needs of certain 

species will be addressed. 

The Service proposes to approve the 

request for special migratory bird 

hunting regulations for the 

Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians. 

(v) Swinomish Indian Tribal 

Community, LaConner, Washington 

(Tribal Members Only) 

In 1996, the Service and the 

Swinomish Indian Tribal Community 

began cooperating to establish special 

regulations for migratory bird hunting. 

The Swinomish Indian Tribal 

Community is a federally recognized 

Indian Tribe consisting of the Suiattle, 

Skagit, and Kikialos. The Swinomish 

Reservation was established by the 

Treaty of Point Elliott of January 22, 

1855, and lies in the Puget Sound area 

north of Seattle, Washington. 

For the 2006–07 season, the Tribe 

requests to establish a migratory bird 

hunting season on all areas that are 

open and unclaimed and consistent 

with the meaning of the treaty. The 

Tribe requests to establish duck, 

merganser, Canada goose, brant, and 

coot seasons opening on the earliest 

possible date allowed by the final 

Federal frameworks for the Pacific 

Flyway and closing 30 days after the 

State of Washington closes its season. 

The Swinomish Tribe requests an 

additional three birds of each species 

over that allowed by the State for daily 

bag and possession limits. 

The Community normally anticipates 

that the regulations will result in the 

harvest of approximately 300 ducks, 50 

Canada geese, 75 mergansers, 100 brant, 

and 50 coot. The Swinomish utilize a 

report card and permit system to 

monitor harvest and will implement 

steps to limit harvest where 

conservation is needed. All tribal 

regulations will be enforced by tribal 

fish and game officers. 

On reservation, the Tribal Community 

proposes a hunting season for the abovementioned species beginning on the 

earliest possible opening date and 

closing March 9, 2007. The Swinomish 

manage harvest by a report card permit 

system, and we anticipate harvest will 

be similar to that expected off 

reservation. 

We believe the estimated harvest by 

the Swinomish will be minimal and will 

not adversely affect migratory bird 

populations. We propose to approve the 

Tribe’s requested 2006–07 special 

migratory bird hunting regulations. 

(w) The Tulalip Tribes of Washington, 

Tulalip Indian Reservation, Marysville, 

Washington (Tribal Members and 

Nontribal Hunters) 

The Tulalip Tribes are the successors 

in interest to the Tribes and bands 

signatory to the Treaty of Point Elliott of 

January 22, 1855. The Tulalip Tribes’

government is located on the Tulalip 

Indian Reservation just north of the City 

of Everett in Snohomish County, 

Washington. The Tribes or individual 

tribal members own all of the land on 

the reservation, and they have full 

wildlife management authority. All 

lands within the boundaries of the 

Tulalip Tribes Reservation are closed to 

nonmember hunting unless opened by 

Tulalip Tribal regulations. 

For the 2006–07 season, the Tribe 

proposes tribal and nontribal hunting 

regulations for the 2006–07 season. 

Migratory waterfowl hunting by Tulalip 

Tribal members is authorized by Tulalip 

Tribal Ordinance No. 67. For ducks, 

mergansers, coot, and snipe, the 


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proposed season for tribal members 

would be from September 15, 2006, 

through February 28, 2007. In the case 

of nontribal hunters hunting on the 

reservation, the season would be the 

latest closing date and the longest 

period of time allowed under final 

Pacific Flyway Federal frameworks. 

Daily bag and possession limits for 

Tulalip Tribal members would be 7 and 

14 ducks, respectively, except that for 

blue-winged teal, canvasback, 

harlequin, pintail, and wood duck, the 

bag and possession limits would be the 

same as those established in accordance 

with final Federal frameworks. For 

nontribal hunters, bag and possession 

limits would be the same as those 

permitted under final Federal 

frameworks. For coot, daily bag and 

possession limits are 25 and 25, 

respectively, and for snipe 8 and 18, 

respectively. Nontribal hunters should 

check with the Tulalip tribal authorities 

regarding additional conservation 

measures which may apply to specific 

species managed within the region. 

Ceremonial hunting may be authorized 

by the Department of Natural Resources 

at any time upon application of a 

qualified tribal member. Such a hunt 

must have a bag limit designed to limit 

harvest only to those birds necessary to 

provide for the ceremony. 

For geese, tribal members propose a 

season from September 15, 2006, 

through February 28, 2007. Non-tribal 

hunters would be allowed the longest 

season and the latest closing date 

permitted for Pacific Flyway Federal 

frameworks. For tribal hunters, the 

goose daily bag and possession limits 

would be 7 and 14, respectively, except 

that the bag limits for brant, cackling 

Canada geese, and dusky Canada geese 

would be those established in 

accordance with final Federal 

frameworks. For nontribal hunters 

hunting on reservation lands, the daily 

bag and possession limits would be 

those established in accordance with 

final Federal frameworks for the Pacific 

Flyway. The Tulalip Tribes also set a 

maximum annual bag limit for those 

tribal members who engage in 

subsistence hunting of 365 ducks and 

365 geese. 

All hunters on Tulalip Tribal lands 

are required to adhere to shooting hour 

regulations set at one-half hour before 

sunrise to sunset, special tribal permit 

requirements, and a number of other 

tribal regulations enforced by the Tribe. 

Each nontribal hunter 16 years of age 

and older hunting pursuant to Tulalip 

Tribes’ Ordinance No. 67 must possess 

a valid Federal Migratory Bird Hunting 

and Conservation Stamp and a valid 

State of Washington Migratory 

Waterfowl Stamp. Each hunter must 

validate stamps by signing across the 

face. 

Although the season length requested 

by the Tulalip Tribes appears to be quite 

liberal, harvest information indicates a 

total take by tribal and nontribal hunters 

under 1,000 ducks and 500 geese 

annually. 

We propose approval of the Tulalip 

Tribe’s request to have a special season. 

We request that harvest be monitored 

closely and regulations be reevaluated 

for future years if harvest becomes too 

great in relation to population numbers. 

(x) Upper Skagit Indian Tribe, Sedro 

Woolley, Washington (Tribal Members 

Only) 

The Upper Skagit Indian Tribe and 

the Service have cooperated to establish 

special regulations for migratory game 

birds since 2001. The Tribe has 

jurisdiction over lands within Skagit, 

Island, and Whatcom Counties, 

Washington. Tribal hunters are issued a 

harvest report card that will be shared 

with the State of Washington. 

For the 2006–07 season, the Tribe 

requests a duck season starting 

November 1, 2006, and ending February 

8, 2007. The Tribe proposes a daily bag 

limit of 15 with a possession limit of 20. 

The coot daily bag limit is 20 with a 

possession limit of 30. 

The Tribe proposes a goose season 

from November 1, 2006, to February 8, 

2007, with a daily bag limit of seven 

geese and five brant. The possession 

limit for geese and brant are seven and 

five, respectively. 

The Tribe proposes a mourning dove 

season between September 1 to 

December 31, 2006, with a daily bag 

limit of 12 and possession limit of 15. 

The anticipated migratory bird 

harvest under this proposal would be 

100 ducks, 5 geese, 2 brant, and 10 

coots. Tribal members must have the 

tribal identification and harvest report 

card on their person to hunt. Tribal 

members hunting on the Reservation 

will observe all basic Federal migratory 

bird hunting regulations found in 50 

CFR 20, except shooting hours would be 

fifteen minutes before official sunrise to 

fifteen minutes after official sunset. 

The Service proposes to approve the 

request for special migratory bird 

hunting regulations for the Upper Skagit 

Indian Tribe. We request that the Tribe 

closely monitor harvest of this special 

migratory bird hunting season. 

(y) Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head, 

Aquinnah, Massachusetts (Tribal 

Members Only) 

The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head is 

a federally recognized Tribe located on 

the island of Martha’s Vineyard in 

Massachusetts. The Tribe has 

approximately 560 acres of land, which 

it manages for wildlife through its 

natural resources department. The Tribe 

also enforces its own wildlife laws and 

regulations through the natural 

resources department. 

For the 2006–07 season the Tribe 

proposes a duck season of November 1, 

2006, through February 28, 2007. The 

Tribe proposes a daily bag limit of six 

birds, which could include no more 

than two hen mallards, six drake 

mallards, two black ducks, two mottled 

ducks, one fulvous whistling duck, four 

mergansers, three scaup, one hooded 

merganser, two wood ducks, one 

canvasback, two redheads, one pintail, 

and four of all other species not listed. 

The season for harlequins would be 

closed. The Tribe proposes a teal (greenwinged and blue) season of October 16, 

2006, through January 29, 2007. A daily 

bag limit of six teal would be in 

addition to the daily bag limit for ducks. 

For sea ducks, The Tribe proposes a 

season between October 16, 2006, and 

March 1, 2007, with a daily bag limit of 

seven, which could include no more 

than one hen eider and four of any one 

species unless otherwise noted above. 

For geese, the Tribe requests a season 

between September 11 to September 25, 

2006, and November 1, 2006, through 

February 28, 2007, with a daily bag limit 

of 5 Canada geese during the first 

period, 3 Canada geese during the 

second period, and a daily bag limit of 

15 snow geese. 

For woodcock, the Tribe proposes a 

season between October 16 and 

December 1, 2006, with a daily bag limit 

of three. 

The Tribe currently has 22 registered 

tribal hunters and estimates harvest to 

be no more than 15 geese, 25 mallards, 

25 teal, 50 black ducks, and 50 of all 

other species combined. Tribal members 

hunting on the Reservation will observe 

all basic Federal migratory bird hunting 

regulations found in 50 CFR part 20. 

Hunters will be required to register with 

the Harvest Information Program. 

The Service proposes to approve the 

request for special migratory bird 

hunting regulations for the Wampanoag 

Tribe of Gay Head. 

(z) White Earth Band of Ojibwe, White 

Earth, Minnesota (Tribal Members Only) 

The White Earth Band of Ojibwe is a 

federally recognized tribe located in 

northwest Minnesota and encompasses 

all of Mahnomen County and parts of 

Becker and Clearwater Counties. The 

reservation employs conservation 

officers to enforce migratory bird 

regulations. The Tribe and the Service 


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first cooperated to establish special 

tribal regulations in 1999. 

For the 2006–07 migratory bird 

hunting season, the White Earth Band of 

Ojibwe requests a duck and merganser 

season to start September 16 and end 

December 17, 2006. For ducks, they 

request a daily bag limit of 10, including 

no more than 2 mallards and 1 

canvasback. The merganser daily bag 

limit would be five with no more than 

two hooded mergansers. For geese, the 

Tribe proposes an early season from 

September 1 through September 29, 

2006, and a late season from September 

30, 2006, through December 17, 2006. 

The early season daily bag limit is eight 

geese and the late season daily bag limit 

is five geese. 

For coots, dove, rail, woodcock, and 

snipe, the Tribe proposes a September 2 

through November 30, 2006, season 

with daily bag limits of 20 coots, 25 

doves, 25 rails, 10 woodcock, and 10 

snipe. Shooting hours are one-half hour 

before sunrise to one-half hour after 

sunset. Nontoxic shot is required. 

Based on past harvest surveys, the 

Tribe anticipates harvest of 1,000 to 

2,000 Canada geese and 1,000 to 1,500 

ducks. The White Earth Reservation 

Tribal Council employs four full-time 

Conservation Officers to enforce 

migratory bird regulations. 

We propose to approve the White 

Earth Band of Ojibwe’s request to have 

a special season. 

(aa) White Mountain Apache Tribe, Fort 

Apache Indian Reservation, Whiteriver, 

Arizona (Tribal Members and Nontribal 

Hunters) 

The White Mountain Apache Tribe 

owns all reservation lands, and the 

Tribe has recognized full wildlife 

management authority. The White 

Mountain Apache Tribe has requested 

regulations that are essentially 

unchanged from those agreed to since 

the 1997–98 hunting year. 

The hunting zone for waterfowl is 

restricted and is described as: the length 

of the Black River west of the Bonito 

Creek and Black River confluence and 

the entire length of the Salt River 

forming the southern boundary of the 

reservation; the White River, extending 

from the Canyon Day Stockman Station 

to the Salt River; and all stock ponds 

located within Wildlife Management 

Units 4, 5, 6, and 7. Tanks located below 

the Mogollon Rim, within Wildlife 

Management Units 2 and 3, will be open 

to waterfowl hunting during the 2006–

07 season. The length of the Black River 

east of the Black River/Bonito Creek 

confluence is closed to waterfowl 

hunting. All other waters of the 

reservation would be closed to 

waterfowl hunting for the 2006–07 

season. 

For nontribal and tribal hunters, the 

Tribe proposes a continuous duck, coot, 

merganser, gallinule, and moorhen 

hunting season, with an opening date of 

October 14, 2006, and a closing date of 

January 28, 2007. The Tribe proposes a 

separate canvasback season, with an 

opening date of October 14, 2006, and 

a closing date of December 10, 2006. 

The Tribe proposes a daily duck 

(including mergansers) bag limit of 

seven, which may include no more than 

two redheads, one pintail, one 

canvasback (when open), and seven 

mallards (including no more than two 

hen mallard). The daily bag limit for 

coots, gallinules, and moorhens would 

be 25, singly or in the aggregate. For 

geese, the Tribe is proposing a season 

from October 14, 2006, through January 

28, 2007. Hunting would be limited to 

Canada geese, and the daily bag limit 

would be three. 

Season dates for band-tailed pigeons 

and mourning doves would run 

concurrently from September 1 through 

September 15, 2006, in Wildlife 

Management Unit 10 and all areas south 

of Y–70 in Wildlife Management Unit 7, 

only. Proposed daily bag limits for 

band-tailed pigeons and mourning 

doves would be 3 and 10, respectively. 

Possession limits for the above 

species are twice the daily bag limits. 

Shooting hours would be from one-half 

hour before sunrise to sunset. There 

would be no open season for sandhill 

cranes, rails, and snipe on the White 

Mountain Apache lands under this 

proposal. A number of special 

regulations apply to tribal and nontribal 

hunters, which may be obtained from 

the White Mountain Apache Tribe Game 

and Fish Department. 

We propose to approve the 

regulations requested by the Tribe for 

the 2006–07 season. 

(bb) Yankton Sioux Tribe, Marty, South 

Dakota (Tribal Members and Nontribal 

Hunters) 

On May 17, 2006, the Yankton Sioux 

Tribe submitted a waterfowl hunting 

proposal for the 2006–07 season. The 

Yankton Sioux tribal waterfowl hunting 

season would be open to both tribal 

members and nontribal hunters. The 

waterfowl hunting regulations would 

apply to tribal and trust lands within 

the external boundaries of the 

reservation. 

For ducks (including mergansers) and 

coots, the Yankton Sioux Tribe proposes 

a season starting October 9, 2006, and 

running for the maximum amount of 

days allowed under the final Federal 

frameworks. The Tribe indicated that if 

the Service decided to close the 

canvasback season, the Tribe would 

close theirs; otherwise, the canvasback 

season would start October 9, 2006, and 

run for the maximum amount of days 

allowed under the final Federal 

frameworks. Daily bag and possession 

limits would be 6 ducks, which may 

include no more than 5 mallards (no 

more than 2 hens), 1 canvasback (when 

open), 2 redheads, 3 scaup, 1 pintail, or 

2 wood ducks. The bag limit for 

mergansers is 5, which would include 

no more than 1 hooded merganser. The 

coot daily bag limit is 15. 

For geese, the Tribe has requested a 

dark goose (Canada geese, brant, whitefronts) season starting October 29, 2006, 

and closing January 31, 2007. The daily 

bag limit would be three geese 

(including no more than one whitefronted goose or brant). Possession 

limits would be twice the daily bag 

limit. For white geese, the proposed 

hunting season would start October 29, 

2006, and run for the maximum amount 

of days allowed under the final Federal 

frameworks for the State of South 

Dakota. Daily bag and possession limits 

would equal the maximum allowed 

under Federal frameworks. 

All hunters would have to be in 

possession of a valid tribal license while 

hunting on Yankton Sioux trust lands. 

Tribal and nontribal hunters must 

comply with all basic Federal migratory 

bird hunting regulations in 50 CFR part 

20 pertaining to shooting hours and the 

manner of taking. Special regulations 

established by the Yankton Sioux Tribe 

also apply on the reservation. 

During the 2005–06 hunting season, 

the Tribe reported that 90 nontribal 

hunters took 400 Canada geese, 75 light 

geese, and 90 ducks. Forty-five tribal 

members harvested less than 50 geese 

and 50 ducks. 

We concur with the Yankton Sioux 

proposal for the 2006–07 hunting 

season. 

Public Comment Invited 

We intend that adopted final rules be 

as responsive as possible to all 

concerned interests and, therefore, we 

desire to obtain the comments and 

suggestions of the public, other 

governmental agencies, 

nongovernmental organizations, and 

other private interests on these 

proposals. However, special 

circumstances are involved in the 

establishment of these regulations, 

which limit the amount of time that we 

can allow for public comment. 

Specifically, two considerations 

compress the time in which the 

rulemaking process must operate: (1) 

The need to establish final rules at a 


hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with PROPOSALS
47476 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 159 / Thursday, August 17, 2006 / Proposed Rules 

point early enough in the summer to 

allow affected State agencies to adjust 

appropriately their licensing and 

regulatory mechanisms; and (2) the 

unavailability, before mid-June, of 

specific, reliable data on this year’s 

status of some waterfowl and migratory 

shore and upland game bird 

populations. Therefore, we believe that 

to allow the comment period past the 

date specified in DATES is contrary to the 

public interest. 

The Department of the Interior’s 

policy is, whenever practicable, to 

afford the public an opportunity to 

participate in the rulemaking process. 

Accordingly, we invite interested 

persons to submit written comments, 

suggestions, or recommendations 

regarding the proposed regulations. 

Before promulgation of final migratory 

game bird hunting regulations, we will 

take into consideration all comments 

received. Such comments, and any 

additional information received, may 

lead to final regulations that differ from 

these proposals. We invite interested 

persons to participate in this rulemaking 

by submitting written comments to the 

address indicated under the caption 

ADDRESSES. 

You may inspect comments received 

on the proposed annual regulations 

during normal business hours at the 

Service’s office in room 4107, 4501 

North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, Virginia. 

Our practice is to make comments, 

including names and addresses of 

respondents, available for public review 

during regular business hours. 

Individual respondents may request that 

we withhold their home address from 

the rulemaking record, which we will 

honor to the extent allowable by law. In 

some circumstances, we would 

withhold from the rulemaking record a 

respondent’s identity, as allowable by 

law. If you wish for us to withhold your 

name and/or address, you must state 

this prominently at the beginning of 

your comment. However, we will not 

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. 

For each series of proposed 

rulemakings, we will establish specific 

comment periods. We will consider, but 

possibly may not respond in detail to, 

each comment. As in the past, we will 

summarize all comments received 

during the comment period and respond 

to them in the final rules. 

NEPA Consideration 

NEPA considerations are covered by 

the programmatic document ‘‘Final 

Supplemental Environmental Impact 

Statement: Issuance of Annual 

Regulations Permitting the Sport 

Hunting of Migratory Birds (FSES 88–

14),’’ filed with the Environmental 

Protection Agency on June 9, 1988. We 

published Notice of Availability in the 

Federal Register on June 16, 1988 (53 

FR 22582). We published our Record of 

Decision on August 18, 1988 (53 FR 

31341). In addition, an August 1985 

environmental assessment entitled 

‘‘Guidelines for Migratory Bird Hunting 

Regulations on Federal Indian 

Reservations and Ceded Lands’’ is 

available from the address indicated 

under the caption ADDRESSES. 

In a notice published in the 

September 8, 2005, Federal Register (70 

FR 53376), we announced our intent to 

develop a new Supplemental 

Environmental Impact Statement for the 

migratory bird hunting program. Public 

scoping meetings were held in the 

spring of 2006, and were detailed in a 

March 9, 2006, Federal Register notice 

(71 FR 12216). 

Endangered Species Act Consideration 

Prior to issuance of the 2006–07 

migratory game bird hunting 

regulations, we will consider provisions 

of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, 

as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531–1543; 

hereinafter the Act) to ensure that 

hunting is not likely to jeopardize the 

continued existence of any species 

designated as endangered or threatened 

or modify or destroy its critical habitat 

and is consistent with conservation 

programs for those species. 

Consultations under Section 7 of this 

Act may cause us to change proposals 

in future supplemental proposed 

rulemaking documents. 

Executive Order 12866 

The migratory bird hunting 

regulations are economically significant 

and were reviewed by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) under 

Executive Order 12866. As such, a costbenefit analysis was initially prepared 

in 1981. This analysis was subsequently 

revised annually from 1990 through 

1996, updated in 1998, and updated 

again in 2004. It is further discussed 

below under the heading Regulatory 

Flexibility Act. Results from the 2004 

analysis indicate that the expected 

economic benefit of the annual 

migratory bird hunting frameworks is on 

the order of $734 to $1,064 million, with 

a mid-point estimate of $899 million. 

Copies of the cost-benefit analysis are 

available upon request from the address 

indicated under ADDRESSES or from our 

Web site at http:// 

www.migratorybirds.gov. 

Executive Order 12866 also requires 

each agency to write regulations that are 

easy to understand. We invite comments 

on how to make this rule easier to 

understand, including answers to 

questions such as the following: 

(1) Are the requirements in the rule 

clearly stated? 

(2) Does the rule contain technical 

language or jargon that interferes with 

its clarity? 

(3) Does the format of the rule 

(grouping and order of sections, use of 

headings, paragraphing, etc.) aid or 

reduce its clarity? 

(4) Would the rule be easier to 

understand if it were divided into more 

(but shorter) sections? 

(5) Is the description of the rule in the 

‘‘Supplementary Information’’ section of 

the preamble helpful in understanding 

the rule? 

(6) What else could we do to make the 

rule easier to understand? 

Send a copy of any comments that 

concern how we could make this rule 

easier to understand to: Office of the 

Executive Secretariat and Regulatory 

Affairs, Department of the Interior, 

Room 7229, 1849 C Street, NW., 

Washington, DC 20240. You may also email comments to this address: 

Exsec@ios.doi.gov. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

These regulations have a significant 

economic impact on substantial 

numbers of small entities under the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 

et seq.). We analyzed the economic 

impacts of the annual hunting 

regulations on small business entities in 

detail as part of the 1981 cost-benefit 

analysis discussed under Executive 

Order 12866. This analysis was revised 

annually from 1990 through 1995. In 

1995, the Service issued a Small Entity 

Flexibility Analysis (Analysis), which 

was subsequently updated in 1996, 

1998, and 2004. The primary source of 

information about hunter expenditures 

for migratory game bird hunting is the 

National Hunting and Fishing Survey, 

which is conducted at 5-year intervals. 

The 2004 Analysis was based on the 

2001 National Hunting and Fishing 

Survey and the U.S. Department of 

Commerce’s County Business Patterns, 

from which it was estimated that 

migratory bird hunters would spend 

between $481 million and $1.2 billion at 

small businesses in 2004. Copies of the 

Analysis are available upon request 

from the address indicated under 


hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 159 / Thursday, August 17, 2006 / Proposed Rules 47477 

ADDRESSES or from our Web site at http: 

//www.migratorybirds.gov. 

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act 

This rule is a major rule under 5 

U.S.C. 804(2), the Small Business 

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act. 

For the reasons above, this rule has an 

annual effect on the economy of $100 

million or more. However, because this 

rule establishes hunting seasons, we do 

not plan to defer the effective date 

required by 5 U.S.C. 801 under the 

exemption contained in 5 U.S.C. 808(1). 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

We examined these regulations under 

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. 

The various recordkeeping and 

reporting requirements imposed under 

regulations established in 50 CFR part 

20, Subpart K, are utilized in the 

formulation of migratory game bird 

hunting regulations. Specifically, OMB 

has approved the information collection 

requirements of the Migratory Bird 

Harvest Surveys and assigned clearance 

number 1018–0015 (expires February 

29, 2008). This information is used to 

provide a sampling frame for voluntary 

national surveys to improve our harvest 

estimates for all migratory game birds in 

order to better manage these 

populations. OMB has also approved 

the information collection requirements 

of the Sandhill Crane Harvest 

Questionnaire and assigned clearance 

number 1018–0023 (expires November 

30, 2007). The information from this 

survey is used to estimate the 

magnitude and the geographical and 

temporal distribution of the harvest, and 

the portion it constitutes of the total 

population. A Federal 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. 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

We have determined and certify, in 

compliance with the requirements of the 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act, 2 

U.S.C. 1502 et seq., that this rulemaking 

will not impose a cost of $100 million 

or more in any given year on local or 

State government or private entities. 

Therefore, this rule is not a ‘‘significant 

regulatory action’’ under the Unfunded 

Mandates Reform Act. 

Civil Justice Reform Executive Order 

12988 

The Department, in promulgating this 

proposed rule, has determined that this 

rule will not unduly burden the judicial 

system and that it meets the 

requirements of sections 3(a) and 3(b)(2) 

of Executive Order 12988. 

Takings Implication Assessment 

In accordance with Executive Order 

12630, this proposed rule, authorized by 

the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, does not 

have significant takings implications 

and does not affect any constitutionally 

protected property rights. This rule will 

not result in the physical occupancy of 

property, the physical invasion of 

property, or the regulatory taking of any 

property. In fact, these rules allow 

hunters to exercise otherwise 

unavailable privileges and, therefore, 

reduce restrictions on the use of private 

and public property. 

Energy Effects—Executive Order 13211 

On May 18, 2001, the President issued 

Executive Order 13211 on regulations 

that significantly affect energy supply, 

distribution, and use. Executive Order 

13211 requires agencies to prepare 

Statements of Energy Effects when 

undertaking certain actions. While this 

proposed rule is a significant regulatory 

action under Executive Order 12866, it 

is not expected to adversely affect 

energy supplies, distribution, or use. 

Therefore, this action is not a significant 

energy action and no Statement of 

Energy Effects is required. 

Federalism Effects 

Due to the migratory nature of certain 

species of birds, the Federal 

Government has been given 

responsibility over these species by the 

Migratory Bird Treaty Act. We annually 

prescribe frameworks from which the 

States make selections regarding the 

hunting of migratory birds, and we 

employ guidelines to establish special 

regulations on Federal Indian 

reservations and ceded lands. This 

process preserves the ability of the 

States and tribes to determine which 

seasons meet their individual needs. 

Any State or tribe may be more 

restrictive than the Federal frameworks. 

The frameworks are developed in a 

cooperative process with the States and 

the Flyway Councils. This process 

allows States to participate in the 

development of frameworks from which 

they will make selections, thereby 

having an influence on their own 

regulations. These rules do not have a 

substantial direct effect on fiscal 

capacity, change the roles or 

responsibilities of Federal or State 

governments, or intrude on State policy 

or administration. Therefore, in 

accordance with Executive Order 13132, 

these regulations do not have significant 

federalism effects and do not have 

sufficient federalism implications to 

warrant the preparation of a Federalism 

Assessment. 

Government-to-Government 

Relationship With Tribes 

Due to the migratory nature of certain 

species of birds, the Federal 

Government has been given 

responsibility over these species by the 

Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Thus, in 

accordance with the President’s 

memorandum of April 29, 1994, 

‘‘Government-to-Government Relations 

with Native American Tribal 

Governments’’ (59 FR 22951), Executive 

Order 13175, and 512 DM 2, we have 

evaluated possible effects on federally 

recognized Indian tribes and have 

determined that there are no effects on 

Indian trust resources. However, by 

virtue of the tribal proposals contained 

in this proposed rule, we have 

consulted with all the tribes affected by 

this rule. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 20 

Exports, Hunting, Imports, Reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements, 

Transportation, Wildlife. 

Based on the results of migratory 

game bird studies, and having due 

consideration for any data or views 

submitted by interested parties, this 

proposed rulemaking may result in the 

adoption of special hunting regulations 

for migratory birds beginning as early as 

September 1, 2006, on certain Federal 

Indian reservations, off-reservation trust 

lands, and ceded lands. Taking into 

account both reserved hunting rights 

and the degree to which tribes have full 

wildlife management authority, the 

regulations only for tribal members or 

for both tribal and nontribal hunters 

may differ from those established by 

States in which the reservations, offreservation trust lands, and ceded lands 

are located. The regulations will specify 

open seasons, shooting hours, and bag 

and possession limits for rails, coot, 

gallinules, woodcock, common snipe, 

band-tailed pigeons, mourning doves, 

white-winged doves, ducks, mergansers, 

and geese. 

The rules that eventually will be 

promulgated for the 2006–07 hunting 

season are authorized under the 

Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) of 

July 3, 1918 (40 Stat. 755; 16 U.S.C. 703 

et seq.), as amended. The MBTA 

authorizes and directs the Secretary of 

the Interior, having due regard for the 

zones of temperature and for the 

distribution, abundance, economic 

value, breeding habits, and times and 

lines of flight of migratory game birds, 

to determine when, to what extent, and 

by what means such birds or any part, 

nest, or egg thereof may be taken, 


hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with PROPOSALS
47478 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 159 / Thursday, August 17, 2006 / Proposed Rules 

hunted, captured, killed, possessed, 

sold, purchased, shipped, carried, 

exported, or transported. 

Dated: August 15, 2006. 

David M. Verhey, 

Acting Assistant Secretary for Fish and 

Wildlife and Parks. 

[FR Doc. 06–7026 Filed 8–15–06; 2:43 pm] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 


hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with PROPOSALS