Sample Letter Requesting Report - American Alligator

IN REPLY REFER TO: OMB No. 1018-0093

FWS/DMA/CEP 1-07 Expires:

<<Title>><<FirstName>><<LastName>>, <<JobTitle>>

<<Company>>

<<Address1>>

<<Address2>>

<<City>>, <<State>> <<PostalCode>>

Dear <<Title>><<LastName>>:

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has a legal obligation to ensure that export levels of species listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) will not be detrimental to the survival of the species. This letter is our annual request for information on your State’s implementation of your CITES American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) export program. We are requesting information for the 2009-2010 season and ask that you submit this information to us by July 1, 2010. This information will help us determine the current status of American alligator for the 2010-2011 season.

In your review of the 2009-2010 season and based on your most current information on American alligator in your State, we would appreciate it if you could include the following information:

1. The total number of skins from wild or farmed alligators that were tagged by

your State.

2. An assessment of the status of your alligator population, indicating if the population is stable, increasing, or decreasing, and at what rate (if known). If population levels are decreasing, activity reports should include your professional assessment of the reason for the decline and any steps being taken to address it.

3. For wild alligators, information on harvest, including harvest of nuisance alligators, methods used to determine harvest levels, demographics of the harvest, and methods used to determine the total number and population trends of alligators in the wild.

«Title» «FirstName» «LastName» 2

4. For farmed alligators, information on whether collecting and rearing of eggs or hatchlings is allowed, what factors are used to set harvest levels, and whether any alligators are returned to the wild.

5. Information on, and a copy of, any changes in laws or regulations affecting the American alligator in your State.

6. If available, copies of relevant reports that your state has prepared during the reporting period as part of its existing management program for the American alligator or a web address where this information is posted electronically on your website. (Please note that we are not asking for any new reports or information here, but rather would appreciate copies of any reports that you already have available.)

It is particularly important that we receive a response so that we will be able to issue export permits for animals harvested in your State during the 2010-2011 season.

Please send replies by mail to Clifton Horton, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Management Authority, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Room 212, Arlington, VA 22203, by fax to 703-358-2298, or by E-mail to [email protected]. Please note that this request is a combined request for information from both the Division of Scientific Authority and the Division of Management Authority.

Thank you for your continuing cooperation. If you have any questions, please contact Clifton Horton of my staff at 703-358-1908.

Sincerely,

Craig Hoover, Chief

Branch of Operations

Division of Management Authority

cc: Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies

Division of Scientific Authority

Surname, RF-2, Originator 03/26/10 /CAH: 703-358-2095

«Title» «FirstName» «LastName» 3

Notice

Information requested herein is purely voluntary. However, submission of requested information is required to maintain program approval. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number is displayed. The OMB Control Number for this information collection is 1018-0093, which expires XX/XX/XXXX.

The reporting burden on the applicant for this information collection is 60 minutes. This burden estimate includes time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the report. You may direct comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of the information collection to the Service Information Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Mail Stop 222, Arlington Square, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street, NW, Washington, DC 20240.