[Federal Register: March 3, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 41)]
[Notices]
[Page 10024-10026]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr03mr03-77]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Information Collection To Be Submitted to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for Approval Under the Paperwork Reduction
Act; Alaska Subsistence Household Survey
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will submit the collection
of information listed below to OMB for approval under the provisions of
the Paperwork Reduction Act. A copy of the information collection
requirement is included in this notice. If you wish to obtain copies of
the proposed information collection requirement, related forms, and
explanatory material, contact the Service Information Collection
Officer at the address listed below.
DATES: Submit comments on or before May 2, 2003.
ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the requirement to Anissa Craghead,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, MS 222-ARLSQ, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request a copy of the information
collection request, explanatory information, and related forms, contact
Anissa Craghead by phone at (703) 358-2445 or by e-mail at anissa--
craghead@fws.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
regulations at 5 CFR 1320, which implement provisions of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), require that interested
parties and affected agencies have an opportunity to comment on
information collection and recordkeeping activities (see CFR
1320.8(d)). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (we, or the Service)
plans to submit a request to OMB for approval of a collection of
information related to the subsistence migratory bird harvest in
Alaska. We a requesting a 3-year term of approval for this collection
activity.
Federal agencies 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 Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703-712) 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 the management of migratory
bird populations frequenting the United States and for the setting of
harvest regulations that allow for the conservation of those
populations. These responsibilities include gathering accurate
geographical and temporal data on various characteristics of migratory
bird harvest. We use that data to promulgate harvest regulations.
Annually, we adjust harvest regulations as needed to provide a maximum
of subsistence harvest opportunity while keeping migratory bird
populations at desired levels.
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act Protocol Amendment (1995) (Amendment)
provides for the customary and traditional use of migratory birds and
their eggs for subsistence use by indigenous inhabitants of Alaska. The
Amendment, however, states that it is not the intent of the Amendment
to cause significant increases in the take of species of migratory
birds relative to their continental population sizes. A May 20, 1996,
letter of submittal from the Department of State to the White House,
which officially accompanied the Amendment, specifies the need for
harvest monitoring and states that harvest estimates will be collected
cooperatively by the Service, the State
[[Page 10025]]
Department of Fish and Game, and Native organizations within the
subsistence eligible areas. Harvest survey data help ensure that
customary and traditional use of migratory birds and their eggs for
subsistence use by indigenous inhabitants of Alaska does not
significantly increase the take of species of migratory birds relative
to their continental population sizes.
We have monitored the subsistence harvest in Alaska for the past 14
years through the use of annual household surveys in the most heavily
used subsistence harvest areas (e.g., Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta).
Continuation of this monitoring would enable tracking of any
significant changes or trends in levels of harvest and user
participation after legalization of the harvest. The harvest survey
method and forms that we used to collect information were not approved
by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). We are initiating the
process to request OMB approval of these forms through this publication
and to request public comment on this information collection. We will
not conduct or sponsor any surveys until we obtain OMB approval of this
information collection.
This collection helped, and would help, us gather information on
the annual subsistence harvests of 49 species of birds, including
geese, ducks, swans, cranes, loons, seabirds, shorebirds, and upland
game birds. The survey was, and would be, conducted by local village
resident surveyors in the subsistence-eligible areas of Alaska, under
the guidance of Service employees and contractors (such as native
organizations and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game). The local
village surveyors annually provided, and would provide, us lists of all
households in each village. Randomly selected households then received,
and would receive, survey forms from the village surveyor. The
household either completed, and would complete, the form independently,
or the village surveyor helped, and would help, the household complete
the form. Forms were then, and would be, turned in to us. The resulting
estimates of harvest per household were, and would be, combined with
the complete list of households in the subsistence-eligible areas to
provide estimates of the total annual harvest of the 49 species of
birds.
We used, and would use, four forms to collect this information.
They are described below.
Title: List of All Occupied Households, with Hunting Category
Noted.
Approval Number: 1018-xxxx.
Form number: 7-FW-100.
Frequency of Collection: Once per year.
Description of Respondents: Local village surveyors.
Total Annual Responses: 188. We estimate one form for each of the
188 communities, which amounts to 188 forms annually.
Total Annual Burden Hours: 433 hours. We estimate the reporting
burden at one minute for each of the total 26,000 households in 188
communities, or 433 hours total.
Note: This form is maintained by the local village surveyor.
This form does not record, nor is it arranged or retrieved, by
personal identifier.
Title: Households Separated by Hunting Category.
Approval Number: 1018-xxxx.
Form number: 7-FW-101.
Frequency of Collection: Once per year.
Description of Respondents: Local village surveyors.
Total Annual Responses: 188. We estimate one form for each of the
188 communities, which amounts to 188 forms annually.
Total Annual Burden Hours: 94 hours. We estimate it takes each
surveyor an average of one-half hour to transfer the information from
Form 7-FW-100 to Form 7-FW-101. With an estimated 188 surveyors in up
to 188 communities, we estimate 94 hours total annual burden.
Note: The local village surveyor provides this form to us. This
form does not record, nor is it arranged or retrieved, by personal
identifier.
Title: Permission Slip for Participation in the Survey.
Approval Number: 1018-xxxx.
Form number: 7-FW-102.
Frequency of Collection: Once per year.
Description of Respondents: Households within the subsistence
eligible areas of Alaska (Alaska Peninsula, Kodiak Archipelago, the
Aleutian Islands, or in areas north and west of the Alaska Range (50
CFR part 92.5)).
Total Annual Responses: 16,000. We estimate up to 13,000 of the
approximately 26,000 households in the subsistence eligible areas, will
participate in the survey. Up to 16,000 households will have to be
asked permission in order to get a sample size of 13,000 households.
Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,333 hours. It will take the surveyor
an average of 5 minutes per household to determine whether or not that
household agrees to participate in the subsistence harvest survey. With
an estimated 16,000 households responding to the permission slip, this
amounts to 1,333 hours total annual burden.
Note: This form is maintained by the local village surveyor. The
surveyor asks each household if that household will participate in
the subsistence harvest survey. The surveyor then notes a ``yes'' or
a ``no'' on a permission slip. Each household with a ``yes''
permission slip is given a survey form (described below). This form
does not record, nor is it arranged or retrieved, by personal
identifier.
Title: Migratory Bird Subsistence Harvest Household Survey.
Approval Number: 1018-xxxx.
Form number: 7-FW-103.
Frequency of Collection: Three times per year--spring, summer, and
fall.
Description of Respondents: Households within the subsistence
eligible areas of Alaska (Alaska Peninsula, Kodiak Archipelago, the
Aleutian Islands, or in areas north and west of the Alaska Range (50
CFR part 92.5)).
Total Annual Responses: 13,000. We estimate up to 13,000 of the
approximately 26,000 households in the subsistence eligible areas will
participate in the survey.
Total Annual Burden Hours: 3,250 hours. We estimate the reporting
burden to average 5 minutes per respondent for the Migratory Bird
Subsistence Harvest Household Survey. With an estimated 13,000
respondents filling out the form three times annually, the annual
burden hours total 3,250 hours.
Note: The local village surveyor provides completed survey forms
to us. The survey form consists of three pages, one page each for
spring, summer, and fall. Each page has 51 bird illustrations, with
spaces beside each illustration to mark down numbers of birds and
eggs taken. This form does not record, nor is it arranged or
retrieved, by personal identifier; the household number is written
on each page of the survey form, along with a village number. The
results of this annual survey help us understand the effect of
subsistence hunting on migratory bird populations, while also
evaluating the effects of newly established spring/summer season
dates, species closures, and methods and means prohibitions.
We invite comments on this proposed information collection on the
following: (1) Whether the collection of information is necessary for
the proper performance of the function of the agency, including whether
the information will have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of our
estimate of the burden of the collection of information; (3) ways to
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be
[[Page 10026]]
collected; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection on
respondents.
Dated: February 24, 2003.
Anissa Craghead,
Information Collection Officer, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 03-4876 Filed 2-28-03; 8:45 am]
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