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 FWS Form 3-177 helps us fulfill the statutory requirements of the Endangered Species Act and our obligations under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
In 2009, we implemented a new user fee system intended to recover the costs of the compliance portion of the wildlife inspection program. Since that time, we have been made aware that we may have placed an undue economic burden on businesses that exclusively trade in small volumes of low-value, non-Federally protected wildlife parts and products. To address this issue, we implemented a program that exempts certain businesses from the designated port base inspection fees as an interim measure while we reassess the current user fee system. In order to participate in our user fee exemption program for low-risk importations and exportations, importers or exporters must certify electronically that they meet the criteria for inclusion in the program.
We are reporting 184,303 responses totaling 32,929 annual burden hours, which is an adjustment increase of 2,303 responses and a decrease of 488 burden hours. In addition to increasing our estimated number of responses based on our experience over the last 3 years, this ICR includes the addition of 1,000 hours for fee waiver certifications (currently approved under 1018-0152). The decrease in burden hours can be attributed to the increase in the number of FWS Forms 3-177 that 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.
Declaration for Importation or Exportation of Fish or Wildlife- Private Sector (Electronic Database)