30-day published

Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 246 / Thursday, December 22, 2016 / Notices
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS–R6–R–2016–N139; FF06R06000–
FXRS12610600000–178]

Establishment of Bear River
Watershed Conservation Area, Idaho,
Wyoming, and Utah
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:

This notice advises the public
that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(Service) has established the Bear River
Watershed Conservation Area, the 565th
unit of the National Wildlife Refuge
System. The Service established the
Bear River Watershed Conservation
Area on June 28, 2016, with the
donation of approximately 30 acres in
Box Elder County, Utah.
ADDRESSES: A map depicting the
approved Refuge boundary and other
information regarding the Refuge is
available on the Internet at https://
www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/refuges/
lpp_brr.php.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Toni
Griffin, Planning Team Leader, Refuge
Planning Branch, USFWS, P.O. Box
25486, DFC, Denver, CO 80225; 303–
236–4378.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Service established the Bear River
Watershed Conservation Area, which
encompasses more than 4.5 million
acres in the States of Idaho, Wyoming,
and Utah, in 2013. The establishment of
the conservation area authorizes the
Service to work in partnership with
private landowners to conserve wildlife
habitat through perpetual easements.
Bear Lake National Wildlife Refuge,
Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge,
Cokeville Meadows National Wildlife
Refuge, and Oxford Slough Waterfowl
Production Area are previously
established National Wildlife Refuge
System (Refuge System) units within the
watershed that are largely owned in feetitle. Along with the existing refuge
units in the watershed, the conservation
area supports more than 200 species of
birds, particularly migratory birds
within the Central and Pacific Flyways.
The conservation area also provides
habitat and important migratory
linkages for many mammals, such as elk
and pronghorn; and its rivers and lakes
support a number of native fish species,
such as Bonneville cutthroat trout. The
Bear River is the largest surface water
source for the Great Salt Lake ecosystem
and is the meeting point of the Great
Basin and Southern Rockies in the

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region. The Service will work with
conservation partners and landowners
to protect priority habitat for priority
native species such as the American
avocet, Bonneville cutthroat trout,
greater sage-grouse, and sage thrasher on
up to 920,000 acres in the 4.5-millionacre watershed. This goal will be
accomplished primarily through the
purchase of perpetual conservation
easements from willing sellers in Idaho,
Wyoming, and Utah.
The Service recognizes the
importance of working with private
landowners and other partners for
mutual conservation interests. Farming
and ranching have played an essential
role in conserving valuable fish and
wildlife habitat throughout the Bear
River watershed.
The establishment of the Bear River
Watershed Conservation Area allows the
Service to purchase conservation
easements using the acquisition
authority of the Fish and Wildlife Act of
1956 (16 U.S.C. 742a–j). The federal
money used to acquire conservation
easements is primarily from the Land
and Water Conservation Fund Act of
1965, as amended (16 U.S.C. 460l–4
through 11) (derived primarily from oil
and gas leases on the Outer Continental
Shelf, motorboat fuel taxes, and the sale
of surplus Federal property). Additional
funding to acquire lands, water, or
interests for fish and wildlife
conservation purposes could be
identified by Congress or donated by
nonprofit organizations.
The Service has involved the public,
agencies, partners, and legislators
throughout the planning process for the
easement program. At the beginning of
the planning process, the Service
initiated public involvement for the
proposal to protect habitats primarily
through acquisition of conservation
easements for management as part of the
Refuge System. The Service spent time
discussing the proposed project with
landowners; conservation organizations;
Federal, State and County government
agencies; Tribes; and other interested
groups and individuals in Idaho,
Wyoming, and Utah. These open houses
were announced in local media.
In compliance with the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Service
prepared an environmental assessment
(EA) that evaluated two alternatives and
their potential impacts on the project
area. The Service released the draft EA
and land protection plan (LPP), on
November 28, 2012, for a 32-day public
review period. The draft documents
were made available to federal elected
officials and agencies, state elected
officials and agencies, Native American

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Tribes with aboriginal or tribal interests,
and other members of the public that
were identified during the scoping
process that included six public
meetings. The Service held six
additional open-house public meetings
to discuss the draft EA and LPP on
December 4, 2012 in Logan, Utah;
December 5, 2012 in Randolph, Utah;
December 6, 2012 in Montpelier, Idaho;
December 7, 2012 in Preston, Idaho;
December 10, 2012 in Cokeville,
Wyoming; and December 11, 2012 in
Evanston, Wyoming. These meetings
were announced in advance in local
media. Approximately 213 landowners,
citizens, and elected representatives
attended the meetings. The Service
received 19 letters from agencies,
organizations, and other entities, and
260 general public comments. After all
comments were received, they were
reviewed and incorporated into the EA
and administrative record.
Based on the documentation
contained in the EA, a Finding of No
Significant Impact was signed on
February 27, 2013, and approval from
Director Dan Ashe was received on May
1, 2013, for the establishment of the
Bear River Watershed Conservation
Area.
Dated: August 15, 2016.
Matt Hogan,
Regional Director, Mountain-Prairie Region.
[FR Doc. 2016–30826 Filed 12–21–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
U.S. Geological Survey
[GX.16.CG00.GDQ03.00]

Agency Information Collection
Activities: Request for Comments on
the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Berry
Outlook Survey
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS),
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of a new information
collection, Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta
Berry Outlook.
AGENCY:

We (the U.S. Geological
Survey) are notifying the public that we
have submitted to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) the
information collection request (ICR)
described below. To comply with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA)
and as part of our continuing efforts to
reduce paperwork and respondent
burden, we invite the general public and
other Federal agencies to take this
opportunity to comment on this ICR.

SUMMARY:

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93952

Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 246 / Thursday, December 22, 2016 / Notices

To ensure that your comments
on this ICR are considered, OMB must
receive them on or before January 23,
2017.

DATES:

Please submit written
comments on this information
collection directly to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB), Office
of Information and Regulatory Affairs,
Attention: Desk Officer for the
Department of the Interior, via email:
([email protected];
identify your submission with ‘OMB
Control Number 1028–NEW YukonKuskokwim Delta Berry Outlook. Please
also forward a copy of your comments
and suggestions on this information
collection to the Information Collection
Clearance Officer, U.S. Geological
Survey, [email protected]
(email). Please reference ‘OMB
Information Collection 1028–NEW:
Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Berry Outlook
in all correspondence.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Nicole Herman-Mercer, National
Research Program, Central Branch, U.S.
Geological Survey, Denver Federal
Center, Mail Stop 418, Denver, CO
80225 (mail); 303–236–5031 (phone); or
[email protected] (email). You may
also find information about this ICR at
www.reginfo.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
ADDRESSES:

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I. Abstract
The Yukon-Kuskokwim (YK) Delta
Berry Outlook is a data and observer
driven ecological monitoring and
modeling framework that forecasts
changes in berry habitat and abundance
with climate and environmental change.
In order to create a monitoring protocol
and modeling framework we will solicit
local knowledge of berry distribution
and abundance from members of
Yukon-Kuskokwim communities.
Participants from the communities will
take part in a survey that asks yes or no
questions about the timing, abundance,
and distribution of three types of berries
that are important in their communities.
Personally Identifiable Information (PII)
will be limited to four elements: Names,
phone numbers, emails, and the name of
the village they reside in. This PII will
be collected in order to communicate
project results and solicit feedback on
the project itself for evaluation
purposes. Statistical analysis will be
performed on survey responses in order
to ascertain if a consensus exists among
participants within villages and among
villages. The survey results will be one
source of data used to create a model
forecasting changes in Tribal food
sources.

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The USGS mission is to serve the
Nation by providing reliable scientific
information to describe and understand
the Earth. This project will collect
information from individuals to better
understand the abundance, distribution,
and variability of berry resources in the
Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region of
Alaska. The people of the YK delta rely
on wild berries for a substantial portion
of their diet and hold information about
the long term distribution and
abundance of berries that is useful for
understanding current and future
changes to berry habitat due to climate
change impacts that will effect both
human and wildlife populations of the
Yukon Delta region and the Yukon Delta
National Wildlife Refuge.
II. Data
OMB Control Number: 1028–NEW.
Title: Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Berry
Outlook.
Type of Request: Approval of new
information collection.
Respondent Obligation: None,
participation is voluntary.
Frequency of Collection: One time.
Description of Respondents:
Individuals; Tribal members that reside
in the villages of Chevak, Hooper Bay,
Kotlik, and Emmonak, Alaska.
Estimated Total Number of Annual
Responses: Forty.
Estimated Time per Response: We
estimate that it will take two hours per
person to complete the survey.
Estimated Annual Burden Hours:
Eighty hours.
Estimated Reporting and
Recordkeeping ‘‘Non-Hour Cost’’
Burden: There are no ‘‘non-hour cost’’
burdens associated with this collection
of information.
Public Disclosure Statement: The PRA
(44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.) provides that an
agency may not conduct or sponsor and
you are not required to respond to a
collection of information unless it
displays a currently valid OMB control
number. Until the OMB approves a
collection of information, you are not
obliged to respond.
Comments: On June 14, 2016, we
published a Federal Register notice
(Vol. 81 FR 38733) announcing that we
would submit this ICR to OMB for
approval and soliciting comments. The
comment period closed on August 13,
2016. We received no comments.
III. Request for Comments
We again invite comments concerning
this ICR as to: (a) Whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary
for the agency to perform its duties,
including whether the information is
useful; (b) the accuracy of the agency’s

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estimate of the burden of the proposed
collection of information; (c) how to
enhance the quality, usefulness, and
clarity of the information to be
collected; and (d) how to minimize the
burden on the respondents, including
the use of automated collection
techniques or other forms of information
technology.
Please note that comments submitted
in response to this notice are a matter
of public record. Before including your
personal mailing address, phone
number, email address, or other
personally identifiable information in
your comment, you should be aware
that your entire comment, including
your personally identifiable
information, may be made publicly
available at any time. While you can ask
us and the OMB in your comment to
withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that it will be done.
Lauren E. Hay,
Acting Branch Chief, National Research
Program—Central Branch.
[FR Doc. 2016–30782 Filed 12–21–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4338–11–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Indian Affairs
[178A2100DD/AAKC001030/
A0A501010.999900 253G]

Notice of Deadline for Submitting
Completed Applications To Begin
Participation in the Tribal SelfGovernance Program in Fiscal Year
2018 or Calendar Year 2018
Bureau of Indian Affairs,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:

In this notice, the Office of
Self-Governance (OSG) establishes a
deadline of March 1, 2017, for Indian
Tribes and consortia to submit
completed applications to begin
participation in the tribal selfgovernance program in fiscal year 2018
or calendar year 2018.
DATES: Completed application packages
must be received by the Director, Office
of Self-Governance, by March 1, 2017, at
the address provided in the ADDRESSES
section of this notice.
ADDRESSES: Application packages for
inclusion in the applicant pool should
be sent to Ms. Sharee M. Freeman,
Director, Office of Self-Governance,
Department of the Interior, Mail Stop
355–G–SIB, 1951 Constitution Avenue
NW., Washington, DC 20240.
SUMMARY:

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