With few exceptions, businesses or individuals must file FWS Form 3-177 with the Fish and Wildlife Service prior to importing into or exporting from the United States any fish, wildlife, or wildlife products. The information on this form helps us fulfill the statutory requirements of the Endangered Species Act and our obligations under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
We are reporting 182,000 responses totaling 33,417 annual burden hours. This is an increase of 12,000 responses and a decrease 583 burden hours from our previous request. These adjustments are based on our experience over the last several years. The decrease in burden hours is because more respondents are using electronic submission. In our previous submission, we estimated that 60 percent of the responses would use electronic submission; for this renewal we are projecting that almost 80 percent will be submitted electronically.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.