Information Collection Request Sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Approval; Monitoring Recovered Species After Delisting-American Peregrine Falcon, 57967-57968 [2014-22925]
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<![CDATA[
57967
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 187 / Friday, September 26, 2014 / Notices
Falls Church, VA 22041; fax (703) 358–
2281.
Brenda Tapia,
Program Analyst/Data Administrator, Branch
of Permits, Division of Management
Authority.
[FR Doc. 2014–22922 Filed 9–25–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS–R1–MB–2014—N205;
FXES11120100000–145–FF01M01000]
Information Collection Request Sent to
the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) for Approval; Monitoring
Recovered Species After Delisting—
American Peregrine Falcon
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
AGENCY:
We (U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service) have sent an Information
Collection Request (ICR) to OMB for
SUMMARY:
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 September 30,
2014. 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 October 27, 2014.
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 OIRA_
Submission@omb.eop.gov (email).
Please provide a copy of your comments
to the Service Information Collection
Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, MS BPHC, 5275
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041–
3803 (mail), or hope_grey@fws.gov
(email). Please include ‘‘1018–0101’’ in
the subject line of your comments.
To
request additional information about
this ICR, contact Hope Grey at hope_
grey@fws.gov (email) or 703–358–2482
(telephone). You may review the ICR
online at https://www.reginfo.gov. Follow
the instructions to review Department of
the Interior collections under review by
OMB.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Information Collection Request
OMB Control Number: 1018–0101.
Title: Monitoring Recovered Species
After Delisting—American Peregrine
Falcon.
Service Form Numbers: 3–2307, 3–
2308, and 3–2309.
Type of Request: Extension of
currently approved collection.
Description of Respondents:
Professional biologists employed by
State agencies and other organizations,
and volunteers that have been involved
in past peregrine falcon conservation
efforts.
Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary.
Frequency of Collection: On occasion.
Number of
annual
responses
Activity
Completion
time per
response
(hours)
Total annual
burden hours
254
12
12
2.5
2.5
2.5
636
30
30
Totals ....................................................................................................................................
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
FWS Form 3–2307 ......................................................................................................................
FWS Form 3–2308 ......................................................................................................................
FWS Form 3–2309 ......................................................................................................................
278
........................
696
Estimated Nonhour Cost Burden: We
estimate the total nonhour burden cost
to be $252.00 for expenses incurred
when contaminants samples must be
shipped to designated labs for analysis
and storage.
Abstract: This information collection
implements requirements of the
Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531
et seq.) (ESA). There are no
corresponding Service regulations for
the ESA post-delisting monitoring
requirement. This information
collection also implements the
Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C.
704) and Service regulations in chapter
I, subchapter B of title 50 of the Code
of Federal Regulations (CFR).
The American peregrine falcon was
removed from the List of Endangered
and Threatened Wildlife on August 25,
1999 (64 FR 46542). Section 4(g) of the
ESA requires that all species that are
recovered and removed from the List of
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife
(delisted) be monitored in cooperation
with the States for a period of not less
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:25 Sep 25, 2014
Jkt 232001
than 5 years. The purpose of this
requirement is to detect any failure of a
recovered species to sustain itself
without the protections of the ESA. We
work with relevant State agencies and
other species experts to develop
appropriate plans and procedures for
systematically monitoring recovered
wildlife and plants.
The American peregrine falcon has a
large geographic distribution that
includes a substantial amount of nonFederal land. Although the ESA requires
that monitoring of recovered species be
conducted for not less than 5 years, the
life history of American peregrine
falcons is such that it is appropriate to
monitor this species for a longer period
of time in order to meaningfully
evaluate whether or not the recovered
species continues to maintain its
recovered status. The Monitoring Plan
for the American Peregrine Falcon is
available on our Web site at https://
www.fws.gov/endangered/esa-library/
pdf/Peregrineplan2003.pdf. Formal
collection of monitoring data began in
PO 00000
Frm 00099
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
2003 and continued through 2012. We
monitored peregrines nationally four
times over a span of 9 years. Although
formal post-delisting monitoring
concluded in 2012, we will make an
effort to continue to monitor peregrine
falcons regionally in future years. Under
this reduced effort, we will monitor
peregrines in four southwestern States
in 2015.
We will use the information supplied
on FWS Forms 3–2307, 3–2308, and 3–
2309 to further our knowledge of
American peregrine falcon breeding site
occupancy, nest success, productivity,
and contaminant levels in parts of the
United States:
(1) FWS Form 3–2307 (Peregrine
Falcon Monitoring Form) addresses the
reporting requirements to record
observations on the nesting pair, and the
numbers of eggs and young during each
nest visit.
(2) FWS Form 3–2308 (Peregrine
Falcon Egg Contaminants Data Sheet)
addresses the reporting requirements to
E:\FR\FM\26SEN1.SGM
26SEN1
57968
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 187 / Friday, September 26, 2014 / Notices
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
record data on eggs collected
opportunistically during a nest visit.
(3) FWS Form 3–2309 (Peregrine
Falcon Feather Contaminants Data
Sheet) addresses the reporting
requirements to record data on feathers
collected opportunistically during a nest
visit. Once collected, the eggs and
feathers are archived in a deep freeze for
analysis at a later time.
Comments Received and Our Responses
On July 14, 2014, we published in the
Federal Register (79 FR 40776) a notice
of our intent to request that OMB renew
approval for this collection of
information. We solicited comments for
60 days, ending on September 12, 2014.
We received four comments. One
comment was from the State of
Montana, Department of Fish, Wildlife
and Parks, and the other three were
from participants in and organizers of
peregrine falcon monitoring in Montana.
All commenters:
• Agreed that the collection of
information is necessary and has
practical utility.
• Stated that this information
collection is not simply necessary, but
is our obligation under the ESA.
• Argued for continuing postdelisting monitoring of peregrine
falcons in 2015.
• Expressed concern that we
terminated post-delisting monitoring
prematurely.
• Elaborated on the reasons why the
Service should continue monitoring the
falcons; i.e., that the data will serve as
a baseline by which to measure future
breeding performance; that peregrine
falcons are indicators of environmental
health, and continued monitoring may
reveal the presence of destructive
environmental contaminants, the
negative effects of climate change, or of
emerging avian diseases.
Two commenters mentioned that
monitoring peregrines in Montana will
be challenging without the financial
assistance that the Service has given in
previous post–delisting monitoring
years.
Response: The original design of the
post-delisting monitoring plan called for
monitoring the species five times at 3year intervals from 2003 through 2015.
Fiscal conservatism forced us to
critically evaluate expenditures in every
program, including peregrine falcon
post-delisting monitoring. The
monitoring results from 4 monitoring
years, spanning a 9-year period, show
that in most regions and nationally the
species is doing well; e.g., meeting or
exceeding targets for territory
occupancy, nesting success, and
productivity. Other data show that the
VerDate Sep<11>2014
19:14 Sep 25, 2014
Jkt 232001
numbers of breeding birds continue to
increase in most States. We believe
peregrine falcons have been monitored
effectively for more than 5 years, and
the data show that the species is not in
danger of being relisted as threatened or
endangered. Therefore, we have met our
obligations under the ESA, and postdelisting monitoring was concluded in
2012.
We may continue to monitor
peregrine falcons less intensively in the
future, with periodic national or
regional monitoring efforts. In 2015, for
example, we, with State partners, will
monitor peregrine falcons in the
southwestern United States (Utah,
Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico).
We plan to monitor approximately 130
territories, or 20 percent of the number
of territories monitored nationally
during post-delisting monitoring.
The 4 years of post-delisting
monitoring data provide us with an
adequate baseline against which future
monitoring efforts may be compared
regionally and nationally. Monitoring
from each year met our goals for
statistical rigor, each of the 4-year
datasets stands alone, and together these
datasets provide us with a justification
to conclude delisting monitoring of this
species. Peregrines are sensitive
indicators of some environmental
changes, particularly, as history has
shown, to some chemical contaminants.
For this reason, we will consider, with
partners, a strategy to continue some
level of monitoring in the future so we
can detect potential problems before
they become critical.
Request for Public Comments
We again invite comments concerning
this information collection on:
• Whether or not the collection of
information is necessary, including
whether or not the information will
have practical utility;
• The accuracy of our estimate of the
burden for this collection of
information;
• Ways to enhance the quality, utility,
and clarity of the information to be
collected; and
• 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
PO 00000
Frm 00100
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that it will be done.
Dated: September 22, 2014.
Tina A. Campbell,
Chief, Division of Policy and Directives
Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2014–22925 Filed 9–25–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS–HQ–IA–2014–N202;
FXIA16710900000–145–FF09A30000]
Endangered Species; Receipt of
Applications for Permit
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of receipt of applications
for permit.
AGENCY:
We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, invite the public to
comment on the following applications
to conduct certain activities with
endangered species. With some
exceptions, the Endangered Species Act
(ESA) prohibits activities with listed
species unless Federal authorization is
acquired that allows such activities.
DATES: We must receive comments or
requests for documents on or before
October 27, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Brenda Tapia, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Division of
Management Authority, Branch of
Permits, MS: IA, 5275 Leesburg Pike,
Falls Church, VA 22041; fax (703) 358–
2281; or email DMAFR@fws.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Brenda Tapia, (703) 358–2104
(telephone); (703) 358–2281 (fax);
DMAFR@fws.gov (email).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:
I. Public Comment Procedures
A. How do I request copies of
applications or comment on submitted
applications?
Send your request for copies of
applications or comments and materials
concerning any of the applications to
the contact listed under ADDRESSES.
Please include the Federal Register
notice publication date, the PRTnumber, and the name of the applicant
in your request or submission. We will
not consider requests or comments sent
to an email or address not listed under
ADDRESSES. If you provide an email
address in your request for copies of
applications, we will attempt to respond
to your request electronically.
E:\FR\FM\26SEN1.SGM
26SEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 187 (Friday, September 26, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57967-57968]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-22925]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R1-MB-2014--N205; FXES11120100000-145-FF01M01000]
Information Collection Request Sent to the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) for Approval; Monitoring Recovered Species After
Delisting--American Peregrine Falcon
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 September 30, 2014. 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 October 27, 2014.
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 OIRASubmission@omb.eop.gov
(email). Please provide a copy of your comments to the Service
Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, MS BPHC, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803
(mail), or hopegrey@fws.gov (email). Please include ``1018-
0101'' in the subject line of your comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information
about this ICR, contact Hope Grey at hopegrey@fws.gov (email)
or 703-358-2482 (telephone). You may review the ICR online at https://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: 1018-0101.
Title: Monitoring Recovered Species After Delisting--American
Peregrine Falcon.
Service Form Numbers: 3-2307, 3-2308, and 3-2309.
Type of Request: Extension of currently approved collection.
Description of Respondents: Professional biologists employed by
State agencies and other organizations, and volunteers that have been
involved in past peregrine falcon conservation efforts.
Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
Frequency of Collection: On occasion.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Completion
Number of time per Total annual
Activity annual response burden hours
responses (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FWS Form 3-2307................................................ 254 2.5 636
FWS Form 3-2308................................................ 12 2.5 30
FWS Form 3-2309................................................ 12 2.5 30
------------------------------------------------
Totals..................................................... 278 ............... 696
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated Nonhour Cost Burden: We estimate the total nonhour burden
cost to be $252.00 for expenses incurred when contaminants samples must
be shipped to designated labs for analysis and storage.
Abstract: This information collection implements requirements of
the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) (ESA). There are no
corresponding Service regulations for the ESA post-delisting monitoring
requirement. This information collection also implements the Migratory
Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 704) and Service regulations in chapter I,
subchapter B of title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
The American peregrine falcon was removed from the List of
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife on August 25, 1999 (64 FR 46542).
Section 4(g) of the ESA requires that all species that are recovered
and removed from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife
(delisted) be monitored in cooperation with the States for a period of
not less than 5 years. The purpose of this requirement is to detect any
failure of a recovered species to sustain itself without the
protections of the ESA. We work with relevant State agencies and other
species experts to develop appropriate plans and procedures for
systematically monitoring recovered wildlife and plants.
The American peregrine falcon has a large geographic distribution
that includes a substantial amount of non-Federal land. Although the
ESA requires that monitoring of recovered species be conducted for not
less than 5 years, the life history of American peregrine falcons is
such that it is appropriate to monitor this species for a longer period
of time in order to meaningfully evaluate whether or not the recovered
species continues to maintain its recovered status. The Monitoring Plan
for the American Peregrine Falcon is available on our Web site at
https://www.fws.gov/endangered/esa-library/pdf/Peregrineplan2003.pdf.
Formal collection of monitoring data began in 2003 and continued
through 2012. We monitored peregrines nationally four times over a span
of 9 years. Although formal post-delisting monitoring concluded in
2012, we will make an effort to continue to monitor peregrine falcons
regionally in future years. Under this reduced effort, we will monitor
peregrines in four southwestern States in 2015.
We will use the information supplied on FWS Forms 3-2307, 3-2308,
and 3-2309 to further our knowledge of American peregrine falcon
breeding site occupancy, nest success, productivity, and contaminant
levels in parts of the United States:
(1) FWS Form 3-2307 (Peregrine Falcon Monitoring Form) addresses
the reporting requirements to record observations on the nesting pair,
and the numbers of eggs and young during each nest visit.
(2) FWS Form 3-2308 (Peregrine Falcon Egg Contaminants Data Sheet)
addresses the reporting requirements to
[[Page 57968]]
record data on eggs collected opportunistically during a nest visit.
(3) FWS Form 3-2309 (Peregrine Falcon Feather Contaminants Data
Sheet) addresses the reporting requirements to record data on feathers
collected opportunistically during a nest visit. Once collected, the
eggs and feathers are archived in a deep freeze for analysis at a later
time.
Comments Received and Our Responses
On July 14, 2014, we published in the Federal Register (79 FR
40776) a notice of our intent to request that OMB renew approval for
this collection of information. We solicited comments for 60 days,
ending on September 12, 2014. We received four comments. One comment
was from the State of Montana, Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks,
and the other three were from participants in and organizers of
peregrine falcon monitoring in Montana. All commenters:
Agreed that the collection of information is necessary and
has practical utility.
Stated that this information collection is not simply
necessary, but is our obligation under the ESA.
Argued for continuing post-delisting monitoring of
peregrine falcons in 2015.
Expressed concern that we terminated post-delisting
monitoring prematurely.
Elaborated on the reasons why the Service should continue
monitoring the falcons; i.e., that the data will serve as a baseline by
which to measure future breeding performance; that peregrine falcons
are indicators of environmental health, and continued monitoring may
reveal the presence of destructive environmental contaminants, the
negative effects of climate change, or of emerging avian diseases.
Two commenters mentioned that monitoring peregrines in Montana will
be challenging without the financial assistance that the Service has
given in previous post-delisting monitoring years.
Response: The original design of the post-delisting monitoring plan
called for monitoring the species five times at 3-year intervals from
2003 through 2015. Fiscal conservatism forced us to critically evaluate
expenditures in every program, including peregrine falcon post-
delisting monitoring. The monitoring results from 4 monitoring years,
spanning a 9-year period, show that in most regions and nationally the
species is doing well; e.g., meeting or exceeding targets for territory
occupancy, nesting success, and productivity. Other data show that the
numbers of breeding birds continue to increase in most States. We
believe peregrine falcons have been monitored effectively for more than
5 years, and the data show that the species is not in danger of being
relisted as threatened or endangered. Therefore, we have met our
obligations under the ESA, and post-delisting monitoring was concluded
in 2012.
We may continue to monitor peregrine falcons less intensively in
the future, with periodic national or regional monitoring efforts. In
2015, for example, we, with State partners, will monitor peregrine
falcons in the southwestern United States (Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and
New Mexico). We plan to monitor approximately 130 territories, or 20
percent of the number of territories monitored nationally during post-
delisting monitoring.
The 4 years of post-delisting monitoring data provide us with an
adequate baseline against which future monitoring efforts may be
compared regionally and nationally. Monitoring from each year met our
goals for statistical rigor, each of the 4-year datasets stands alone,
and together these datasets provide us with a justification to conclude
delisting monitoring of this species. Peregrines are sensitive
indicators of some environmental changes, particularly, as history has
shown, to some chemical contaminants. For this reason, we will
consider, with partners, a strategy to continue some level of
monitoring in the future so we can detect potential problems before
they become critical.
Request for Public Comments
We again invite comments concerning this information collection on:
Whether or not the collection of information is necessary,
including whether or not the information will have practical utility;
The accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this
collection of information;
Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and
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.
Dated: September 22, 2014.
Tina A. Campbell,
Chief, Division of Policy and Directives Management, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-22925 Filed 9-25-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P
