Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 222 / Monday, November 20, 2023 / Notices 80745 

Madonna Baucum, 

Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–25555 Filed 11–17–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[Docket No. FWS–HQ–MB–2023–0211; 

FXMB1231099BPP0–245–FF09M32000; 

OMB Control Number 1018–0171] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Establishment of Annual 

Migratory Bird Hunting Seasons 

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 revise a 

currently approved information 

collection. 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on or before January 

19, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the 

information collection request (ICR) by 

one of the following methods (reference 

‘‘1018–0171’’ in the subject line of your 

comment): 

• Internet (preferred): https://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments 

on Docket No. FWS–HQ–MB–2023– 

0211. 

• 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 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. 

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 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: Migratory game birds are 

those bird species so designated in 

conventions between the United States 

and several foreign nations for the 

protection and management of these 

birds. Under the Migratory Bird Treaty 

Act (16 U.S.C. 703–712), the Secretary 

of the Interior is authorized to 

determine when ‘‘hunting, taking, 

capture, killing, possession, sale, 

purchase, shipment, transportation, 

carriage, or export of any such bird, or 

any part, nest, or egg’’ of migratory game 

birds can take place, and to adopt 

regulations for this purpose. These 

regulations are written after giving due 

regard to ‘‘the zones of temperature and 

to the distribution, abundance, 

economic value, breeding habits, and 

times and lines of migratory flight of 

such birds’’ (16 U.S.C. 704(a)) and are 

updated annually. This responsibility 

has been delegated to the Service as the 

lead Federal agency for managing and 

conserving migratory birds in the 

United States. However, migratory bird 

management is a cooperative effort of 

State, Tribal, and Federal governments. 

Migratory game bird hunting seasons 

provide opportunities for recreation and 

sustenance; aid Federal, State, and 

Tribal governments in the management 

of migratory game birds; and permit 

harvests at levels compatible with 

migratory game bird population status 

and habitat conditions. 

The Service develops migratory game 

bird hunting regulations by establishing 

the frameworks, or outside limits, for 

season dates, season lengths, shooting 

hours, bag and possession limits, and 

areas where migratory game bird 

hunting may occur. Acknowledging 

regional differences in hunting 

conditions, the Service has 

administratively divided the Nation into 

four Flyways for the primary purpose of 

managing migratory game birds. Each 

Flyway (Atlantic, Mississippi, Central, 

and Pacific) has a Flyway Council, a 

formal organization generally composed 

of one member from each State and 

Province in that Flyway. The Flyway 

Councils, established through the 

Association of Fish and Wildlife 

Agencies, also assist in researching and 

providing migratory game bird 

management information for Federal, 

State, Provincial, and Tribal 

governments, as well as private 

conservation entities and the general 

public. 

The information identified below, 

solicited annually from State (including 

U.S. territory) governments, is necessary 

to establish annual migratory bird 

hunting seasons. The required 

information, received at various times in 

the year prior to the actual hunting 

season as part of the rulemaking process 

described above, is used by the Service 

as part of the final rulemaking process 

necessary to open annual hunting 

seasons otherwise closed by law. 

1. Information Requested from States 

and U.S. Territories to Establish Annual 

Migratory Bird Hunting Seasons—State 

and U.S. territory governments that 

wish to establish annual migratory game 

bird hunting seasons are required to 

provide the requested dates and other 

details for hunting seasons in their 

respective States or Territories. The 

information is provided to the Service 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
80746 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 222 / Monday, November 20, 2023 / Notices 

in a non-form format, usually via letter 

or spreadsheet, in response to 

solicitations for the information sent to 

the State governments each year via an 

emailed letter and as part of the first 

final rule (for the frameworks). 

2. Reports (50 CFR part 20)—The 

following reports are requested from the 

States and are submitted either annually 

or every 3 years as explained in the 

following text. (NOTE: We annotated 

changes, if any, to the reporting 

requirements since OMB’s last 

approval.) 

a. Reports from Experimental Hunting 

Seasons and Season Structure Changes 

(Required): 

i. Atlantic Flyway Council: 

• Delaware—Experimental tundra swan 

season (Yearly updates and Final 

report) (Removed—Completed) 

• Connecticut, Maryland, North 

Carolina, and Virginia—Evaluation of 

the two zone and three segment duck 

season zone-split configuration 

including impacts on hunter 

dynamics (e.g., hunter numbers, 

satisfaction) and harvest during the 

2021–25 seasons (Final report for each 

State). (New) 

ii. Mississippi Flyway Council: 

• Alabama—Experimental sandhill 

crane season (Yearly updates and 

Final report) (Removed—Completed) 

• Minnesota—Experimental early teal 

season (Yearly updates and Final 

report) 

• Louisiana—Evaluation of the two 

zone and three segment duck season 

zone-split configuration including 

impacts on hunter dynamics (e.g., 

hunter numbers, satisfaction) and 

harvest during the 2021–25 seasons 

(Final report). (New) 

iii. Central Flyway Council: 

• New Mexico—Sandhill crane season 

in Estancia Valley (Yearly updates 

and Final report) Now operational— 

Annual data are still required, but 

there is not a final report, since this 

monitoring will occur in perpetuity 

(or as long as the State has that hunt 

area). (Removed—Experimental 

completed; Moved to State-specific 

below) 

• South Dakota and Nebraska— 

Experimental two-tier hunting 

regulations study per the terms of the 

study plan and Memorandum of 

Agreement among these States and 

the Service (Yearly updates and Final 

report) 

• Wyoming—Split (3-way) season for 

Canada geese (Final report only) 

(Removed—Completed) 

iv. Pacific Flyway Council: 

• California—Split (3-way) season for 

white-fronted geese (Final report 

only) (Removed—Completed) 

• Idaho—Experimental swan season 

(Yearly updates and Final report) 

(Removed—Completed) 

v. Additional State-specific Annual 

Reports: 

• Arizona—Sandhill crane season 

harvest and subspecies composition 

(3-year intervals). 

• New Mexico—Sandhill crane season 

harvest and subspecies composition 

in Estancia Valley (Yearly). 

(Revised—Relocated from Central 

Flyway Council experimental reports 

above) 

• Delaware, North Carolina, and 

Virginia—Tundra swan season hunter 

participation and harvest (Yearly). 

(Revised—To add Delaware) 

• Montana (Central Flyway portion), 

North Dakota, and South Dakota— 

Tundra swan season hunter 

participation and harvest (Yearly). 

(Revised—Relocated Montana and 

South Dakota to separate bullet 

below) 

• Montana (Central Flyway portion) and 

South Dakota—Swan season hunter 

participation, harvest, species 

composition, and hunter compliance 

rates in providing speciesdeterminant parts or bill 

measurements of harvested swans for 

species identification (Yearly). 

(Revised) 

• Idaho, Montana (Pacific Flyway 

Portion), Utah, and Nevada—Swan 

season hunter participation, harvest, 

species composition, and hunter 

compliance rates in providing 

species-determinant parts or bill 

measurements of harvested swans for 

species identification (Yearly). 

(Revised—To add Idaho and 

Montana) 

Reports and monitoring are used for a 

variety of reasons. Some are used to 

monitor species composition of the 

harvest for those areas where species 

intermingling can confound harvest 

management, and potential overharvest 

of one species can be of management 

concern. Others are used to determine 

overall harvest for those species and/or 

areas that are not sampled well by our 

overall harvest surveys due to either the 

limited nature/area of the hunt or 

season, or where the harvest requires 

close monitoring. Experimental season 

reports are used to determine whether 

the experimental season is achieving its 

intended goals and objectives, without 

causing unintended harm to other 

species and ultimately whether the 

experimental season should proceed to 

operational status. Most experimental 

seasons are 3-year trials with yearly 

reports and a final report. Most of the 

other reports and monitoring are 

conducted either annually or at 3-year 

intervals. 

Proposed Revisions 

1. (REVISION) Submissions of Tribal 

Proposals—Under the regulations in the 

Service’s September 1, 2023, final rule 

(88 FR 60375), we have removed the 

requirement that Tribes annually submit 

their proposed migratory game bird 

hunting regulations (and associated 

monitoring, anticipated harvest, and 

capabilities for regulation development 

and enforcement) for our review and 

approval. We also will no longer 

publish special Tribal migratory game 

bird hunting regulations in the Federal 

Register (i.e., a proposed and final rule). 

The regulations set forth in the 

September 1, 2023, final rule adopted 

elements of our guidelines in use since 

1985 for establishing special migratory 

game bird hunting regulations on 

Federal Indian reservations (including 

off-reservation trust lands) and ceded 

lands. Tribes that comply with these 

regulations will be authorized to 

independently establish special Tribal 

migratory bird hunting regulations. 

However, if circumstances change and 

data indicates migratory game bird 

populations are substantially declining 

or Tribal hunting increases significantly, 

we will reevaluate the regulations at 50 

CFR 20.110. 

By allowing Tribes to independently 

establish special migratory bird hunting 

regulations, the Service recognizes 

Tribal sovereignty to exercise reserved 

hunting rights and, for some Tribes, 

recognition of their authority to regulate 

hunting by both Tribal and nontribal 

members on their reservation. The 

September 1, 2023, final rule extended 

to Tribes with reserved hunting rights 

the same autonomy as the States to 

independently establish migratory game 

bird hunting seasons for nontribal 

members within annually established, 

biologically appropriate Federal outside 

limits. As an alternative to promulgating 

special Tribal migratory game bird 

hunting regulations, Tribes may choose 

to observe the hunting regulations 

established by the State or States in 

which the reservation is located. We 

coordinated with Tribes over the past 2 

years via letters and four webinars as we 

developed this new regulatory approach 

for Tribal self- management of the 

harvest, and we have received positive 

feedback. The new system will reduce 

the annual administrative burden on 

both the Tribes and the Service to 

propose, review, and publish special 

migratory game bird hunting regulations 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 222 / Monday, November 20, 2023 / Notices 80747 

while continuing to sustain healthy 

migratory game bird populations for 

future generations. 

2. (NEW) Requests for Consultation 

(Tribes/States)—The new regulations in 

the final rule under RIN 1018–BF64 (88 

FR 60375, September 1, 2023) also may 

be applied to the establishment of 

migratory game bird hunting regulations 

for nontribal members on all lands 

within the 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 members on non-Indian lands 

within the reservation. Tribes usually 

have the authority to regulate migratory 

game bird hunting by nonmembers on 

Indian-owned reservation lands. 

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 migratory game 

bird hunting by non-Indians on these 

lands. In those 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 may wish to establish 

special migratory game bird hunting 

regulations for Tribal members on ceded 

lands. 

It is incumbent upon the Tribe and/ 

or the State to request consultation. We 

will not presume to make a 

determination, without being advised by 

either a Tribe or a State, that any issue 

is or is not worthy of formal 

consultation. Tribal and State requests 

for consultation with the Service should 

be sent to the Service’s Assistant 

Director for the Migratory Bird Program. 

We note that our guidance on resolving 

issues of concern between Tribes and 

States on reservations and ceded lands 

is the same guidance we provided under 

the previous Tribal regulation process. 

3. (NEW) Requests for Experimental 

Seasons (Tribes)—We will continue to 

consult with Tribes that wish to reach 

a mutual agreement (memorandum of 

understanding (MOU) or similar type of 

formal agreement) on conducting shortterm (possibly several years) 

experimental hunting seasons using 

methods outside of the Federal hunting 

methods at 50 CFR 20.21 for onreservation and ceded lands hunting by 

Tribal members. The Tribal-memberonly experimental hunting season 

would provide data and evaluation 

criteria specified in an agreement for 

consideration if a Tribe would like to 

make the additional hunting method 

operational. Tribes should send such 

requests for consultation to the Service’s 

Assistant Director for the Migratory Bird 

Program at least 9 months before the 

season or ceremony regarding hunting 

methods outside of the Federal 

regulations. 

If any individual Tribe wishes to 

make these additional experimental 

hunting methods operational and the 

Service agrees, the Service will conduct 

rulemaking (using any data from the 

experimental hunting season) to amend 

50 CFR part 20 to allow Tribal members 

to use these additional hunting 

methods. 

Starting with the 2023–2024 hunting 

season, annual Tribal hunting season 

regulations will no longer be published 

in the Federal Register, alleviating the 

administrative burden to both the 

Service and the Tribes of developing 

special Tribal migratory bird hunting 

regulation proposals, reviewing 

proposals, and publishing Tribal 

regulations as Federal regulations. This 

process would not apply to seasons for 

subsistence take of migratory birds in 

Alaska. 

Title of Collection: Establishment of 

Annual Migratory Bird Hunting 

Seasons, 50 CFR part 20. 

OMB Control Number: 1018–0171. 

Form Numbers: None. 

Type of Review: Revision of a 

currently approved collection. 

Respondents/Affected Public: State 

and Tribal governments. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Respondents: 52 (from State 

governments and Territories). 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Responses: 78 (from 52 State and U.S. 

Territories, as well as 26 additional 

reports). 

Estimated Completion Time per 

Response: Varies from 4 hours to 650 

hours, depending on activity. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Burden Hours: 11,423. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Required to 

obtain or retain a benefit. 

Frequency of Collection: Annually. 

Total Estimated Annual Nonhour 

Burden Cost: None. 

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. 2023–25558 Filed 11–17–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Office of the Secretary 

[234D0102DM, DS61200000, 

DLSN00000.000000, DX61201] 

Request for Public Nominations for 

Authors and Scientific/Technical 

Inputs for the First National Nature 

Assessment 

AGENCY: Office of Policy Analysis, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Request for public nominations. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of the 

Interior, on behalf of the U.S. Global 

Change Research Program (USGCRP), is 

soliciting nominations for authors and 

scientific/technical inputs for the First 

National Nature Assessment (NNA1). 

Refer to the NNA1 Draft Prospectus for 

further information on the scope, topics, 

and overarching themes for the report. 

NNA1 will adhere to the Global Change 

Research Act, Information Quality Act, 

and Evidence Act requirements for 

quality, transparency, and accessibility 

as appropriate for a Highly Influential 

Scientific Assessment. NNA1 will also 

adhere to USGCRP standards and 

guidelines requiring it to be a policyneutral and policy-relevant product. 

DATES: Nominations should be 

submitted via the web address specified 

below and must be received by the close 

of this notice January 4, 2024. While we 

request that scientific/technical inputs 

be submitted by the close of this notice, 

they will be accepted on an ongoing 

basis throughout the development of the 

report. 

ADDRESSES: Nominations for authors 

must be submitted electronically using 

a web form accessible via https://

www.globalchange.gov/notices. A short 

Curriculum Vitae (CV) of no more than 

four (4) pages must be included. 

Scientific/technical inputs should also 

be submitted electronically using a web 

form accessible via https://www.global

change.gov/notices. 

Instructions: Response to this notice 

is voluntary. Responses to this notice 

may be used by the U.S. Government for 

program planning on a non-attribution 

basis. The Department of the Interior 

therefore requests that no business 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1