[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 17 (Tuesday, January 27, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4301-4303]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-01341]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-HQ-MB-2015-N019; FXMB37660900000-14X-FF09M12000]


Information Collection Request Sent to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for Approval; Migratory Birds and Wetlands 
Conservation Grant Programs

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) have sent an Information 
Collection Request (ICR) to OMB for review and approval. We summarize 
the ICR below and describe the nature of the collection and the 
estimated burden and cost. This information collection is scheduled to 
expire on January 31, 2015. We 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. However, under OMB 
regulations, we may continue to conduct or sponsor this information 
collection while it is pending at OMB.

DATES: You must submit comments on or before February 26, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments and suggestions on this information 
collection to the Desk Officer for the Department of the Interior at 
OMB-OIRA at (202) 395-5806 (fax) or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#83cccad1c2dcd0f6e1eeeaf0f0eaecedc3eceee1ade6ecf3ade4ecf5"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="2966607b68767a5c4b44405a5a4046476946444b074c4659074e465f">[email protected]</span></a> 
(email). Please provide a copy of your comments to the Information 
Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS BPHC, 
5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803 (mail), or 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#046c6b74615b6376617d446273772a636b72"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="96fef9e6f3c9f1e4f3efd6f0e1e5b8f1f9e0">[email protected]</span></a> (email). Please include ``1018-0100'' in the subject 
line of your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information 
about this ICR, contact Hope Grey at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#cda5a2bda892aabfa8b48dabbabee3aaa2bb"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="234b4c53467c4451465a634554500d444c55">[email protected]</span></a> (email) or 703-
358-2482 (telephone). You may review the ICR online at http://www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to review Department of the 
Interior collections under review by OMB.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Information Collection Request

    OMB Control Number: 1018-0100.
    Title: Migratory Birds and Wetlands Conservation Grant Programs.
    Service Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Description of Respondents: Domestic and foreign individuals, 
businesses, and other for-profit organizations; educational 
organizations; not-for-profit institutions; and Federal, State, tribal 
and local governments
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.
    Frequency of Collection: On occasion.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                    Completion
                                                     Number of       Number of       time per      Total annual
                    Activity                        respondents      responses       response      burden hours
                                                                                      (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NAWCA Small Grants--Applications................              71              71              40           2,840

[[Page 4302]]

 
NAWCA Small Grants--Reports.....................              99              99              33           3,267
NAWCA U.S. Standard Grants--Applications........              69              69             203          14,007
NAWCA Canadian and Mexican Standard Grants--                  27              27              80           2,160
 Applications...................................
NAWCA Standard Grants--Reports..................             177             177              30           5,310
NMBCA Grant Applications........................              84              84              60           5,040
NMBCA Reports...................................              71              71              40           2,840
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals......................................             598             598  ..............          35,464
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: None.
    Abstract: The Division of Bird Habitat Conservation administers 
grant programs associated with the North American Wetlands Conservation 
Act (NAWCA), Public Law 101-233, and the Neotropical Migratory Bird 
Conservation Act (NMBCA), Public Law 106-247.

North American Wetlands Conservation Act Grants

    NAWCA provides matching grants to organizations and individuals who 
have developed partnerships to carry out wetlands conservation projects 
in the United States, Canada, and Mexico for the benefit of wetlands-
associated migratory birds and other wildlife. There is a Standard and 
a Small Grants Program. Both are competitive grants programs and 
require that grant requests be matched by partner contributions at no 
less than a 1-to-1 ratio. Funds from U.S. Federal sources may 
contribute to a project, but are not eligible as a match.
    The Standard Grants Program supports projects in Canada, the United 
States, and Mexico that involve long-term protection, restoration, and 
enhancement of wetlands and associated uplands habitats. In Mexico, 
partners may also conduct projects involving technical training, 
environmental education and outreach, organizational infrastructure 
development, and sustainable-use studies.
    The Small Grants Program operates only in the United States. It 
supports the same types of projects and adheres to the same selection 
criteria and administrative guidelines as the U.S. Standard Grants 
Program. However, project activities are usually smaller in scope and 
involve fewer project dollars. Grant requests may not exceed $75,000, 
and funding priority is given to grantees or partners new to the NAWCA 
Grants Program.
    We publish notices of funding availability on Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov), as well as in the Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance (https://www.cfda.gov). To compete for grant funds, 
partnerships submit applications that describe in substantial detail 
project locations, project resources, future benefits, and other 
characteristics that meet the standards established by the North 
American Wetlands Conservation Council and the requirements of NAWCA. 
Materials that describe the program and assist applicants in 
formulating project proposals are available on our Web site at http://www.fws.gov/birdhabitat/Grants/NAWCA. Persons who do not have access to 
the Internet may obtain instructional materials by mail. We have not 
made any major changes in the scope and general nature of the 
instructions since OMB first approved the information collection in 
1999.

Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act

    NMBCA establishes a matching grant program to fund projects that 
promote the long-term conservation of neotropical migratory birds and 
their habitats in the United States, Canada, Latin America, and the 
Caribbean. Principal conservation actions supported are:
    <bullet> Protection and management of populations.
    <bullet> Maintenance, management, protection, and restoration of 
habitat.
    <bullet> Research and monitoring.
    <bullet> Law enforcement.
    <bullet> Community outreach and education.
    We publish notices of funding availability on Grants.gov as well as 
in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. To compete for grant 
funds, partnerships submit applications that describe in substantial 
detail project locations, project resources, future benefits, and other 
characteristics that meet the standards established by the U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service and the requirements of NMBCA.
    Materials that describe the program and assist applicants in 
formulating project proposals for consideration are available on our 
Web site at http://www.fws.gov/birdhabitat/Grants/NMBCA. Persons who do 
not have access to the Internet may obtain instructional materials by 
mail. We have not made any major changes in the scope and general 
nature of the instructions since OMB first approved the information 
collection in 2002.

Comments Received and Our Responses

    Comments: On October 22, 2014, we published in the Federal Register 
(79 FR 63159) a notice of our intent to request that OMB renew approval 
for this information collection. In that notice, we solicited comments 
for 60 days, ending on December 22, 2014. We received one comment. The 
commenter objected to the grant programs, but did not address the 
information collection requirements. We have not made any changes to 
the information collection.

Request for Public Comments

    We again invite comments concerning this information collection on:
    <bullet> Whether or not the collection of information is necessary, 
including whether or not the information will have practical utility;
    <bullet> The accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this 
collection of information;
    <bullet> Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
    <bullet> Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of 
information on respondents.
    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 made publicly available at any time. 
While you can ask OMB in your comment to withhold your personal 
identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that it 
will be done.


[[Page 4303]]


    Dated: January 21, 2015.
Tina A. Campbell,
Chief, Division of Policy and Directives Management, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-01341 Filed 1-26-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P


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