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

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

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Information collection; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The collection of information described below has been

submitted to OMB for approval under the provisions of the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995. Copies of specific information collection

requirements, related forms, and explanatory material may be obtained

by contacting the Fish and Wildlife Service's (Service) Information

Collection Clearance Officer at the address or phone number listed

below.

DATES: Consideration will be given to all comments received on or

before September 21, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Comments and suggestions on specific requirements should be

sent to the: Desk Officer for the Interior Department, Office of

Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget,

Washington, DC 20503. Please also send a copy of your comments to:

Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, MS 222 ARLSQ, 1849 C Street, NW, Washington D.C. 20240,

Telephone 703/358-2287.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeffrey L. Horwath, Division of Fish

and Wildlife Management Assistance, Arlington, Virginia, 703/358-1718;

or Wells Stephensen, Office of Marine Mammals Management, Anchorage,

Alaska, 907/786-3815.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Service has submitted the following

information collection clearance requirements to the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) for approval under the Paperwork Reduction

Act of 1995, Pub. L. 104-13. The Service 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. A 60-day

notice inviting public comment on this information collection

requirement previously was published in the Federal Register on April

1, 1998 (63 FR 15855). No comments on the previous notice were

received. Pursuant to this request for approval, comments are invited

on: (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 the

agency's estimate of burden, including the validity of the methodology

and assumptions used; (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 those who are to

respond, including through the use of appropriate automated,

electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or

other forms of information technology, The OMB has up to 60 days to

approve or disapprove the information collection but may respond after

30 days; therefore, public comments should be submitted to the OMB

within 30 days in order to assure their maximum consideration.

As authorized by Section 109(i) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act

of 1972, as amended (Act) (16 U.S.C. 1361-1407), the Service in October

1988 implemented formal Marking, Tagging, and Reporting Regulations in

50 CFR 18.23 for Alaskan Natives harvesting polar bear, sea otter, and

Pacific walrus. Under Section 101(b) of the Act, Alaskan Natives

residing in Alaska and dwelling on the coast of the North Pacific or

Arctic Oceans may harvest these species for subsistence or handicraft

purposes. Section 109(i) of the Act authorizes the Service, acting on

behalf of the Secretary of the Interior, to prescribe marking, tagging,

and reporting regulations applicable to this Native subsistence and

handicraft take.

On June 28, 1988, the Service published, under authority of Section

109(i) of the Act, a final rule in the Federal Register that added

paragraph (f) to regulations at 50 CFR 18.23 that enabled the Service

to gather data on the Native subsistence and handicraft harvest, and

biology of polar bear, sea otter, and Pacific walrus in order to

determine what effect such take is having on these populations. It also

provided the Service with a means of monitoring the disposition of the

harvest to ensure that any commercial use of products created from

these species meets the criteria set forth in Section 101(b) of the

Act.

The information proposed to be collected by the Service from

Alaskan Natives will be used to improve the Service's decision-making

ability by substantially expanding the quality and quantity of harvest

and biological data upon which future management decisions can be

based. It will provide the Service with the ability to make inferences

about the condition and general health of these populations, and to

consider the importance and impacts to these population from such

processes as development activities and habitat degradation. Without

authority to collect this harvest information, the Service's ability to

measure the take of polar bear, sea otter and walrus is inadequate.

Mandatory marking, tagging, and reporting is considered essential to

improve the quality and quantity of harvest and biological data upon

which future management decisions will be based. It allows the Service

to make rational, knowledgeable decisions regarding the Native harvest,

habitat degradation, and the effects of oil and gas exploration,

development and production planned or underway for areas within the

range of these species.

The Service estimates that the annual burden associated with this

request will be 482 hours for each year of the 3-year period of OMB

authorization. This estimated burden was calculated based on previous

experience suggesting that Alaskan Natives annually will take about

1,930 polar bears, sea otter, and Pacific walrus for subsistence and

handicraft purposes, and that 15 minutes will be needed to provide the

required information for each animal taken.

[[Page 44634]]

Title: Marine Mammal Marking, Tagging, and Reporting Program.

Bureau form numbers: R7-50, R7-51, and R7-52.

Frequency of collection: Occasional.

Description of respondents: Individual and households.

Number of respondents: Approximately 1,930 per year.

Estimated completion time: 15 minutes per response.

Annual burden hours: 482 hours.

Current OMB Clearance Number: 0118-0066.

Approval Expires: August 31, 1998.

Dated: August 3, 1998.

Hannibal Bolton,

Acting Assistant Director-Fisheries.

[FR Doc. 98-22384 Filed 8-19-98; 8:45 am]

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