[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 119 (Wednesday, June 22, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37353-37355]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-13300]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-HQ-MB-2022-0077; FXMB12310900WH0-223-FF09M26000; OMB 
Control Number 1018-0023]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Migratory Bird Surveys

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we, 
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are proposing to renew an 
information collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
August 22, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the information collection request 
(ICR) by one of the following methods (please reference OMB Control No. 
1018-0023 in the subject line of your comment):
    <bullet> Internet (preferred): http://www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-HQ-MB-2022-
0077.
    <bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6b22050d0434280407072b0d1c18450c041d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="8cc5e2eae3d3cfe3e0e0cceafbffa2ebe3fa">[email protected]</span></a>.
    <bullet> 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: Madonna L. Baucum, Service Information 
Collection Clearance Officer, by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7c35121a13233f1310103c1a0b0f521b130a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b2fbdcd4ddedf1dddedef2d4c5c19cd5ddc4">[email protected]</span></a>, 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-of-contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act (PRA; 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) and its implementing regulations in 
the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 5 CFR 1320, all information 
collections require approval under the PRA. We may not conduct or 
sponsor and you are not required to respond to a collection of 
information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.
    As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent 
burdens, we invite the public and other Federal agencies 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.
    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. We will include or summarize each comment in our request 
to OMB to approve this ICR. 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 review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.
    Abstract: The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703-711) 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 (1) the wise 
management of migratory bird populations frequenting the United States, 
and (2) the setting of hunting regulations that allow appropriate 
harvests that are within the guidelines that will allow for those 
populations' well-being. These responsibilities dictate that we gather 
accurate data on various characteristics of migratory bird harvest. 
Based on information from harvest surveys, we can adjust hunting 
regulations as needed to optimize harvests at levels that provide a 
maximum of hunting recreation while keeping populations at desired 
levels.
    Under 50 CFR 20.20, migratory bird hunters must register for the 
Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program (HIP) in each State in which 
they hunt each year. State natural resource agencies must send names 
and addresses of all migratory bird hunters to the Branch of Monitoring 
and Information Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Division of 
Migratory Bird Management, on an annual basis.
    The Migratory Bird Hunter Survey is based on the Migratory Bird 
Harvest Information Program. We randomly select migratory bird hunters 
and ask them to report their harvests. The resulting estimates of 
harvest per hunter are combined with the complete list of migratory 
bird hunters to provide estimates of the total harvest for the species 
surveyed.

[[Page 37354]]

    The Parts Collection Survey estimates the species, sex, and age 
composition of the harvest, and the geographic and temporal 
distribution of the harvest. Randomly selected successful hunters who 
responded to the Migratory Bird Hunter Survey the previous year, as 
well as a sample of hunters who were not surveyed the previous year, 
are asked to complete and return a letter if they are willing to 
participate in the Parts Collection Survey. We provide postage-paid 
envelopes to respondents before the hunting season and ask them to send 
in a wing or the tail feathers from each duck or goose that they 
harvest, or a wing from each mourning dove, woodcock, band-tailed 
pigeon, or rail that they harvest. We use the wings and tail feathers 
to identify the species, sex, and age of the harvested sample. We also 
ask respondents to report the date and location of harvest for each 
bird on the outside of the envelope. We combine the results of this 
survey with the harvest estimates obtained from the Migratory Bird 
Hunter Survey to provide species-specific national harvest estimates.
    The combined results of these surveys enable us to evaluate the 
effects of season length, season dates, and bag limits on the harvest 
of each species, and thus help us determine appropriate hunting 
regulations.
    The Sandhill Crane Harvest Survey is an annual questionnaire survey 
of people who obtained a sandhill crane hunting permit. At the end of 
the hunting season, we randomly select a sample of permit holders and 
ask them to report the date, location, and number of birds harvested 
for each of their sandhill crane hunts. Their responses provide 
estimates of the temporal and geographic distribution of the harvest as 
well as the average harvest per hunter, which, combined with the total 
number of permits issued, enables us to estimate the total harvest of 
sandhill cranes. Based on information from this survey, we adjust 
hunting regulations as needed.
    In fall of 2019, we implemented a new, online platform for the 
Migratory Bird Hunter Survey. The platform is optimized for use on 
multiple devices (computer, tablet, or phone; Android or Apple OS). 
This online survey platform walks a participant through the process of 
entering their harvest for a single day and asks for one piece of 
information at a time, which reduces confusion and the likelihood that 
the hunter will provide incorrect information. The online system 
improves data quality and prevents errors (e.g., reporting harvest of 
the wrong species, or in the wrong State). We will continue to conduct 
the full paper survey through 2022, in order to ensure that data 
collected through the online platform is sound, and to provide a side-
by-side comparison of harvest estimates that can be used to calibrate 
the old survey to the new one. This is particularly important for 
maintaining a continuous time series of harvest estimates, despite 
changing methodology. In the fall of 2022, we will conduct the full 
survey using the online application but will provide a paper survey by 
mail to those hunters who request them.
    Title of Collection: Migratory Bird Information Program and 
Migratory Bird Surveys, 50 CFR 20.20.
    OMB Control Number: 1018-0023.
    Form Number: FWS Forms 3-165, 3-165A through E, and 3-2056J through 
N.
    Type of Review: Renewal without change of a currently approved 
collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: States and migratory game bird 
hunters.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory for HIP registration 
information; voluntary for participation in the surveys.
    Frequency of Collection: Annually for States or on occasion for 
migratory bird hunters.
    Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: None.

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                                                  Average        Number of
  Collection type/form No.       Number of       number of        annual       Average  time per   Total annual
                                respondents   responses each    responses *        response       burden hours *
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                         Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program (State Governments)
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                                          49            16.5             809  157 hours.........         127,013
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                                   Migratory Bird Hunter Survey (Individuals)
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Form 3-2056J................          31,900               1          31,900  5 minutes.........           2,658
Form 3-2056K................          16,900               1          16,900  4 minutes.........           1,127
Form 3-2056L................           8,500               1           8,500  4 minutes.........             567
Form 3-2056M................          10,200               1          10,200  3 minutes.........             510
                             -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Subtotals:..............          67,500  ..............          67,500  ..................           4,862
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                                      Parts Collection Survey (Individuals)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Form 3-165..................           4,870              22         107,140  5 minutes.........           8,928
Form 3-165A.................           1,000             5.5           5,500  5 minutes.........             458
Form 3-165B.................           3,600               1           3,600  1 minute..........              60
Form 3-165C.................             900               1             900  1 minute..........              15
Form 3-165D.................           1,134               1           1,134  1 minute..........              19
Form 3-165E.................           1,100             1.5           1,650  5 minutes.........             138
                             -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Subtotals:..............          12,604  ..............         119,924  ..................           9,619
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                                   Sandhill Crane Harvest Survey (Individuals)
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Form 3-2056N................           4,300               1           4,300  3.5 minutes.......             251
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                               Online Migratory Bird Harvest Survey (Individuals)
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None (Online Form)..........          25,500               1          25,500  4 minutes.........           1,700
                             -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals:.................         109,953  ..............         218,033  ..................         143,444
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* Rounded.


[[Page 37355]]

    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. 2022-13300 Filed 6-21-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P


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