Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 184 / Monday, September 25, 2023 / Notices 65741 

Permit 

record No. Applicant Species Location Activity Type of take Permit action 

PER3115282 .......... Karraker, 

Nancy; Kingston, Rhode 

Island.

Jemez Mountains salamander (Plethodon 

neomexicanus).

New Mexico ..... Presence/absence surveys, capture, 

handle, biosample, and 

release.

Harass, harm, 

capture.

Renew. 

PER3856727 .......... City of Austin— 

Watershed 

Protection 

Department; 

Austin, Texas.

Barton Springs salamander (Eurycea sosorum), 

Austin blind salamander (Eurycea 

waterlooensis), Tooth Cave spider 

(Tayshaneta myopica), Tooth Cave 

pseudoscorpion (Tartarocreagris texana), Bee 

Creek Cave harvestman (Texella reddelli), 

Kretschmarr Cave mold beetle (Texamaurops 

reddelli), Tooth Cave ground beetle (Rhadine 

persephone), Bone Cave harvestman (Texella 

reyesi), Coffin Cave mold beetle (Batrisodes 

texanus), ground beetle (Rhadine exilis), 

ground beetle (Rhadine infernalis), Helotes 

mold beetle (Batrisodes venyivi), 

Cokendolpher Cave harvestman (Texella 

cokendolpheri), Robber Baron Cave 

meshweaver (Cicurina baronia), Madla Cave 

meshweaver (Cicurina madla), Government 

Canyon Bat Cave meshweaver (Cicurina 

vespera), Government Canyon Bat Cave spider (Neoleptoneta microps).

Texas ............... Presence/absence surveys, handling, capture, 

voucher specimen collection.

Harass, harm, 

kill, capture.

Renew. 

PER3324977 .......... Savarino, Patrick; Dripping 

Springs, 

Texas.

Lesser prairie chicken (Tympanuchus 

pallidicinctus).

Colorado, Kansas, New 

Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas.

Presence/absence surveys, habitat 

assessments.

Harass, harm ... New. 

PER4208629 .......... Turtles Fly Too; 

Boise, Idaho.

Kemp’s ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii); 

leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea); 

Olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea); 

hawskbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata).

Arizona, New 

Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas.

Transport ......... Harass, harm ... New. 

Public Availability of Comments 

All comments we receive become part 

of the public record associated with this 

action. Requests for copies of comments 

will be handled in accordance with the 

Freedom of Information Act, National 

Environmental Policy Act, and Service 

and Department of the Interior policies 

and procedures. Before including your 

address, phone number, email address, 

or other personal identifying 

information in your comment, you 

should be aware that your entire 

comment—including your personal 

identifying information—may be made 

publicly available at any time. While 

you can ask us to withhold your 

personal identifying information from 

public review, we cannot guarantee that 

we will be able to do so. All 

submissions from organizations or 

businesses, and from individuals 

identifying themselves as 

representatives or officials of 

organizations or businesses, will be 

made available for public disclosure in 

their entirety. 

Authority 

We provide this notice under section 

10 of the Endangered Species Act (16 

U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 

Amy Lueders, 

Regional Director, Southwest Region, U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–20614 Filed 9–22–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[Docket No. FWS–HQ–NWRS–2023–0135; 

FF09M21200–234–FXMB1231099BPP0; 

OMB Control Number 1018–0193] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service Agreements With Friends 

Organizations 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of information collection; 

request for comment. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we, 

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

(Service), are proposing to renew an 

information collection with revisions. 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on or before 

November 24, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the 

information collection request (ICR) by 

one of the following methods (please 

reference 1018–0193 in the subject line 

of your comments): 

• Internet (preferred): https://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments 

on Docket No. FWS–HQ–NWRS–2023– 

0135. 

• U.S. mail: Service Information 

Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service, 5275 Leesburg 

Pike, MS: PRB (JAO/3W), Falls Church, 

VA 22041–3803. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To 

request additional information about 

this ICR, contact Madonna L. Baucum, 

Service Information Collection 

Clearance Officer, by email at Info_

Coll@fws.gov, or by telephone at (703) 

358–2503. Individuals in the United 

States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of 

hearing, or have a speech disability may 

dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to 

access telecommunications relay 

services. Individuals outside the United 

States should use the relay services 

offered within their country to make 

international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 

accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act (PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et 

seq.) and its implementing regulations 

at 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), all information 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
65742 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 184 / Monday, September 25, 2023 / Notices 

collections require approval under the 

PRA. We may not conduct or sponsor 

and you are not required to respond to 

a collection of information unless it 

displays a currently valid OMB control 

number. 

As part of our continuing effort to 

reduce paperwork and respondent 

burdens, we invite the public and other 

Federal agencies to comment on new, 

proposed, revised, and continuing 

collections of information. This helps us 

assess the impact of our information 

collection requirements and minimize 

the public’s reporting burden. It also 

helps the public understand our 

information collection requirements and 

provide the requested data in the 

desired format. 

We are especially interested in public 

comment addressing the following: 

(1) Whether or not the collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

agency, including whether or not the 

information will have practical utility; 

(2) The accuracy of our estimate of the 

burden for this collection of 

information, including the validity of 

the methodology and assumptions used; 

(3) Ways to enhance the quality, 

utility, and clarity of the information to 

be collected; and 

(4) How might the agency minimize 

the burden of the collection of 

information on those who are to 

respond, including through the use of 

appropriate automated, electronic, 

mechanical, or other technological 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology, e.g., permitting 

electronic submission of response. 

Comments that you submit in 

response to this notice are a matter of 

public record. We will include or 

summarize each comment in our request 

to OMB to approve this ICR. Before 

including your address, phone number, 

email address, or other personal 

identifying information in your 

comment, you should be aware that 

your entire comment—including your 

personal identifying information—may 

be made publicly available at any time. 

While you can ask us in your comment 

to withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

Abstract: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service (Service) enters into agreements 

and partnerships with nonprofit Friends 

groups to facilitate and formalize 

collaboration between the parties in 

support of mutual goals and objectives 

as authorized by: 

(1) The Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 

(16 U.S.C. 742a–742j); 

(2) The National Wildlife Refuge 

System Administration Act of 1966 (16 

U.S.C. 668dd–ee), as amended; 

(3) The Refuge Recreation Act of 1962 

(16 U.S.C. 460k et seq.), as amended; 

(4) The Anadromous Fish 

Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 757a–757g), 

as amended; 

(5) The Fish and Wildlife 

Coordination Act of 1934 (16 U.S.C. 

661–667e), as amended; 

(6) The National Wildlife Refuge 

System Volunteer and Community 

Partnership Enhancement Act of 1998 

(16 U.S.C. 742f), as amended; and 

(7) The National Fish Hatchery 

System Volunteer Act of 2006 (16 U.S.C. 

760aa), as amended. 

In September 2020, the Office of 

Inspector General (OIG) at the 

Department of the Interior (DOI) 

delivered its final audit report of the 

Service’s Friends Program. The audit 

outlined six recommendations, 

including a requirement for Friends 

group to report related data to the 

Service on a regular basis. In order to 

collect this information legally, we must 

complete the Information Collection 

Clearance process. The Service 

addressed and completed all audit 

recommendations and commitments 

(other than completion of the 

Information Collection Clearance 

process). For example, the Service 

amended and reissued agency policies 

(Service Manual chapters 633 FW 1, 633 

FW 2, 633 FW 3, and 633 FW 4, 

available at https://www.fws.gov/ 

program/policy-regulations/library) 

which guide the program. We also 

trained Service staff and Friends on the 

new policies. 

The Service uses the information 

collected to establish efficient and 

effective partnerships and working 

relationships with nonprofit Friends 

organizations. The agreements provide a 

method for the Service to legally accept 

donations of funds and other 

contributions by people and 

organizations through partnerships with 

nonprofit (and non-Federal) Friends 

organizations. The partnership 

agreements identify roles and 

responsibilities and identify mutual 

projects over the term of the agreement. 

Quarterly reviews provide an 

opportunity to update contact and 

financial information. Annual reporting 

documents contributions to the Service. 

The Service utilizes a standardized 

agreement which describes the 

substantial involvement of both parties 

in mutually agreed-upon activities and 

ensures that both parties have a mutual 

understanding of their respective roles, 

responsibilities, rights, expectations, 

and requirements within the 

partnership. The agreement, preapproved by the Department of the 

Interior (DOI) Office of the Solicitor, 

provides the suggested language 

common to most Service Friends 

partnerships. The content is based on 

DOI and Service policies, but the 

Friends and Service sites/programs may 

thoughtfully add and delete certain 

language to meet their varying 

partnership roles and responsibilities 

wherever Department and Service 

policies do not dictate otherwise. We 

also use a supplemental partnership 

agreement for use of Service property, 

which provides additional terms and 

responsibilities beyond the general 

terms of the partnership agreement and 

is required only for those Friends 

groups that use Service land, facilities, 

or equipment. 

The partnership agreement and 

supplemental agreement are effective for 

5 years, with four annual modification 

options during the 5-year period of 

performance. Each time the agreement is 

up for its 5-year renewal, the Refuge or 

Fish Hatchery Project Leader and the 

Friends President or Board will meet to 

review, modify, and sign the agreement 

as described above. To become effective, 

the Regional Director (or designee) must 

review, approve, and sign a new 

agreement every 5 years. 

The Service collects the information 

listed below in conjunction with the 

administration of the Friends Program 

to verify compliance with agency policy 

and to allow the Service to gauge the 

impact of the program as a whole. All 

information collected will be kept in a 

secure manner by the Service and will 

not be shared except as an aggregate 

report. If the Service wishes to share 

specific details to illustrate the strength 

of the Friends program, individual 

groups will be asked for their 

permission to do so. 

In addition to the partnership 

agreement and supplemental agreement, 

and subsequent renewals of the 

agreements, the Service collects the 

following information in conjunction 

with the administration of the Friends 

Program: 

• Basic program information 

documentation, to include documents 

such as IRS determination letters 

recognizing an organization as tax 

exempt, submission of IRS Form 990- 

series forms, bylaws, articles of 

incorporation, etc.; 

• Internal financial control 

documentation for the organization; 

• Recordkeeping requirements 

documenting accountability for 

donations and expenditures; 

• Assurance documentation that 

donations, revenues, and expenditures 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 184 / Monday, September 25, 2023 / Notices 65743 

benefit the applicable refuge or 

hatchery; 

• Annual performance reporting 

(donations, revenues, and expenditures) 

and number of memberships (if 

applicable); 

• Additional information that may be 

included as part of quarterly, annual, 

and in-depth program reviews; and 

• Information related to fundraising 

agreements for activities described in 

212 FW 8. 

Over the life of this clearance, the 

Service plans to develop a digital 

platform and process to collect 

information directly from Friends 

groups. Until that occurs, Friends 

groups will submit information through 

form and non-form responses. 

Proposed Revisions to This Information 

Collection 

With this submission, we are 

proposing the following revisions to the 

existing information collection: 

1. (New) National Friends Program: 

Friends Academy Application (Form 3– 

TBD)—The Service uses the Friends 

Academy Application form with the 

Friends Academy, an advanced training 

program for board members and staff of 

Friends organizations who are beyond 

the formative stages of development. 

The overarching purpose of the 

Academy is to cultivate emerging 

Friends leaders by providing a broader 

understanding of the Service and 

enhancing skills to increase the 

effectiveness of Friends/Service 

partnerships. 

This program is exclusively offered to 

Friends board members and staff who 

have been serving for at least 1 year. In 

addition, people who have at least 2 

years of involvement as Friends 

members or volunteers may be 

considered. People eligible for the 

program fall into two application 

pools—Service staff or other Friends 

may nominate a Friend, or a Friend may 

self-nominate. These application forms 

will be completed and submitted 

directly to the National Friends 

Coordinator specified in the 

‘‘Application Submission Instructions’’ 

section. 

• Part I (Region and Application 

Type) of each application simply 

gathers the servicing USFWS regional 

office and specifies the type of 

nomination (Self-nomination or Staff 

nominating a Friend) that dictates 

which sections will be filled out. 

• Part II (Self-Nomination) and Part 

III (Nominating a Friend) both gather 

basic information to identify the 

nominee (name, address, phone 

number, email address) and specify the 

nominee’s baseline credentials for 

gaining entry to the Academy program 

(Friends organization affiliation, years 

of affiliation, Service programs 

supported, volunteer history, board 

position, committees served). In 

addition, these sections also solicit 

professional information that helps the 

Academy’s selection personnel evaluate 

the nominee’s merits as a candidate. 

Each of these parts gather identical 

information regarding the nominee. 

• Part IV (Required Service Site or 

Program Manager Endorsement and 

Signature) requires gathering 

endorsements and signatures from both 

the nominee’s Service Site Program 

Manager and from a member of the 

nominee’s Friends Organization. 

• Part V (Required Service Site or 

Program Manager Endorsement and 

Signature Continued) compiles the 

signatures of all the individuals 

involved in preparing the application: 

self-applicant or nominating official, 

project leader or manager, and Friends 

Organization representative. 

2. (New) National Friends Program 

Mentor Application (Form 3–TBD)—The 

National Friends Mentoring Program is 

open to both Service staff and members 

of the public (e.g., retired Service 

Employees, Friends members). 

Applicants volunteer to serve in a cadre 

of trained mentor professionals. These 

professionals use the National Friends 

Program Mentor Application form to 

apply to enter into mentoring 

relationships with current Friends 

groups who request this service. The 

mentor relationship typically lasts for 

one full year and involves an on-site 

visit to the Friends group and Service 

site which the Friends group supports 

in an official capacity (i.e., has a Friends 

Partnership Agreement). The Service 

generally issues a call for mentor 

applications every 3 to 5 years, at most. 

3. (New) Mentoring Visit Form (Form 

3–TBD)—Friends groups use the 

Mentoring Visit Form to request a 

mentor visit. The form is completed by 

the Friends group, but the Service staff 

at the field station which the Friends 

support must be consulted and must 

sign the form before it is submitted to 

Service headquarters. 

4. (New) Internal Financial Control 

Documentation (Forms 990–N or 

Postcard Filers)—About 80 percent of 

the Service’s Friends groups are very 

small, with annual gross receipts 

totaling $50,000 or less. This means that 

they do not file a 990 or 990–EZ (the 

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) forms on 

which organizations must declare all 

donations and revenues). Rather, these 

smaller groups, which represent most of 

our partners, are only required to file 

the 990–N, or ‘‘e-Postcard.’’ The 990–N 

or e-Postcard simply asks for 

confirmation that the organization has 

annual gross receipts totaling $50,000 or 

less. Collection of this information, per 

the Office of Inspector General audit, 

from Friends groups filing the 990–N or 

ePostcard is not duplicative of what the 

IRS requires from 80 percent of our 

Friends groups, nor is it publicly 

available information on the IRS 

website. Therefore, we need to request 

this information on our Annual Report 

(for only those small entities filing the 

990–N or e-Postcard). 

5. (Revised) Internal Financial Control 

Documentation (Forms 990 or 990–EZ 

Filers)—We reduced the number of 

respondents specific to this requirement 

to reflect only those Friends groups that 

file Forms 990 or 990–EZ. Tax 

information for this collection will be 

retrieved by Service members from 

information published on the IRS 

website and not requested from Friends 

groups. 

Title of Collection: U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service Agreements with 

Friends Organizations. 

OMB Control Number: 1018–0193. 

Form Numbers: To be determined. 

Type of Review: Revision of a 

currently approved collection. 

Respondents/Affected Public: 

Individuals/households; private sector; 

and State, local, and Tribal 

governments. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Required to 

obtain or retain a benefit for monitoring 

and annual reports and voluntary for 

surveys. 

Frequency of Collection: On occasion. 

Total Estimated Annual Nonhour 

Burden Cost: None. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
65744 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 184 / Monday, September 25, 2023 / Notices 

Requirement 

Average 

number 

of annual 

respondents 

Average 

number of 

responses 

each 

Average 

number of 

annual 

responses 

Average 

completion 

time per 

response 

Estimated 

annual 

burden hours * 

Partnership Agreement 

Reporting .............................................................................. 50 50 50 35 1,750 

Recordkeeping ..................................................................... ........................ ........................ ........................ 5 250 

Renewal of Partnership Agreement 

Reporting .............................................................................. 150 1 150 5.5 825 

Recordkeeping ..................................................................... ........................ ........................ ........................ 2.5 375 

Supplemental Agreement 

Reporting .............................................................................. 50 1 50 3 150 

Recordkeeping ..................................................................... ........................ ........................ ........................ 1 50 

Renewal of Supplemental Agreement 

Reporting .............................................................................. 150 1 150 1.5 225 

Recordkeeping ..................................................................... ........................ ........................ ........................ 0.5 75 

Fundraising Agreement 

Reporting .............................................................................. 30 1 30 10 300 

Recordkeeping ..................................................................... ........................ ........................ ........................ 10 300 

Internal Financial Control Documentation (Forms 990 or 990–EZ Filers) (REVISED) 

Reporting .............................................................................. 40 1 40 15 600 

Recordkeeping ..................................................................... ........................ ........................ ........................ 15 600 

Internal Financial Control Documentation (Forms 990–N or Postcard Filers) (NEW) 

Reporting .............................................................................. 160 1 160 15 2,400 

Recordkeeping ..................................................................... ........................ ........................ ........................ 15 2,400 

Assurance Documentation 

Reporting .............................................................................. 200 1 200 20 4,000 

Recordkeeping ..................................................................... ........................ ........................ ........................ 20 4,000 

Supplemental Documentation Requirements: Quarterly Review 

Reporting .............................................................................. 200 4 800 1.5 1,200 

Recordkeeping ..................................................................... ........................ ........................ ........................ 0.5 400 

Supplemental Documentation Requirements: Annual Review 

Reporting .............................................................................. 10 1 10 2.5 25 

Recordkeeping ..................................................................... ........................ ........................ ........................ 17.5 175 

National Friends Program: 2022 Friends Academy Application (Form 3–TBD) (NEW) 

Reporting .............................................................................. 30 1 30 2 60 

National Friends Program: 2022 Mentoring Application (Form 3–TBD) (NEW) 

Reporting .............................................................................. 8 1 8 10 80 

National Friends Program: 2020 Friends Mentor Application (Form 3–TBD) (NEW) 

Reporting .............................................................................. 15 1 15 3 45 

Totals ............................................................................ 1,093 ........................ 1,693 ........................ 20,285 

* Rounded. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 184 / Monday, September 25, 2023 / Notices 65745 

An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor and a person is not required to 

respond to a collection of information 

unless it displays a currently valid OMB 

control number. 

The authority for this action is the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). 

Madonna Baucum, 

Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–20710 Filed 9–22–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–HQ–IA–2023–N068; 

FXIA167109CWT01/234/FF09A40000; OMB 

Control Number 1018–New] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget; CITES 

Master’s Course 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of information collection; 

request for comment. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we, 

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

(Service), are proposing a new 

information collection in use without 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) approval. 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on or before October 

25, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be 

submitted within 30 days of publication 

of this notice at https://

www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. 

Find this particular information 

collection by selecting ‘‘Currently under 

Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or 

by using the search function. Please 

provide a copy of your comments to the 

Service Information Collection 

Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, MS: PRB (JAO/3W), 

5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 

22041–3803 (mail); or by email to Info_

Coll@fws.gov. Please reference ‘‘1018– 

CITES’’ in the subject line of your 

comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Madonna L. Baucum, Service 

Information Collection Clearance 

Officer, by email at Info_Coll@fws.gov, 

or by telephone at (703) 358–2503. 

Individuals in the United States who are 

deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have 

a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, 

TDD, or TeleBraille) to access 

telecommunications relay services. 

Individuals outside the United States 

should use the relay services offered 

within their country to make 

international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 

accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act (PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et 

seq.) and its implementing regulations 

at 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), all information 

collections require approval under the 

PRA. We may not conduct or sponsor 

and you are not required to respond to 

a collection of information unless it 

displays a currently valid OMB control 

number. 

On February 14, 2023, we published 

in the Federal Register (88 FR 9533) a 

notice of our intent to request that OMB 

approve this information collection. In 

that notice, we solicited comments for 

60 days, ending on April 17, 2023. In an 

effort to increase public awareness of, 

and participation in, our public 

commenting processes associated with 

information collection requests, the 

Service also published the Federal 

Register notice on Regulations.gov 

(Docket No. FWS–HQ–IA–2022–0142) 

to provide the public with an additional 

method to submit comments (in 

addition to the typical Info_Coll@

fws.gov email and U.S. mail submission 

methods). We received two comments 

in response to that notice. However, 

neither comment addressed the 

information collection requirements, so 

no response is required. 

As part of our continuing effort to 

reduce paperwork and respondent 

burdens, we invite the public and other 

Federal agencies to comment on new, 

proposed, revised, and continuing 

collections of information. This helps us 

assess the impact of our information 

collection requirements and minimize 

the public’s reporting burden. It also 

helps the public understand our 

information collection requirements and 

provide the requested data in the 

desired format. 

We are especially interested in public 

comment addressing the following: 

(1) Whether or not the collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

agency, including whether or not the 

information will have practical utility; 

(2) The accuracy of our estimate of the 

burden for this collection of 

information, including the validity of 

the methodology and assumptions used; 

(3) Ways to enhance the quality, 

utility, and clarity of the information to 

be collected; and 

(4) How might the agency minimize 

the burden of the collection of 

information on those who are to 

respond, including through the use of 

appropriate automated, electronic, 

mechanical, or other technological 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology, e.g., permitting 

electronic submission of response. 

Comments that you submit in 

response to this notice are a matter of 

public record. We will include or 

summarize each comment in our request 

to OMB to approve this ICR. Before 

including your address, phone number, 

email address, or other personal 

identifying information in your 

comment, you should be aware that 

your entire comment—including your 

personal identifying information—may 

be made publicly available at any time. 

While you can ask us in your comment 

to withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

Abstract: Wildlife trafficking ranks as 

the second greatest threat to species 

survival after habitat destruction. The 

United States recognizes wildlife 

trafficking as a serious transnational 

crime that threatens thousands of plant 

and animal species and undermines 

U.S. priorities, including national 

security, human health, and economic 

growth. The Service employs a sciencebased approach to counter wildlife 

trafficking, including through the 

implementation of the Convention on 

International Trade in Endangered 

Species of Wild Fauna and Flora 

(CITES). CITES is the sole global treaty 

dedicated to preventing the 

unsustainable trade in plants and 

animals and is an essential component 

to counter illegal wildlife trade as it 

provides mechanisms and incentives to 

effectively manage natural resources. 

The United States has been a Party to 

CITES since 1973. Under the 

Endangered Species Act, the Service has 

been designated to carry out the 

provisions of CITES for the United 

States. 

As one of the largest and oldest 

environmental treaties in the world, 

CITES is a key conservation tool for the 

protection of 35,000 plant and animal 

species. Currently 183 countries have 

agreed to implement CITES. However, 

realizing the full conservation impact of 

CITES remains challenging and is 

highly dependent on each country’s 

financial and technical capacity. Even 

when a Party has the political will and 

desire to implement CITES, it may not 

have the resources, systems, or 

personnel to effectively follow CITES’ 

mandates, such as evaluating permit 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1