Request for Approval

Request for Approval under the “DOI Generic Clearance for the

Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery”

(OMB Control Number: 1090-0011)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Emperor Goose Spring Subsistence Harvest Survey

PURPOSE: Emperor geese are a semi-migratory bird endemic to Alaska and Eastern Russia. Up to 80% of the population nests on the Yukon Delta, with the remainder nesting on the Kotzebue Sound and along the Chukotka Peninsula of Russia. In the early 1980s, the spring survey documented a population index decline from over 100,000 birds in 1982 to less than 45,000 birds in 1986. Due to these steep declines in population, fall sport hunting was closed in 1986, and subsistence harvest of this species was closed in 1987. The closure has been in effect for 30 years.

From 2012-2015, many Alaskan communities proposed emperor goose subsistence seasons through the Alaska Migratory Bird Co-management Council (AMBCC). Proposals were not approved by USFWS and ADFG because emperor goose population had not reached a population sufficient to allow harvest. In April 2015, the emperor goose population reached a level to allow consideration of a harvest, the first time since 1987. From September 2015- Sept. 2016, the AMBCC and Pacific Flyway collaborated to develop and approve complementary management plans relative to population objective, monitoring, and harvest strategy.

In April 2017, the first subsistence harvest of emperor geese will take place in 30 years. With the unknown factors of how many people will be hunting, with no bag limit for this season, there is concern that overharvest may occur. Current subsistence harvest surveys conducted in the fall are unreliable sources of spring harvest estimates, because subsistence hunters must remember what they harvested 6 months prior.

With this study, we aim to collect number of emperor geese harvested, age, sex, and mass of birds harvested during the spring subsistence season in order to gain more reliable estimates of harvest on a species that hasn’t been legally harvested in 30 years. If successful, harvest numbers collected in this study might be used as a correction factor for fall subsistence harvest surveys conducted by USFWS and Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game.

Approval of this survey will provide reliable quantitative data needed by the Service to ensure the effectiveness of the emperor geese subsistence harvest program. Data from the subsistence hunters contributes directly to the improvement of the emperor geese subsistence harvest program and the Service’s ability to determine future subsistence harvest levels to ensure continued healthy populations of emperor geese in the future.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS: We are conducting this survey in 6 coastal villages that will likely have the greatest hunting effort for Emperor geese on the Yukon Delta based on the birds range. We hope to survey all successful emperor goose hunters in the village.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form Customer Satisfaction Survey

Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software Small Discussion Group

Focus Group Other: Voluntary submission of birds for survey

CERTIFICATION:

I certify the following to be true:

1. The collection is voluntary.

2. The collection is low-burden for respondents and low-cost for the Federal Government.

3. The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other federal agencies.

4. The results are not intended to be disseminated to the public.

5. Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy decisions.

6. The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience with the program or may have experience with the program in the future.

Name: _____Bryan Daniels___________________________________________

To assist review, please provide answers to the following questions:

Personally Identifiable Information:

1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? Yes No

2. If Yes, is the information that will be collected included in records that are subject to the Privacy Act of 1974? Yes No

3. If Applicable, has a System or Records Notice been published? Yes No

Gifts or Payments:

Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants? Yes No

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Total Burden Hours
Individuals/Households	300	5	25

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is $1,172.

We estimate we may receive 120 birds submitted from the estimated 300 respondents. Given our estimate of approximately 5 minutes to process each submission, then the total burden is $1,172 (25 hours * $46.88 per hour). This estimate is based on a GS-9 step 5 is processing the submissions. To determine average annual salary costs, we used the Office of Personnel Management Salary Table 2017-AK to obtain the rate for a GS-9, step 5. The benefits rate was calculated from BLS News Release USDL-16-2255, December 8, 2016, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation—September 2016. We multiplied the hourly rate ($29.86) by 1.57 to account for benefits, in accordance with USDL-16-22, resulting in a fully burdened rate of $46.88.

If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please provide answers to the following questions:

The selection of your targeted respondents

1. Do you have a customer list or something similar that defines the universe of potential respondents and do you have a sampling plan for selecting from this universe?

Yes No

If the answer is yes, please provide a description of both below (or attach the sampling plan). If the answer is no, please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them.

Participants will individual hunters who will self-select by choosing to bring their birds to a specific location for measurements and sampling.

Administration of the Instrument

1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)

Web-based or other forms of Social Media

Telephone

In-person

Mail

Other, Explain

2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? Yes No

Successful hunters will contact the data collector in their village to alert them of their success and schedule a time to meet to gather data. The data collector will then ask the questions listed on the survey form, and take measurements of the birds. The data collection period will be daily from May 10- June 10, unless hunting effort has ceased prior to June 10.

SEE ATTACHED DOCUMENTS FOR DATA COLLECTION