Department of the Interior February 9, 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Between September 4 and October 10, 2011, more than 34,000 acres burned in Bastrop County, Texas, much of which was habitat for the endangered Houston toad. The Houston toad usually emerges and becomes active at the end of January or in early February. Without authorized personnel to salvage individuals, the ongoing Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) clean-up may be delayed or Houston toads may be needlessly harmed or killed. We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have authorized researchers employed by FEMA, under an Endangered Species Act (ESA) permit, to survey for, collect, and relocate Houston toads that may be affected by the FEMA clean-up.

We (National Park Service) will ask the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the information collection (IC) described below. This collection will survey participants of Biodiversity Discovery efforts. To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and as a part of our continuing efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, we invite the general public and other federal agencies to comment on this IC. The PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.) provides that we may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not required to respond to a collection unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number and current expiration date.