Privacy Act of 1974, As Amended; Revision of a System of Records, 27183-27185 [2015-11430]

Agencies

• Fish and Wildlife Service
• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 91 (Tuesday, May 12, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27183-27185]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-11430]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Privacy Act of 1974, As Amended; Revision of a System of Records

AGENCY: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed revisions to an existing system of records.

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SUMMARY: The Department of the Interior (DOI) is issuing public notice 
of its intent to revise a system of records in its current inventory, 
Migratory Bird Population and Harvest Surveys--Interior, FWS-26, 
subject to the Privacy Act of 1974. This action is necessary to meet 
the requirements of the Privacy Act to publish in the Federal Register 
a notice of amended systems of records. This system of records was 
previously published in the Federal Register on March 24, 1981 (46 FR 
18378). The agency is updating information on the system and adding new 
information on purposes, routine uses, and procedures.

DATES: Comments on this revised system of records must be received on 
or before June 22, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments on this revised system of records to 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Privacy Act Officer, Mail Stop IRTM, 
5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, Virginia 22041-3830; or by email at 
Melissa_Allen@fws.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melissa Allen, Privacy Act Officer, 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, telephone: 703-358-2470, or fax: 703-
358-2251.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS) 
migratory bird population and harvest survey programs collect 
information that is used in the promulgation of annual migratory bird 
hunting regulations. People who participate in annual migratory bird 
population surveys are professional biologists and biological 
technicians employed by cooperating Federal and State agencies; we 
collect and maintain their name, address, telephone number, and email 
address information in order to facilitate the communication and 
coordination efforts needed to conduct those surveys. People 
participating in migratory bird harvest surveys have obtained hunting

[[Page 27184]]

licenses from a State wildlife agency (State) and have been identified 
as migratory bird hunters by the States. The States collect the 
required information from those hunters and provide the data to the 
FWS, which then selects samples of those hunters for voluntary mail 
surveys. Information collected by the States and provided to the FWS 
includes name, mailing address, email address, date of birth, date the 
license was issued, what migratory game birds the person hunted the 
previous year, and approximately how many birds he or she took the 
previous year. We updated information for this system of records to 
reflect current categories of individuals and records covered by the 
system, as well as current locations of records and system managers. We 
deleted all categories of individuals and records related to bird 
banding permits and bird band encounters from this system, because 
those categories now fall under the purview of the U.S. Geological 
Survey.
    The Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(11)) requires that the public be 
provided a 30-day period in which to comment on the intended use of the 
information in the system of records. The Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB), in Circular A-130, requires an additional 10-day period 
(for a total of 40 days) in which to make these comments. Any persons 
interested in commenting on this proposed system notice may do so by 
submitting comments in writing as indicated under ADDRESSES. Comments 
received within 40 days of publication will be effective as proposed at 
the end of the comment period, unless comments are received that would 
require a contrary determination. We will publish a revised notice if 
we make changes based on our review of comments received.

Public Comments

    You may submit your comments and supporting materials to the 
address in the ADDRESSES section. We will not consider comments sent by 
email or fax, or written comments sent to an address other than the one 
listed in the ADDRESSES section.
    If you submit a comment, your entire comment--including any 
personal identifying information--may be available to the public. If 
you submit a comment that includes personal identifying information, 
you may request that we withhold the information from public review, 
but we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

    Dated: February 5, 2015.
Melissa Allen,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Privacy Act Officer.
INTERIOR/FWS-26

System name:
    Migratory bird population and harvest surveys.

Security classification:
    None.

System location:
    The records are stored at the following offices of the U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service (FWS):
    (1) Population surveys records: Division of Migratory Bird 
Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Patuxent Wildlife Research 
Center, Merriam Building, 11510 American Holly Drive, Laurel, Maryland 
20708.
    (2) Harvest surveys records: Division of Migratory Bird Management, 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, 
10815 Loblolly Pine Drive, Laurel, Maryland 20708.

Categories of individuals covered by the system:
    Records are maintained by biologists and biological technicians who 
participate in the Mourning Dove Call-count Survey and the American 
Woodcock Singing-ground Survey. Records are also kept for all persons 
who obtain hunting licenses and indicate to the State licensing 
authority that they intend to hunt migratory game birds, as required by 
the Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program (50 CFR 20.20). This 
includes the subset of hunters who are selected to participate in one 
of the FWS's national harvest surveys.

Categories of records in the system:
    Records for migratory bird population survey participants contain 
the name, address, work telephone number, facsimile number, and email 
address of each participant. Each migratory bird hunter record contains 
the name, mailing address, email address, date of birth, date the 
license was issued, what migratory game bird species the person hunted 
the previous year, and approximately how many birds he or she took the 
previous year.

Authority for maintenance of the system:
    Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703-712).

Purposes:
    The purposes are to facilitate the communication and coordination 
efforts needed to conduct migratory bird population surveys, and to 
provide a sampling frame of migratory bird hunters for national 
migratory bird harvest surveys.

Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories 
of users and the purposes of such uses:
    The FWS is the primary user of the system, and the primary uses of 
the records will be:
    (1) To contact population survey participants annually and 
coordinate the scheduling, operating procedures, data transmittal, and 
reporting of results for each survey.
    (2) To select members of the public (migratory bird hunters) and 
ask them to participate in voluntary harvest surveys.
    (3) To mail survey forms to select members of the public. 
Electronic files containing the mailing information will be sent to a 
private company to print out the survey forms, insert them in 
envelopes, and deliver the survey forms to the U.S. Postal Service. Any 
company awarded this printing contract by the Government Publishing 
Office will be certified to handle Privacy Act materials. All databases 
will be deleted by the contractor upon at the end of each survey year. 
However, we will maintain records in accordance with the Service's 
applicable records schedule.
    (4) To track the timing and types of responses from selected 
harvest survey participants. Upon completion of the harvest surveys, 
the personal identifier information is removed from each participant's 
survey response data, and the personal identification information is 
destroyed.
    (5) To determine the total number of licensed migratory bird 
hunters in each State.
    Disclosures outside the DOI may be made under the routine uses 
listed below without the consent of the individual if the disclosure is 
compatible with the purposes for which the record was collected.
    (1) To the individual State wildlife agencies that provided the 
migratory bird hunter information to the FWS.
    (2) To the Department of Justice (DOJ), or a court, adjudicative, 
or other administrative body or to a party in litigation before a court 
or adjudicative or administrative body, when:
    (a) One of the following is a party to the proceeding or has an 
interest in the proceeding:
    (i) The DOI or any component of the DOI;
    (ii) Any DOI employee acting in his or her official capacity;
    (iii) Any DOI employee acting in his or her individual capacity 
where the DOI or DOJ has agreed to represent the employee; or

[[Page 27185]]

    (iv) The United States, when DOI determines that DOI is likely to 
be affected by the proceeding; and
    (b) The DOI deems the disclosure to be:
    (v) Relevant and necessary to the proceedings; and
    (vi) Compatible with the purpose for which we compiled the 
information.
    (3) To the appropriate Federal, State, tribal, local, or foreign 
governmental agency that is responsible for investigating, prosecuting, 
enforcing, or implementing a statute, rule, regulation, order, or 
license, when we become aware of an indication of a violation or 
potential violation of the statute, rule, regulation, order, or 
license.
    (4) To a congressional office in response to an inquiry to the 
office by the individual to whom the record pertains.
    (5) To the General Accounting Office or Congress when the 
information is required for the evaluation of the migratory bird 
population and harvest surveys programs.
    (6) To a contractor, expert, or consultant employed by the FWS when 
necessary to accomplish a FWS function related to this system of 
records.
    Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, 
retaining, and disposing of records in the system.

Storage:
    Paper records are stored in file boxes in rooms and offices until 
they have been converted to electronic form, after which they are 
shredded. Electronic records are stored on a computer server and disks 
or tapes.

Retrievability:
    Electronic records may be searched on or reported by any data 
field.

Safeguards:
    Access to records in the system is limited to authorized personnel 
whose official duties require such access, in accordance with 
requirements found in the Code of Federal Regulations (43 CFR 2.51). 
Paper records are maintained in secured rooms. Electronic records are 
password-protected, backed up daily, and maintained with safeguards 
meeting the security requirements of 43 CFR 2.51.

Retention and disposal:
    Records are maintained in accordance with the Service's applicable 
records schedule.

System manager and address:
    Chief, Division of Migratory Bird Management, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, 5275 Leesburg Pike, MS MB, Falls Church, Virginia 
22041-3830.

Notification procedures:
    Any individual may request information regarding this system of 
records, or information as to whether the system contains records 
pertaining to him/her, from the System Manager identified above. We 
require that the request to be in writing and signed by the requester, 
and to include the requester's full name, address, and Social Security 
number. See 43 CFR 2.60 for procedures on making inquiries.

Record access procedures:
    For copies of your records, write to the System Manager identified 
above. The request envelope and letter should be clearly marked 
``PRIVACY ACT REQUEST FOR ACCESS.'' A request for access must meet the 
content requirements of 43 CFR 2.63(b)(4).

Contesting record procedures:
    Use the same procedures as ``Records Access Procedures'' section 
above. See 43 CFR 2.71.

Record source categories:
Records come from:
    (1) Federal and State agencies that assign their personnel to 
participate in migratory bird population surveys; and
    (2) State wildlife agencies that collect the information from 
licensed migratory bird hunters.

Exemptions claimed for the system:
    None.

[FR Doc. 2015-11430 Filed 5-11-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-55-P