Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 201 / Thursday, October 19, 2023 / Notices 72099 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R7–MB–2023–N079; 

FXMB12610700000–234–FF07M01000; OMB 

Control Number 1018–0178] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget; Regulations 

for the Taking of Migratory Birds for 

Subsistence Uses in Alaska 

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, 

without change, an information 

collection. 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on or before 

November 20, 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– 

0178’’ in the subject line of your 

comments. 

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 of 1995 and 5 CFR 

1320.8(d)(1), we provide the general 

public and other Federal agencies with 

an opportunity 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. 

On June 26, 2023, we published in the 

Federal Register (88 FR 41410) a notice 

of our intent to request that OMB 

approve this information collection. In 

that notice, we solicited comments for 

60 days, ending on August 25, 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–R7–MB–2023–0082) 

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 one comment in 

response to that notice which did not 

address the information collection 

requirements. No response to that 

comment is required. 

As part of our continuing effort to 

reduce paperwork and respondent 

burdens, we are again soliciting 

comments from the public and other 

Federal agencies on the proposed ICR 

that is described below. 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. 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 

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 Migratory Bird Treaty 

Act of 1918 (16 U.S.C. 703–712) and the 

Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 

742d) designate the Department of the 

Interior as the key agency responsible 

for managing migratory bird populations 

that frequent the United States and for 

setting harvest regulations that allow for 

the conservation of those populations. 

These responsibilities include gathering 

data on various aspects of migratory 

bird harvest. We use harvest data to 

review regulation proposals and to issue 

harvest regulations. 

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act 

Protocol Amendment (1995) 

(Amendment) provides for the 

customary and traditional use of 

migratory birds and their eggs for 

subsistence use by Indigenous 

inhabitants of Alaska. The Amendment 

states that its intent is not to cause 

significant increases in the take of 

species of migratory birds relative to 

their continental population sizes. A 

submittal letter from the Department of 

State to the White House (May 20, 1996) 

accompanied the Amendment and 

specified the need for harvest 

monitoring. The submittal letter stated 

that the Service, the Alaska Department 

of Fish and Game (ADF&G), and Alaska 

Native Organizations would collect 

harvest information cooperatively 

within the subsistence-eligible areas. 

Harvest data help to ensure that 

customary and traditional subsistence 

uses of migratory birds and their eggs by 

Indigenous inhabitants of Alaska do not 

significantly increase the take of species 

of migratory birds relative to their 

continental population sizes. 

Information collection currently 

authorized under the OMB approval 

number 1018–0178 includes three items 

related to the spring-summer 

subsistence harvest of migratory birds in 

Alaska: (1) invitation of residents of 

non-eligible regions to participate in 

harvesting activities in the eligible 

regions; (2) household registration 

permit for harvest in the Cordova area; 

and (3) hunter registration permit for 

harvest in the Kodiak Island Roaded 

Area. Harvest monitoring associated 

with the Cordova and Kodiak permits 

are authorized under a separate OMB 

control number (1018–0124). 

1. Invitation to Harvest: 

• Tribal Council Invitation Letter— 

Regulations at 50 CFR 92.5(d) allow 

immediate family members (children, 

parents, grandparents, and siblings 


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72100 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 201 / Thursday, October 19, 2023 / Notices 

living in excluded areas) of residents of 

eligible areas to participate in the 

spring-summer subsistence harvest of 

migratory birds in a village’s subsistence 

area. The regulations specify that 

participation of residents of excluded 

areas in the spring-summer harvest of 

migratory birds in an eligible area must 

be pre-authorized by a letter of 

invitation issued by a local Tribal 

council within the harvest area. 

• Tribal Council Invitation Permit 

Request—The permit request is another 

method to invite an immediate family 

member residing in an excluded area to 

participate in the spring-summer 

subsistence hunt in a defined eligible 

area. The permit, issued by the Tribal 

Council, certifies that the prospective 

hunter is an immediate family member 

as defined in 50 CFR 92.4 and is thereby 

authorized to assist family members in 

hunting migratory birds in a defined 

subsistence harvest area. The permit is 

valid for 2 years from the date of 

issuance. 

• Tribal Council Notification to 

Alaska Migratory Bird Co-Management 

Council (AMBCC)—Tribal councils will 

provide copies of all letters of invitation 

regarding the invitation to hunt and of 

all issued permits to the Executive 

Director of the AMBCC. 

• AMBCC Notification to AK Region 

Office of Law Enforcement—Upon 

receiving copies of the letters of 

invitation and of issued permits from 

Tribal Councils, the AMBCC Executive 

Director will inform the Service’s 

Alaska Regional Office of Law 

Enforcement (AK–OLE) within 2 

business days. 

2. Cordova Harvest Household 

Registration Permit—The Service’s final 

rule published on April 8, 2014 (79 FR 

19454), authorized spring-summer 

harvest of migratory birds by residents 

of the community of Cordova in the Gulf 

of Alaska region. In 2017, the 

regulations were updated to allow 

residents of the neighboring 

communities of Tatitlek and Chenega to 

harvest in the area defined for the 

Cordova harvest (April 4, 2017; 82 FR 

16298). Local partners, including the 

Eyak Tribe and the U.S. Forest Service 

(USFS) Cordova Office’s Chugach 

Subsistence Program, worked in close 

collaboration with the ADF&G Division 

of Subsistence to develop a household 

registration and harvest monitoring 

system using a post-season mail survey. 

Household registrations are issued by 

the Tribal Councils of the communities 

of Cordova, Tatitlek, and Chenega, as 

well as by the USFS Cordova Office’s 

Chugach Subsistence Program. The 

registration form includes fields to write 

the permit holder’s name and mailing 

address, as well as a field for the permit 

holder to sign acknowledging the terms 

of the permit. The permit also has fields 

to write the names of other household 

members authorized to harvest under 

the registration. Registration data are 

securely disposed of after completion of 

the annual harvest data collection and 

analysis. 

3. Kodiak Island Roaded Area Hunter 

Registration Permit—On April 19, 2021, 

we issued a final rule (86 FR 20311) that 

allows migratory bird hunting and egg 

gathering by registration permit in the 

Kodiak Island Roaded Area in the 

Kodiak Archipelago Region of Alaska 

for a 3-year experimental season (2021– 

2023), after which time the regulation 

will sunset. The rule also finalized 

regulations for the spring-summer 

subsistence harvest of migratory birds in 

the Kodiak Island Roaded Area under a 

co-management process involving the 

Service, the ADF&G, and Alaska Native 

representatives. These regulations 

include a permit and harvest reporting 

system developed in collaboration with 

the AMBCC local partner, the Sun’aq 

Tribe of Kodiak. The intent of this rule 

was to allow all residents of the Kodiak 

Archipelago Region the opportunity to 

participate in subsistence hunting 

activities without the need for a 

watercraft. Previous regulations closed 

the Roaded Area to all subsistence 

migratory bird hunting and egg 

gathering, but allowed these activities in 

adjacent marine waters beyond 500 feet 

from shore, including offshore islands, 

where access requires a watercraft. The 

mandatory registration permit and the 

mandatory reporting of hunter activity 

and harvest in the 2021–2023 

experimental hunt will allow estimation 

of hunter participation, bird and egg 

harvest, and harvest composition. These 

data will inform a potential proposal 

and decision to reopen the Roaded Area 

to subsistence hunting in the future. To 

protect species of conservation concern, 

spring-summer subsistence hunting and 

egg gathering for Arctic terns, Aleutian 

terns, mew gulls, and emperor geese 

will remain closed in the Roaded Area. 

Results of harvest monitoring for the 

3-year experimental season are expected 

to be available in fall 2023 for review by 

the Sun’aq Tribe and other members of 

the AMBCC, who will make a 

recommendation on whether to 

continue the Kodiak Island Roaded Area 

hunt and whether to continue the 

requirement for the hunter registration 

permit and harvest reporting. Based on 

such forthcoming recommendation, 

corresponding changes to harvest 

regulations, if approved, could be 

implemented for the 2025 Alaska 

spring-summer migratory bird 

subsistence harvest season. 

Enforcement of regulations for the 

Kodiak Island Roaded Area will be the 

responsibility of the Service’s Office of 

Law Enforcement. Enforcement 

personnel are aware of cultural and 

traditional practices of migratory bird 

subsistence harvest by rural residents of 

Alaska who are eligible to participate for 

this permit hunt concurrent with the 

need to ensure conservation of 

migratory birds, particularly species of 

conservation concern; of the necessary 

adherence to specific regulations 

requiring a permit and mandatory 

harvest reporting; and that hunting and 

egg gathering of Arctic terns, Aleutian 

terns, mew gulls, and emperor geese 

will remain closed in the Kodiak Island 

Roaded Area. 

The Sun’aq Tribe of Kodiak worked in 

close collaboration with the ADF&G 

Division of Subsistence to develop a 

permit and harvest monitoring system. 

Permits are issued by the Sun’aq Tribe 

of Kodiak to individual harvesters. The 

Sun’aq Tribe provides copies of issued 

permits to the ADF&G Division of 

Subsistence, which uses this 

information to manage the harvest 

reporting system. The permit includes 

fields to write the permit holder’s name 

and mailing address, as well as a field 

for the permit holder to sign 

acknowledging the terms of the permit. 

The permit also includes a map of the 

harvest area and description of the 

harvest regulations, including the list of 

species open to harvest. Permit data are 

securely disposed of after completion of 

the annual harvest data collection and 

analysis. 

You may request copies of the 

referenced permit applications by 

submitting a request to the Service 

Information Collection Clearance Officer 

using one of the methods identified in 

the ADDRESSES section of this notice. 

Title of Collection: Regulations for the 

Taking of Migratory Birds for 

Subsistence Uses in Alaska, 50 CFR part 

92. 

OMB Control Number: 1018–0178. 

Form Number: None. 

Type of Review: Extension of a 

currently approved collection. 

Respondents/Affected Public: 

Individuals/households and Tribal 

governments within subsistence-eligible 

areas of Alaska. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Required to 

obtain or retain a benefit. 

Frequency of Collection: Annually. 

Total Estimated Annual Nonhour 

Burden Cost: None. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 201 / Thursday, October 19, 2023 / Notices 72101 

Activity/respondents 

Average 

number of 

annual 

respondents 

Average 

number of 

submissions 

each 

Average 

number of 

annual 

responses 

Completion 

time per 

response 

(min) 

Total annual 

burden 

hours * 

Tribal Council Invitation Letter (50 CFR 92.5): 

Tribal Governments ...................................................... 1 1 1 30 1 

Tribal Council Invitation Permit Request (50 CFR 92.5):.

Tribal Governments ...................................................... 1 1 1 30 1 

Tribal Council Notification to AMBCC (50 CFR 92.5): 

Tribal Governments ...................................................... 1 1 1 30 1 

Kodiak Island Roaded Area Hunter Registration Permit (50 

CFR 92.31): 

Individuals ..................................................................... 100 1 100 15 25

Cordova Household Registration Permit (50 CFR 92.31): 

Individuals ..................................................................... 50 1 50 15 13

Totals ..................................................................... 154 ........................ 154 ........................ 42 

* Rounded.

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. 2023–23029 Filed 10–18–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R7–MB–2023–N083; 

FXMB12610700000–234–FF07M01000; OMB 

Control Number 1018–0124] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget; Alaska 

Subsistence Bird Harvest Survey 

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, 

without change, a currently approved 

information collection. 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on or before 

November 20, 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- 

0124’’ in the subject line of your 

comments. 

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 of 1995 and 5 CFR 

1320.8(d)(1), we provide the general 

public and other Federal agencies with 

an opportunity 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. 

On June 26, 2023, we published in the 

Federal Register (88 FR 41415) a notice 

of our intent to request that OMB 

approve this information collection. In 

that notice, we solicited comments for 

60 days, ending on August 25, 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–R7–MB–2023–0081) 

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 one comment in 

response to that notice which did not 

address the information collection 

requirements. No response to that 

comment is required. 

As part of our continuing effort to 

reduce paperwork and respondent 

burdens, we are again soliciting 

comments from the public and other 

Federal agencies on the proposed ICR 

that is described below. 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. Before including your 

address, phone number, email address, 

or other personal identifying 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1