88942 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 246 / Tuesday, December 26, 2023 / Notices 

Information collection Number of 

respondents 

Frequency 

of response 

Responses 

per annum 

Burden hour 

per response 

Annual 

burden hours 

Hourly cost 

per response 

Annual 

cost 

Totals ................................................................... 10,780 ...................... 13,558 ........................ 2,837 ........................ 85,664.89 

B. Solicitation of Public Comment 

This notice is soliciting comments 

from members of the public and affected 

parties concerning the collection of 

information described in Section A on 

the following: 

(1) Whether the proposed collection 

of information is necessary for the 

proper performance of the functions of 

the agency, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

(2) The accuracy of the agency’s 

estimate of the burden of the proposed 

collection of information; 

(3) Ways to enhance the quality, 

utility, and clarity of the information to 

be collected; and 

(4) Ways to minimize the burden of 

the collection of information on those 

who are to respond; including through 

the use of appropriate automated 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology, e.g., permitting 

electronic submission of responses. 

(5) ways to minimize the burden of 

the collection of information on those 

who are to respond, including the use 

of automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

HUD encourages interested parties to 

submit comments in response to these 

questions. 

C. Authority 

Section 3507 of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 

chapter 35. 

Anna P. Guido, 

Department Reports Management Office, 

Office of Policy Development and Research, 

Chief Data Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2023–28306 Filed 12–22–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4210–67–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–HQ–FAC–2023–N065; 

FXFR13360900000–FF09F14000–234] 

Draft Revised National European 

Green Crab Management and Control 

Plan 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service announces the availability of the 

draft revised National European Green 

Crab Management and Control Plan 

(2023 EGC plan). The Aquatic Nuisance 

Species Task Force recently approved 

the 2023 EGC plan to be posted in the 

Federal Register for public comment. 

We invite comment from the public and 

local, State, Tribal, Federal agencies, 

and other relevant parties. 

DATES: Written comments should be 

received on or before February 9, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: An 

electronic copy of the draft revised 2023 

EGC plan is available at https:// 

www.fws.gov/media/management-planeuropean-green-crab. 

Submitting Written Comments: Please 

send written comments using one of the 

following methods: 

• Email (preferred method): 

anstaskforce@fws.gov. Please include 

your name and return mailing address 

in your email message. 

• U.S. Mail: U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service Headquarters Office, Aquatic 

Nuisance Species Task Force; 5275 

Leesburg Pike; Falls Church, VA 22041– 

3803 (Attn: Susan Pasko, Executive 

Secretary). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Susan Pasko, Executive Secretary, 

Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force, 

by email at susan_pasko@fws.gov or via 

phone at (703) 358–2466. 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: 

Background 

The ANSTF is an intergovernmental 

organization dedicated to preventing 

and controlling aquatic nuisance species 

(ANS) and coordinating governmental 

efforts of the United States with the 

private sector and other North American 

interests. The ANSTF was established 

by Congress with the passage of the 

Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance 

Prevention and Control Act of 1990 

(NANPCA; Pub. L. 101–646, 104 Stat. 

4761, 16 U.S.C. 4701–4741), and 

reauthorized with the passage of the 

National Invasive Species Act of 1996 

(NISA; Pub. L. 104–332, 110 Stat. 4073). 

Section 1201(d) of NANPCA designates 

the Undersecretary of Commerce for 

Oceans and Atmosphere and the 

Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service as the ANSTF co-chairpersons. 

The ANSTF is regulated by the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (5 

U.S.C. Ch. 10), which provides the 

ANSTF with its core structure and 

ensures an open and public forum for its 

activities. Membership of the ANSTF 

consists of 13 Federal agency 

representatives and 13 representatives 

from ex-officio member organizations 

who work in conjunction with six 

regional panels and issue-specific 

subcommittees to meet the challenges of 

developing and implementing a 

coordinated and complementary Federal 

program for ANS activities. 

The NANPCA (as amended by NISA, 

1996) establishes that the ANSTF is 

responsible for coordination of national 

efforts to prevent the introduction and 

spread of ANS. These responsibilities 

include the development of species 

management and control plans for 

specific high-risk invasive species. 

These plans focus on tasks that are 

essential to prevent spread into 

additional habitats and minimize the 

impact to areas where the species have 

already invaded. The plans are 

developed through a cooperative 

process and undergo review by the 

ANSTF members and regional panels. 

Successful implementation of these 

plans requires the participation of 

States, regional and Tribal entities, 

Federal agencies, and other relevant 

parties. 

History of the National European Green 

Crab Management and Control Plan 

European green crab (EGC; Carcinus 

maenas) is one of the most pervasive 

invasive predators in coastal marine 

systems, having established populations 

on five continents. The ecological and 

economic damage caused by EGC is well 

documented on both coasts of North 

America. On the U.S. Atlantic coast, 

EGC has been an established invader for 

at least 200 years, although its 

geographic range continues to expand 

into Atlantic Canada. On the Pacific 

coast, EGC arrived in the late 1980s and, 

consequently, is still at an earlier stage 

of range expansion and population 

growth. EGC has been implicated in 

historic declines and current losses of 

commercial bivalves in the eastern 

United States and maritime Canada and 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 246 / Tuesday, December 26, 2023 / Notices 88943 

is also thought to have impacts to 

habitats of native species, including 

eelgrass beds, along both coasts of North 

America. Recognizing the taxon’s 

potential for negative cultural, 

ecological, and economic impacts and 

its expanding geographic range, the 

ANSTF first designated EGC as an ANS 

in 1998. Following this designation, a 

EGC control committee was appointed 

by the ANSTF and subsequently 

worked, through several years of 

planning and research, to develop the 

first National Management Plan for 

European Green Crab (2002 EGC plan), 

which was approved by the ANSTF in 

2002. For 20 years, the plan guided 

natural resource managers on EGC 

management and served as a reference 

for regional plans. In June 2021, the 

ANSTF Control Subcommittee 

recommended that the 2002 EGC plan 

be updated to reflect the current 

knowledge, range, and control options 

of the species. In 2022, a working group 

was established to revise and update the 

2002 EGC plan. Input on development 

of the updated plan was sought through 

multiple forums, including email 

submissions, in-person meetings (local, 

regional, and national), regional 

listening sessions, and informal public 

comment periods. Comments received 

were addressed and, where appropriate, 

incorporated into the new draft revised 

2023 EGC plan. 

The draft 2023 EGC plan was 

submitted to the ANSTF on July 19, 

2023, and was approved to be posted in 

the Federal Register for public 

comment. Distribution of the 2023 EGC 

plan for public comment, and the 

consideration of comments received, are 

the final steps before the ANSTF can 

consider the plan for final approval 

(NANPCA; Pub. L. 101–646, 104 Stat. 

4761, 16 U.S.C. 4722). 

Proposed Updates to the 2002 

Management Plan for the European 

Green Crab 

The 2023 EGC plan proposes to 

update the 2002 plan by providing a 

more focused set of approaches for 

future management, based on significant 

changes in the distribution of EGC, new 

technologies available for identifying 

sources and mechanisms of spread, 

better information regarding the 

tradeoffs for different management 

efforts, and new methods for data 

management and sharing. The 2023 EGC 

plan also describes current strategies for 

coordinating the activities of scientists, 

resource agencies, Tribal and First 

Nation organizations, and other entities. 

The 2002 EGC plan provided significant 

information about the geographic 

distribution, mechanisms for spread, 

biology, ecology, and impacts. The 2023 

EGC plan adds new distribution 

information and summarizes recent 

research on population genetics, 

physiology, and range limits. It also 

provides detailed trapping protocols, 

recommendations for coordinating 

ongoing management efforts, and a 

summary of the legal framework and 

relevant statutes for EGC across the 

United States. The 2023 EGC plan 

includes 11 goals, 23 objectives, and 12 

specific strategies, as well as prioritized 

actions and evaluation criteria. 

The purpose of the 2023 EGC plan is 

to provide guidance for efforts to 

prevent future introductions, to rapidly 

detect and respond to new invasions of 

EGC before they become established and 

create ecological and economic damage, 

and to manage current populations that 

pose an undue threat to resources of 

importance for ecosystems and local 

cultures. This plan also serves as a 

baseline for the development and 

implementation of, as well as the 

integration with, local and regional 

plans, such as the Salish Sea 

Transboundary Action Plan for Invasive 

European Green Crab and the Early 

Detection and Rapid Response Plan for 

Invasive European Green Crab (Carcinus 

maenas) in Alaska 2023–2028 

(previously known as the Alaska Action 

Plan for Invasive European Green Crab). 

Public Availability of Comments 

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 view, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

Authority 

This document is published under the 

authority of the Nonindigenous Aquatic 

Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 

1990 (NANPCA; Pub. L. 101–646, 104 

Stat. 4761, 16 U.S.C. 4701–4741), as 

reauthorized with the passage of the 

National Invasive Species Act of 1996 

(NISA; Pub. L. 104–332, 110 Stat. 4073). 

David A. Miko, 

Co-chair, Aquatic Nuisance Species Task 

Force. 

[FR Doc. 2023–28361 Filed 12–22–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[Docket No. FWS–R7–ES–2023–0209; 

FXES111607MRG01–245–FF07CAMM00] 

Marine Mammals; Incidental Take 

During Specified Activities; Proposed 

Incidental Harassment Authorization 

for the Southern Beaufort Sea Stock of 

Polar Bears on the North Slope of 

Alaska 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of receipt of application; 

proposed incidental harassment 

authorization; notice of availability of 

draft environmental assessment; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, in response to a 

request under the Marine Mammal 

Protection Act of 1972, as amended, 

from the Bureau of Land Management, 

propose to authorize nonlethal 

incidental take by harassment of small 

numbers of Southern Beaufort Sea (SBS) 

polar bears (Ursus maritimus) for 1 year 

from the date of issuance. The applicant 

requested this authorization for take by 

harassment that may result from 

activities associated with oil well 

plugging and reclamation, soil 

sampling, snow trail, pad, and airstrip 

construction, and summer cleanup 

activities in the North Slope Borough of 

Alaska between the Wainwright and 

Oliktok Areas. This proposed 

authorization, if finalized, will be for up 

to 18 takes of polar bears by Level B 

harassment and up to 3 takes of polar 

bears by non-serious Level A 

harassment. No serious Level A or lethal 

take is requested, expected, or proposed 

to be authorized. 

DATES: Comments on this proposed 

incidental harassment authorization and 

the accompanying draft environmental 

assessment must be received by January 

25, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: Document availability: You 

may view this proposed incidental 

harassment authorization, the 

application package, supporting 

information, draft environmental 

assessment, and the list of references 

cited herein at https://

www.regulations.gov under Docket No. 

FWS–R7–ES–2023–0209. Alternatively, 

you may request these documents from 

the person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. 

Comment submission: You may 

submit comments on the proposed 

authorization by one of the following 

methods: 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES