29518 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 103/ Friday, May 29, 1998 / Proposed Rules

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 20

RIN 1018–AE93

Migratory Bird Hunting; Supplemental

Proposals for Migratory Game Bird

Hunting Regulations; Notice of

Meetings

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; supplemental.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service (hereinafter the Service)

proposed in an earlier document to

establish annual hunting regulations for

certain migratory game birds for the

1998–99 hunting season. This

supplement to the proposed rule

provides the regulatory schedule;

announces the Service Migratory Bird

Regulations Committee and Flyway

Councils meetings; and describes the

proposed regulatory alternatives for the

1998–99 duck hunting seasons and

other proposed changes from the 1997–

98 hunting regulations.

DATES: The Service Migratory Bird

Regulations Committee will consider

and develop proposed regulations for

early-season migratory bird hunting on

June 23 and 24, and for late-season

migratory bird hunting on August 4 and

5. All meetings will commence at

approximately 8:30 a.m. The Service

will hold public hearings on proposed

early- and late-season frameworks at

9:00 a.m. on June 25 and August 6,

1998, respectively. The comment period

for the proposed regulatory alternatives

for the 1998–99 duck hunting seasons

will end on July 1, 1998. The comment

period for proposed migratory bird

hunting-season frameworks for Alaska,

Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands,

and other early seasons will end on July

27, 1998. The comment period for lateseason proposals will end on September

7, 1998.

ADDRESSES: The Service Migratory Bird

Regulations Committee will meet in

room 200 of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service’s Arlington Square Building,

4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington,

Virginia. The Service will hold public

hearings in the Auditorium of the

Department of the Interior Building,

1849 C Street, NW., Washington, DC.

Parties should submit written comments

on the proposals and/or a notice of

intent to participate in either hearing to

the Chief, Office of Migratory Bird

Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, Department of the Interior, ms

634-ARLSQ, 1849 C Street, NW.,

Washington, DC 20240. The public may

inspect comments during normal

business hours in room 634, ARLSQ

Building, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive,

Arlington, Virginia.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul

R. Schmidt, Chief, Office of Migratory

Bird Management, U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service, (703) 358–1714.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Regulations Schedule for 1998

On March 20, 1998, the Service

published in the Federal Register (63

FR 13748) a proposal to amend 50 CFR

part 20. The proposal dealt with the

establishment of seasons, limits, and

other regulations for migratory game

birds under § 20.101 through 20.107,

20.109, and 20.110 of subpart K. This

document is the second in a series of

proposed, supplemental, and final rules

for migratory game bird hunting

regulations. The Service will publish

early-season frameworks in mid-July

and late-season frameworks in midAugust. The Service will publish final

regulatory alternatives for the 1998–99

duck hunting seasons in mid-July and

final regulatory frameworks for early

seasons on or about August 21, 1998,

and those for late seasons on or about

September 26, 1998.

On June 25, 1998, the Service will

hold a public hearing in Washington,

DC, to review the status of migratory

shore and upland game birds and

waterfowl hunted during early seasons

and the recommended hunting

regulations for these species.

On August 6, 1998, the Service will

hold a public hearing in Washington,

DC, to review the status of waterfowl

and recommended hunting regulations

for regular waterfowl seasons, and other

species and seasons not previously

discussed at the June 25 public hearing.

Announcement of Service Migratory

Bird Regulations Committee Meetings

The June 25 meeting will review

information on the current status of

migratory shore and upland game birds

and develop 1998–99 migratory game

bird regulations recommendations for

these species plus regulations for

migratory game birds in Alaska, Puerto

Rico, and the Virgin Islands; special

September waterfowl seasons in

designated States; special sea duck

seasons in the Atlantic Flyway; and

extended falconry seasons. In addition,

the Service will review and discuss

preliminary information on the status of

waterfowl as it relates to the

development of the final regulatory

packages for the 1998–99 regular

waterfowl seasons. The June 25 meeting

will ensure that the Service develops its

regulations recommendations with full

consultation.

The August 6 meeting will review

information on the current status of

waterfowl and develop 1998–99

migratory game bird regulations

recommendations for regular waterfowl

seasons and other species and seasons

not previously discussed at the early

season meetings. The August 6 meeting

will ensure that the Service develops its

regulations recommendations with full

consultation.

In accordance with Departmental

policy, these meetings are open to

public observation. Members of the

public may submit written comments to

the Director on the matters discussed.

Announcement of Flyway Council

Meetings

Service representatives will be

present at the following meetings of the

Flyway Councils:

Atlantic Flyway, July 30–31, Simsbury,

Connecticut (Simsbury Inn)

Mississippi Flyway, July 30–31, Alton,

Illinois (Holiday Inn)

Central Flyway, July 29–31, Bismarck,

North Dakota (Holiday Inn)

Pacific Flyway, July 30–31, Blaine,

Washington (The Inn at Semi-ah-moo)

Although agendas are not yet

available, these meetings usually

commence at 8:30 a.m. on the days

indicated.

Review of Public Comments

This supplemental rulemaking

contains the proposed regulatory

alternatives for the 1998–99 duck

hunting seasons. All comments and

recommendations received through May

1, 1998, relating to the development of

these alternatives are included and

addressed herein.

This supplemental rulemaking also

describes other recommended changes

based on the preliminary proposals

published in the March 20, 1998,

Federal Register. Only those

recommendations requiring either new

proposals or substantial modification of

the preliminary proposals are included

here. This supplement does not include

recommendations that support or

oppose but do not recommend

alternatives to the preliminary

proposals. The Service will consider

these comments later in the regulationsdevelopment process. The Service will

publish responses to all proposals,

written comments, and public-hearing

testimony when it develops final

frameworks.

The Service seeks additional

information and comments on the
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 103/ Friday, May 29, 1998 / Proposed Rules 29519

recommendations in this supplemental

proposed rule. The Service will

consider all recommendations and

associated comments during

development of the final frameworks.

New proposals and modifications to

previously described proposals are

discussed below. Wherever possible,

they are discussed under headings

corresponding to the numbered items in

the March 20, 1998, Federal Register.

1. Ducks

Categories used to discuss issues

related to duck harvest management are:

(A) Harvest Strategy Considerations, (B)

Framework Dates, (C) Season Length,

(D) Closed Seasons, (E) Bag Limits, (F)

Zones and Split Seasons, and (G)

Special Seasons/Species Management.

The categories correspond to previous

published issues/discussion and only

those containing substantial

recommendations are discussed below.

A. Harvest Strategy Considerations

Council Recommendations: The

Atlantic Flyway Council recommended

that the duck hunting packages used for

the 1997–98 season be continued for the

1998–99 season.

The Upper-Regulations Committee of

the Mississippi Flyway Council

recommended that the 1997–98

regulations packages be maintained for

the 1998–99 duck season. These

consisted of 20-, 30-, 45-, and 60-day

seasons, with bag limits ranging from 3

to 6 ducks, including appropriate

species restrictions, and frameworks

dates from the Saturday nearest October

1 to the Sunday nearest January 20.

The Lower-Region Regulations

Committee of the Mississippi Flyway

Council recommended that the

regulatory packages for the 1997–98

season be continued in 1998–99, with

the exception of framework dates (see

further discussion in B. Framework

Dates).

The Central Flyway Council

recommended that the duck hunting

packages used for the 1997–98 season be

continued for the 1998–99 season.

Service Response: Beginning in 1995,

the Service, Flyway Councils, and States

introduced a new approach to the

regulation of duck harvests, called

Adaptive Harvest Management (AHM).

AHM should help managers better

understand the impacts of regulations

on harvest and population levels,

thereby improving the ability to provide

maximum hunting opportunities

consistent with long-term resource

maintenance. AHM also is intended to

provide a more objective, better

informed, and less contentious decisionmaking process, as well as a formal and

coherent framework for addressing

controversial harvest-management

issues.

An integral part of this harvestmanagement approach is the

cooperative establishment of a set of

regulatory alternatives that includes

specified season lengths and bag limits

for very restrictive, restrictive,

moderate, and liberal seasons. The

alternatives used last year were the

result of extensive discussions with the

Flyway Councils and States, as well as

involvement by the public. The Service

appreciates the Flyway Councils’

support for the continued use of those

regulatory alternatives for the 1998–99

duck hunting season.

For the 1998–99 regular duck hunting

season, the Service proposes the four

regulatory alternatives detailed in the

accompanying table. Alternatives are

specified for each Flyway and are

designated as ‘‘VERY RES’’ for the very

restrictive, ‘‘RES’’ for the restrictive,

‘‘MOD’’ for the moderate, and ‘‘LIB’’ for

the liberal alternative. The Service will

publish final regulatory alternatives in

July and propose a specific regulatory

alternative when survey data on

waterfowl population and habitat status

are available. Public comments will be

accepted until July 1, 1998, and should

be sent to the address under the caption

ADDRESSES.

B. Framework Dates

Council Recommendations: The

Atlantic Flyway Council recommended

no change to the current framework

dates, believing that extensions would

be premature without knowing the

potential harvest impacts, which could

reduce the frequency of liberal

regulations and would reduce the

likelihood that eastern mallards will be

fully incorporated into AHM this year.

The Lower-Region Regulations

Committee of the Mississippi Flyway

Council recommended the Service allow

States to choose a framework closing

date as late as January 31 with a 10%

penalty in days.

The Upper-Region Regulations

Committee of the Mississippi Flyway

Council recommended no change in

existing framework dates. The

Committee also recommended that if the

Service were to offer States the

opportunity to extend frameworks, the

extension should be coupled with a

commensurate reduction in season

length and/or bag limits in the

participating States to offset the

predicted increase in harvest.

The Central Flyway Council

recommended maintaining the current

opening and closing framework dates

adopted under AHM. However, at some

future date, when the packages are

reviewed for modification, the Council

recommended that the framework dates

issue should be cooperatively dealt with

by all Flyways in seeking an agreement

for equitable harvest opportunity.

The Pacific Flyway Council

recommended maintaining the current

opening and closing duck season

framework dates adopted under AHM

for the near future.

Service Response: In 1995, the Service

established framework opening and

closing dates of the Saturday nearest

October 1 to the Sunday nearest January

20 for the Pacific, Central, and

Mississippi Flyways, and fixed dates of

October 1 to January 20 for the Atlantic

Flyway (60 FR 50045). The Service

maintained these framework dates for

1996 and 1997. In recent years, the

Service has been requested by the

Lower-Region Regulations Committee of

the Mississippi Flyway Council

(Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky,

Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee)

to consider a closing date of January 31.

In previous Federal Registers (March

20, 1998 [63 FR 13751] and July 23,

1997 [62 FR 39718]), the Service

maintained that considerations for

extending the framework dates must

address the potential increase in

harvest, redistribution of harvest within

and among Flyways, and the potential

physiological impacts to birds later in

the winter. Because of the concerns that

these proposals would increase harvest

and reallocate the harvest, the Service

maintained the traditional closing date.

In the Interior Appropriations

Committee Report for FY 1998, the

Service was directed to analyze existing

information and clarify potential

impacts of framework extensions. The

Service complied with this directive

and believes that the available scientific

data suggest clearly that framework

extensions will increase the harvest of

most duck species, although the

magnitude of the increases cannot be

estimated precisely. Based on these

results, large-scale extensions of

framework dates, without appropriate

mitigation in harvest, could decrease the

frequency of years with liberal

regulations, while increasing the

frequency of years with more restrictive

regulations. The Service’s report was

peer-reviewed and made available for

public comment before being submitted

to the Congress (copies are available

from the Service at the address

indicated under ADDRESSES).

The Service believes that any

extension of the framework closing date

must be accompanied by a

commensurate reduction in season

length to offset the expected increase in
29520 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 103/ Friday, May 29, 1998 / Proposed Rules

harvest. Offsetting the expected harvest

increase would protect the migratory

bird resource and address concerns

about any redistribution of the harvest

within or among Flyways. The Service

also believes a change in the closing

date can be considered only if the

number of States permitted the

framework extension is limited (only

those few States within the Lower

Region of the Mississippi Flyway), and

if the reduction in season length is

sufficient to offset the expected increase

in harvest.

In response to a portion of the hunting

public in the southern States of the

Mississippi Flyway that is not satisfied

with the existing regulatory alternatives,

the Service proposes to offer an

extension of the framework closing date

to no later than January 31 only for

those States in the Lower Region of the

Mississippi Flyway (AL, AR, KY, LA,

MS, TN), provided it can be determined

that no net increase in harvest or

redistribution of hunting opportunity/

harvest occurs within and among

Flyways. Any extension of the closing

date will be offset with a reduction in

season length sufficient to offset any

expected harvest increase in those

States. The Service’s goal is to ensure

that non-participating States will not be

negatively affected as a result of States

selecting this option.

After any State proposals received are

reviewed and analyzed, the Service will

approve extended closing dates in those

States where the Service finds adequate

evidence that increased harvest levels

will be offset by proposed reductions in

season length. These decisions will be

announced when the Service publishes

the final regulatory alternatives for the

1998–99 duck hunting seasons in midJuly.

Therefore, States requesting the

extension in the closing date are to

provide the Service (by June 15, 1998)

the scientific analysis necessary to

determine the nature of a commensurate

reduction in season length. The

response variable of primary interest is

seasonal harvest or harvest rate

(proportion of the duck population

killed by hunters) of mallards, but

effects on other important species (e.g.,

wood ducks) should be documented as

well. Although a well-designed

experiment of framework extensions has

never been conducted, there is some

information related to this issue as a

result of a closing date of January 31

during 1979–84 in the State of

Mississippi. Therefore, it will be

necessary to conduct a retrospective

analysis, in which changes in harvest

between years with and without the

framework extension are determined,

both in Mississippi and in neighboring

States.

The Service acknowledges that there

may be more than one legitimate

method for conducting this analysis. In

particular, the estimated effect of a

January 31 framework extension

depends in part on the specification of

study ‘‘controls’’ (i.e., the selection of

years without framework extensions and

the neighboring States for comparison

with the years of framework extensions

in Mississippi). Therefore, supporting

rationale for these selections should

accompany any analysis. In its report to

Congress (January 1998), the Service

suggested that mallard harvest could be

expected to increase by 33%, but this

estimate has a relatively large margin of

error. Thus, the Service is interested in

any analysis that might improve either

the precision or accuracy of this

estimate. Also, it should be noted that

there is not necessarily a one-to-one

relationship between the expected

proportional increase in harvest and the

proportional decrease in season length

needed to offset the harvest increase.

This assessment will require an

examination of the relationship between

season length and cumulative harvest,

using information from Federal or State

harvest surveys.

If a framework extension is ultimately

permitted, all States selecting seasons

extending beyond the traditional closing

date would have the same closing date

and proportional reduction in season

length. The later closing date would be

available only for the years in which the

moderate or liberal alternative is

selected by the Service. Any State

choosing the option of a later closing

date must maintain that closing date

and the appropriate season-length

reduction for a five-year period

beginning in the 1998–99 season, unless

the Service determines that this option

has negative impacts on the resource or

distribution of the harvest, or something

other than the moderate or liberal

regulatory alternative is chosen. During

the five-year period, the Service and

affected States will annually examine

harvest and other monitoring

information to determine if adjustments

in the season length or framework date

are necessary to ensure no increase in,

or change in distribution of, the harvest.

Should information suggest that the

health of duck populations or harvest

distribution has been affected by the

proposed extension, the Service will

consider withdrawing the option of a

January 31 closing date.

The Service acknowledges the recent

expressions of intent by the Flyways to

retain the current framework dates, thus

helping to maintain traditional

distributions of hunting opportunities

within and among Flyways. The Service

also recognizes that any future

consideration of framework extensions,

beyond what has been proposed here,

will likely require a comprehensive

review of the distribution of hunting

opportunity and harvest within and

among Flyways. This review will be

extremely difficult and will represent a

significant resource commitment on the

part of the Service and the Flyways. In

light of these considerations, it is the

Service’s desire to not entertain

additional changes to the opening and

closing framework dates until the

regulatory packages are reviewed for

modification at some future date.

F. Zones and Split Seasons

Written Comments: The Ohio Division

of Wildlife requested elimination of the

Pymatuning Waterfowl Hunting Zone in

Ohio and incorporation of the affected

area into the North Zone beginning in

the 1998–99 season.

Service Response: In the past, hunting

seasons in that portion of Ohio had to

be the same as those selected by

Pennsylvania for that portion of

Pennsylvania. Beginning this year, the

Pymatuning Area will no longer be

included in the Federal waterfowl

hunting frameworks as a separate area,

and will be considered part of Ohio’s

North Zone.

G. Special Seasons/Species

Management

iii. September Teal Seasons

Council Recommendations: The

Atlantic Flyway Council recommended

the establishment of an experimental

September teal season option in the

Atlantic Flyway. States deriving more

than 80 percent of their teal harvest

from mid-continent populations

(Delaware, Georgia, Florida, Maryland,

North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South

Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia)

could hold a 9-day season between

September 1 and 30 with a daily bag

limit of 4 teal.

The Central Flyway Council

recommended an experimental

September teal season harvest strategy

in the nonproduction States of the

Central Flyway based on the May

breeding population index (BPI) of bluewinged teal. When the BPI of bluewinged teal is 4.7 million or greater, the

Council’s recommended harvest strategy

would consist of an additional 7 days of

hunting (for a total of 16 days). When

the BPI of blue-winged teal is below 4.7

million but remains at or above 3.3

million, the Council’s recommended

harvest strategy would maintain the
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 103/ Friday, May 29, 1998 / Proposed Rules 29521

current 9-day season. When the BPI of

blue-winged teal is below 3.3 million,

the Council’s recommended harvest

strategy would consider closure of

September teal seasons.

iv. September Teal/Wood Duck Seasons

Council Recommendations: The

Atlantic Flyway Council recommended

the continuation of the Florida

September wood duck/teal season on an

operational basis.

The Lower-Region Regulations

Committee of the Mississippi Flyway

Council recommended that the

experimental September teal/wood duck

seasons in Kentucky and Tennessee be

continued in 1998 with no changes from

the 1997 season. The Lower-Region

Regulations Committee further

recommended that if such seasons are

suspended, all non-production States

should be permitted to take up to 5 days

of the regular season in September.

v. Youth Hunt

Council Recommendations: The

Upper-Region Regulations Committee of

the Mississippi Flyway Council

recommended that a special one-day

youth waterfowl season include the

harvesting of geese.

The Lower-Region Regulations

Committee of the Mississippi Flyway

Council recommended that a special 2-

day youth waterfowl season include the

harvesting of geese.

The Central Flyway Council

recommended expansion of the special

youth waterfowl hunt to 2 consecutive

days with a legal bag that includes

geese.

The Pacific Flyway Council

recommended continuation of the oneday youth hunt that allows States to

select outside the general season and

frameworks. The Council further

recommended the addition of 1 goose to

the bag limit.

2. Sea Ducks

Council Recommendations: The

Atlantic Flyway Council recommended

that the Service clarify regulatory

language concerning bag limits for sea

ducks so that bag limits for sea ducks

during the regular season cannot exceed

bag limits for sea ducks established in

the special sea duck season, whether

inside or outside the special sea duck

area.

4. Canada Geese

A. Special Seasons

Council Recommendations: The

Atlantic Flyway Council recommended

that the closing date of the September

goose season around Montezuma

National Wildlife Refuge be extended

from September 15 to 25.

The Upper-Region Regulations

Committee of the Mississippi Flyway

Council recommended that the status of

the special late Canada goose season in

the Southern Michigan Goose

Management Unit in Michigan be

changed from experimental to nonexperimental.

The Lower-Region Regulations

Committee of the Mississippi Flyway

Council recommended that the Service

reevaluate criteria for special Canada

goose seasons (early and late),

particularly as they relate to the

cumulative harvest of migrant Canada

geese from populations of special

concern, to insure that the criteria are

consistent with management efforts to

increase and/or maintain migrant

populations of special concern to/at

planned objective levels.

The Pacific Flyway Council

recommended the 1998 September

season for the Pacific Population

Canada geese remain unchanged from

the 1997 season, with the exception of

increase the number of regulated

permits from 100 to 400 in Humboldt

County, California.

B. Regular Seasons

Council Recommendations: The

Upper-Region Regulations Committee of

the Mississippi Flyway Council

recommended that the 1998 regular

goose season opening date be as early as

September 26 in Michigan’s Upper

Peninsula and September 19 in

Wisconsin.

7. Snow and Ross’s (Light) Geese

Council Recommendations: The

Atlantic Flyway Council recommended

extension of the shooting hours to onehalf hour after sunset at times when

other waterfowl season are closed

within an area.

The Central Flyway Council

recommended the following regulation

changes for light-goose hunting in the

Central Flyway for 1998 and beyond:

For the 1998–99 regular season, no bag or

possession limits and unlimited zones and

splits in the season.

During the 1998–99 season, the

establishment of a special ‘‘conservation

hunt’’ consisting of no bag and possession

limits; legalized electronic callers, baiting,

unplugged shotguns, live decoys and

rallying/hazing; elimination of tagging

requirements; and the extension of shooting

hours until one-half hour after sunset.

‘‘Conservation Hunt’’ provisions would only

be implemented in those areas and time

periods in which other firearms waterfowl

season are closed, including split season

portions of the regular waterfowl seasons.

Beginning with the 1999–2000 season, the

Council recommends allowing ‘‘conservation

hunts’’ during other open waterfowl seasons.

9. Sandhill Cranes

Council Recommendations: The

Central and Pacific Flyway Councils

recommended that the Rocky Mountain

Population (RMP) greater sandhill crane

hunt in Wyoming’s Area 6 (Park and

Bighorn Counties) become operational

in 1998. The Councils further

recommended that the third year of

monitoring and data collection for the

experimental hunt be waived.

16. Mourning Doves

Written Comments: The Louisiana

Department of Wildlife and Fisheries

requested an extension of the framework

closing date from January 15 to January

20.

18. Alaska

Council Recommendations: The

Pacific Flyway Council recommended

an increase in Alaska’s Canada goose

daily bag and possession limit from 1

and 2 to 3 and 6, respectively, within

overall dark goose bag and possession

limits of 4 and 8 in Alaska Game

Management Subunit (GMU) 9(E)

(Alaska Peninsula) and Unit 18 (Y–K

Delta).

The Pacific Flyway Council

recommended an archery-only Canada

goose hunt on Middleton Island, Alaska

(GMU 6); by registration permit only,

with no more than 10 permits;

mandatory goose identification class,

check-in, and check-out; season dates of

September 28 to December 16; bag and

possession limit of 1; season to close if

incidental harvest includes 5 dusky

Canada geese.

Public Comment Invited

The Service intends that adopted final

rules be as responsive as possible to all

concerned interests, and therefore

desires to obtain the comments and

suggestions of the public, other

concerned governmental agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and other

private interests on these proposals.

Such comments, and any additional

information received, may lead to final

regulations that differ from these

proposals.

Special circumstances are involved in

the establishment of these regulations

which limit the amount of time that the

Service can allow for public comment.

Specifically, two considerations

compress the time in which the

rulemaking process must operate: (1) the

need to establish final rules at a point

early enough in the summer to allow

affected State agencies to appropriately
29522 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 103/ Friday, May 29, 1998 / Proposed Rules

adjust their licensing and regulatory

mechanisms; and (2) the unavailability,

before mid-June, of specific, reliable

data on this year’s status of some

waterfowl and migratory shore and

upland game bird populations.

Therefore, the Service believes that to

allow comment periods past the dates

specified is contrary to the public

interest.

Comment Procedure

The policy of the Department of the

Interior, whenever practical, affords the

public an opportunity to participate in

the rulemaking process. Accordingly,

interested persons may participate by

submitting written comments to the

Chief, Office of Migratory Bird

Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, Department of the Interior, ms

634–ARLSQ, 1849 C Street, NW.,

Washington, DC 20240. The public may

inspect comments during normal

business hours at the Service’s office in

room 634, Arlington Square Building,

4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington,

Virginia. The Service will consider all

relevant comments received. The

Service will attempt to acknowledge

received comments, but substantive

response to individual comments may

not be provided.

NEPA Consideration

NEPA considerations are covered by

the programmatic document, ‘‘Final

Supplemental Environmental Impact

Statement: Issuance of Annual

Regulations Permitting the Sport

Hunting of Migratory Birds (FSES 88–

14),’’ filed with EPA on June 9, 1988.

The Service published a Notice of

Availability in the June 16, 1988,

Federal Register (53 FR 22582). The

Service published its Record of Decision

on August 18, 1988 (53 FR 31341).

Copies of these documents are available

from the Service at the address

indicated under the caption ADDRESSES.

Endangered Species Act Consideration

As in the past, hunting regulations are

designed, among other things, to remove

or alleviate chances of conflict between

seasons for migratory game birds and

the protection and conservation of

endangered and threatened species.

Consultations are presently under way

to ensure that actions resulting from

these regulatory proposals will not

likely jeopardize the continued

existence of endangered or threatened

species or result in the destruction or

adverse modification of their critical

habitat. It is possible that the findings

from the consultations, which will be

included in a biological opinion, may

cause modification of some regulatory

measures proposed in this document.

The final frameworks will reflect any

modifications. The Service’s biological

opinions resulting from its consultation

under Section 7 are public documents

and will be available for public

inspection in the Division of

Endangered Species and the Office of

Migratory Bird Management, U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service, Arlington Square

Building, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive,

Arlington, Virginia.

Regulatory Flexibility Act; Executive

Order (E.O.) 12866 and the Paperwork

Reduction Act

In the Federal Register dated March

20, 1998, the Service reported measures

it had undertaken to comply with

requirements of the Regulatory

Flexibility Act and the Executive Order.

These included preparing a Small Entity

Flexibility Analysis (Analysis) in 1996

to document the significant beneficial

economic effect on a substantial number

of small entities. The Analysis estimated

that migratory bird hunters would

spend between $254 and $592 million at

small businesses in 1996. Copies of the

Analysis are available upon request

from the Office of Migratory Bird

Management. The Service is currently

updating the 1996 Analysis with

information from the 1996 National

Hunting and Fishing Survey.

This rule was not subject to review by

the Office of Management and Budget

under E.O. 12866.

The Service examined these proposed

regulations under the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995 and found no

information collection requirements.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 20

Exports, Hunting, Imports, Reporting

and recordkeeping requirements,

Transportation, Wildlife.

The rules that eventually will be

promulgated for the 1998–99 hunting

season are authorized under 16 U.S.C.

703–712 and 16 U.S.C. 742 a–j.

Dated: May 21, 1998.

Donald J. Barry,

Acting Assistant Secretary for Fish and

Wildlife and Parks.

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 103/ Friday, May 29, 1998 / Proposed Rules 29523

[FR Doc. 98–14267 Filed 5–28–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–C