Information Collection To Be Submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Approval Under the Paperwork Reduction Act; Sandhill Crane Harvest Survey

AGENCY:

Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice; request for comments.

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 description of the information collection requirement is included in this notice. If you wish to obtain copies of the proposed information collection requirement, related forms, or explanatory material, contact the Service Information Collection Clearance Officer at the address listed below.

DATES:

We accept comments until May 28, 2004.

ADDRESSES:

Mail 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; or fax (703) 358-2269.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request a copy of the information collection request, explanatory information, or related forms, contact by phone at Anissa Craghead at (703) 358-2445.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations at 5 CFR part 1320, which implement provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), require that interested members of the public 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) plan to submit a request to OMB to renew its approval of the collection of information for the Sandhill Crane Harvest Survey. We are requesting a 3-year term of approval for this information 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 OMB control number for this collection of information is 1018-0023.

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703-711) and Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 742d) designate the Department of the Interior as the key agency responsible for the wise management of migratory bird populations frequenting the United States and for 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 the gathering of accurate data on various characteristics of migratory bird harvest. Knowledge attained by determining harvests and harvest rates of migratory game birds is used to regulate populations (by promulgating hunting regulations) and to encourage hunting opportunity, especially where crop depredations are chronic and/or lightly harvested populations occur. Based on information from harvest surveys, hunting regulations can be adjusted as needed to optimize harvests at levels that provide a maximum of hunting recreation while keeping populations at desired levels.

This information collection approval request seeks approval for us to continue conducting the Sandhill Crane Harvest Survey. This 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 send those people a questionnaire that asks them to report the date, State, county, 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 sandhill crane permits issued, enables the Service to estimate the total harvest of sandhill cranes.

The Sandhill Crane Harvest Survey enables us to annually estimate the magnitude of the harvest and the portion it constitutes of the total mid-continent sandhill crane population. Based on information from this survey, hunting regulations are adjusted as needed to optimize harvest at levels that provide a maximum of hunting recreation while keeping populations at desired levels.

Title: Sandhill Crane Harvest Survey.

OMB Control Number: 1018-0023.

Service Form Number(s): 3-530, 3-530A, 3-2056N.

Frequency of Collection: Annually.

Description of Respondents: Individuals and households.

Number of Respondents: About 8,000 hunters will respond to the Sandhill Crane Harvest Survey annually.

Total Annual Burden Hours: The reporting burden is estimated to average 5 minutes per respondent. Total annual burden is 667 hours.

We invite comments concerning this renewal on: (1) Whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of our migratory bird management functions, 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 collected; and, (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents. The information collections in this program are part of a system of record covered by the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552(a)).