30-day FRN Published 04192018

17426

Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 76 / Thursday, April 19, 2018 / Notices

Application No.

Applicant

Species

Activity

TE–166250 ........

Miami University,
Oxford, Ohio.

Texas hornshell
(Popenaias
popeii).

New Mexico and
Texas.

TE–037155 ........

Bio-West, Inc.,
Round Rock,
Texas.
New Mexico Department of Game
and Fish, Santa
Fe, New Mexico.

Texas hornshell
(Popenaias
popeii).
Texas hornshell
(Popenaias
popeii).

New Mexico and
Texas.

TE–78507C .......

James A. Stoeckel,
Auburn, Alabama.

Texas hornshell
(Popenaias
popeii).

New Mexico and
Texas.

TE–79165C .......

Charles R.
Randklev, Dallas,
Texas.

Texas hornshell
(Popenaias
popeii).

New Mexico and
Texas.

TE–814933 ........

Texas Parks and
Wildlife Department, Austin,
Texas.

Texas hornshell
(Popenaias
popeii).

Texas ......................

TE–018475 ........

New Mexico ............

Amend.

Harm and harass ....

Amend.

Presence/absence
surveys; handling;
tagging; collection; transport;
culture; and research.
Presence/absence
surveys; handling;
tagging; collection; transport;
culture; and research.
Presence/absence
surveys; handling;
tagging; collection; transport;
culture; and research.
Presence/absence
surveys; handling;
tagging; collection; transport;
culture; and research.

Collect; kill; harm;
and harass.

Amend.

Collect; kill; harm;
and harass.

New.

Collect; kill; harm;
and harass.

New.

Collect; kill; harm;
and harass.

Amend.

All comments and materials we
receive in response to these requests
will be available for public inspection,
by appointment, during normal business
hours at the address listed in
ADDRESSES.
Before including your address, phone
number, email address, or other
personal identifying information in your
comment, you should be aware that
your entire comment—including your
personal identifying information—may
be made publicly available at any time.
While you can ask us in your comment
to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so.

Fish and Wildlife Service

We provide this notice under section
10 of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: March 16, 2018.
Amy L. Lueders,
Regional Director, Southwest Region, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2018–08197 Filed 4–18–18; 8:45 am]
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[FWS–R5–FR–2018–N053; FF05F24400–
167–FXFR13350500000; OMB Control
Number 1018–0127]

Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission to the Office of
Management and Budget for Review
and Approval; Horseshoe Crab and
Cooperative Fish Tagging Programs
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of information collection;
request for comment.
AGENCY:

In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we,
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, are
proposing to renew an information
collection with revisions.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to
submit comments on or before May 21,
2018.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments on
this information collection request (ICR)
to the Office of Management and
Budget’s Desk Officer for the
Department of the Interior by email at
[email protected]; or via
facsimile to (202) 395–5806. Please
provide a copy of your comments to the
Service Information Collection
Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and

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Permit
action

Collect; harm; and
harass.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

SUMMARY:

Type of take

Presence/absence
surveys; handling;
tagging; collection; and salvage.
Presence/absence
surveys; handling.

Public Availability of Comments

Authority

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Location

Wildlife Service, MS: BPHC, 5275
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041–
3803 (mail); or by email to Info_Coll@
fws.gov. Please reference OMB Control
Number 1018–0127 in the subject line of
your comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To
request additional information about
this ICR, contact Madonna L. Baucum,
Service Information Collection
Clearance Officer, by email at Info_
[email protected], or by telephone at (703)
358–2503. You may also view the ICR
at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/
PRAMain.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In
accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, we provide the
general public and other Federal
agencies with an opportunity to
comment on new, proposed, revised,
and continuing collections of
information. This helps us assess the
impact of our information collection
requirements and minimize the public’s
reporting burden. It also helps the
public understand our information
collection requirements and provide the
requested data in the desired format.
On September 7, 2017, we published
in the Federal Register (82 FR 42359) a
notice of our intent to request that OMB
renew approval for this information
collection. In that notice, we solicited
comments for 60 days, ending on

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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 76 / Thursday, April 19, 2018 / Notices
November 6, 2017. We received one
comment in response to that notice
which did not address the information
collection requirements. No changes
were made to this collection of
information in response to that
comment.
We are again soliciting comments on
the proposed ICR that is described
below. We are especially interested in
public comment addressing the
following issues: (1) Is the collection
necessary to the proper functions of the
Service; (2) will this information be
processed and used in a timely manner;
(3) is the estimate of burden accurate;
(4) how might the Service enhance the
quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (5) how
might the Service minimize the burden
of this collection on the respondents,
including through the use of
information technology.
Comments that you submit in
response to this notice are a matter of
public record. Before including your
address, phone number, email address,
or other personal identifying
information in your comment, you
should be aware that your entire
comment—including your personal
identifying information—may be made
publicly available at any time. While
you can ask us in your comment to
withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so.
Abstract: The Maryland Fish &
Wildlife Conservation Office
(MDFWCO) will collect information on
fishes captured by the public. Tag
information provided by the public will
be used to estimate recreational and
commercial harvest rates, estimate
natural mortality rates, and evaluate
migratory patterns, length and age
frequencies, and effectiveness of current
regulations.
Horseshoe crabs play a vital role
commercially, biomedically, and
ecologically along the Atlantic coast.
Horseshoe crabs are commercially
harvested and used as bait in eel and
conch fisheries. Biomedical companies
along the coast also collect and bleed
horseshoe crabs at their facilities.
Limulus amebocyte lysate, derived from
crab blood, is used by pharmaceutical
companies to test sterility of products.
Finally, migratory shorebirds also
depend on the eggs of horseshoe crabs
to refuel on their migrations from South
America to the Arctic. One bird in
particular, the rufa red knot (Calidris
canutus rufa), feeds primarily on
horseshoe crab eggs during its stopover.
Effective January 12, 2015, the rufa red
knot was listed as threatened under the

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Endangered Species Act (79 FR 73706;
December 11, 2014).
In 1998, the Atlantic States Marine
Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), a
management organization with
representatives from each State on the
Atlantic coast, developed a horseshoe
crab management plan. The ASMFC
plan and its subsequent addenda
established mandatory State-by-State
harvest quotas, and created the 1,500square-mile Carl N. Shuster, Jr.,
Horseshoe Crab Sanctuary off the mouth
of Delaware Bay.
Restrictive measures have been taken
in recent years, but populations are
increasing slowly. Because horseshoe
crabs do not breed until they are 9 years
or older, it may take some time before
the population measurably increases.
Federal and State agencies, universities,
and biomedical companies participate
in a Horseshoe Crab Cooperative
Tagging Program. The Service’s
MDFWCO maintains the information
collected under this program and uses it
to evaluate migratory patterns, survival,
and abundance of horseshoe crabs.
Agencies that tag and release the crabs
complete FWS Form 3–2311 (Horseshoe
Crab Tagging) and provide the Service
with:
• Organization name.
• Contact person name.
• Tag number.
• Sex of crab.
• Prosomal width.
• Capture site, latitude, longitude,
waterbody, State, and date.
Members of the public who recover
tagged crabs provide the following
information using FWS Form 3–2310
(Horseshoe Crab Recapture Report):
• Tag number.
• Whether or not tag was removed.
• Whether the tag was circular or
square.
• Condition of crab.
• Date captured/found.
• Crab fate.
• Finder type.
• Capture method.
• Capture location.
• Reporter information.
• Comments.
At the request of the public
participant reporting the tagged crab, we
send data pertaining to the tagging
program and tag and release information
on the horseshoe crab that was found or
captured.
We propose a revision to this existing
collection of information to include four
forms currently in use which are used
by the Service:
• Form 3–2493, ‘‘American Shad
Recapture Report’’;
• Form 3–2494, ‘‘Snakehead
Recapture Report’’;

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• Form 3–2495, ‘‘Striped Bass
Recapture Report’’; and
• Form 3–2496, ‘‘Sturgeon Recapture
Report.’’
Fish will be tagged with an external
tag containing a toll-free number for
MDFWCO. Members of the public
reporting a tag will be asked a series of
questions pertaining to the fish that they
are referencing. This data will be used
by fisheries managers throughout the
east coast and mid-Atlantic region,
depending on species.
Currently the species that are tagged
are striped bass (Morone saxatilis),
Atlantic (Acipenser oxyrinchus) and
shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser
brevirostrum), northern snakehead
(Channa argus), and American shad
(Alosa sapidissima). Striped bass are
cooperatively managed by Federal and
State agencies through the Atlantic
States Marine Fisheries Commission
(ASMFC). The ASMFC uses fish tag
return data to conduct stock
assessments for striped bass. The
database and collection are housed
within MDFWCO, while the tagging is
conducted by State agencies
participating in Striped Bass
management. Without this data
collection, striped bass management
would likely suffer from a lack of
quality data.
Sturgeon are tagged by Federal, State,
and university biologists and
nongovernmental organizations along
the U.S. east coast and into Canada, and
throughout the United States and
Canada. Local populations of Atlantic
sturgeon have been listed as either
threatened or endangered since 2012,
and shortnose populations have been
listed since 1973. The information
collected provides data on tag retention
and sturgeon movement along the east
coast. The data are also used to address
some of the management and research
needs identified by amendment 1 to the
ASMFC’s Atlantic Sturgeon Fishery
Management Plan.
Northern snakehead is an invasive
species found in many watersheds
throughout the mid-Atlantic region. It
has been firmly established in the
Potomac River since at least 2004.
Federal and State biologists within the
Potomac River watershed have been
tasked with managing the impacts of
northern snakehead. Tagging of
northern snakehead is used to learn
more about the species so that control
efforts can be better informed. Tagging
is also used to estimate population sizes
to monitor fluctuations in population
size. Recreational and commercial
fishers reporting tags provide
information on catch rates and
migration patterns as well.

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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 76 / Thursday, April 19, 2018 / Notices

American shad are tagged by the New
York Department of Environmental
Conservation (NYDEC), which retains
all fish tagging information. The public
reports tags to MDFWCO, who provides
information on tag returns to NYDEC.
Tag return data are used to monitor
migration and abundance of shad along
the Atlantic coast.
Data collected across these tagging
programs are similar in nature,
including: Tag number, date of capture,
waterbody of capture, capture method,
fish length, fish weight, fish fate
(whether released or killed), fisher type
(i.e., commercial, recreational, etc.). In
addition, if the tag reporter desires more
information on their tagged fish or
wants the modest reward that comes
with reporting a tag, we ask their
address so that we can mail them the
information.
Title of Collection: Horseshoe Crab
and Cooperative Fish Tagging Programs.
OMB Control Number: 1018–0127.
Form Number: FWS Forms 3–2310, 3–
2311, and 3–2493 through 3–2496.
Type of Review: Revision of a
currently approved collection.
Respondents/Affected Public:
Respondents include Federal and State
agencies, universities, and biomedical
companies who conduct tagging and
members of the general public who
provide recapture information.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Respondents: 2,026.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Responses: 3,648.
Estimated Completion Time per
Response: Varies from 5 minutes to 95
hours, depending on activity.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Burden Hours: 2,241.
Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary.
Frequency of Collection: Respondents
will provide information on occasion,
upon tagging or upon encounter with a
tagged crab or fish.
Total Estimated Annual Nonhour
Burden Cost: None.
An agency may not conduct or
sponsor and a person is not required to
respond to a collection of information
unless it displays a currently valid OMB
control number.
The authority for this action is the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
Dated: April 16, 2018.
Madonna Baucum,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2018–08186 Filed 4–18–18; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS–HQ–R–2018–N027;
FXRS12630900000–167–FF09R81000; OMB
Control Number 1018–0140]

Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission to the Office of
Management and Budget for Review
and Approval; Hunting and Fishing
Application Forms and Activity
Reports for National Wildlife Refuges
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of information collection;
request for comment.
AGENCY:

In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we,
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, are
proposing to renew an information
collection.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to
submit comments on or before May 21,
2018.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments on
this information collection request (ICR)
to the Office of Management and
Budget’s Desk Officer for the
Department of the Interior by email at
[email protected]; or via
facsimile to (202) 395–5806. Please
provide a copy of your comments to the
Service Information Collection
Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, MS: BPHC, 5275
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041–
3803 (mail); or by email to Info_Coll@
fws.gov. Please reference OMB Control
Number 1018–0140 in the subject line of
your comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To
request additional information about
this ICR, contact Madonna L. Baucum,
Service Information Collection
Clearance Officer, by email at Info_
[email protected], or by telephone at (703)
358–2503. You may also view the ICR
at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/
PRAMain.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In
accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, we provide the
general public and other Federal
agencies with an opportunity to
comment on new, proposed, revised,
and continuing collections of
information. This helps us assess the
impact of our information collection
requirements and minimize the public’s
reporting burden. It also helps the
public understand our information
collection requirements and provide the
requested data in the desired format.
A Federal Register notice with a 60day public comment period soliciting
SUMMARY:

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comments on this collection of
information was published on August
31, 2017 (82 FR 41421). We received no
comments in response to that notice.
We are again soliciting comments on
the proposed ICR that is described
below. We are especially interested in
public comment addressing the
following issues: (1) Is the collection
necessary to the proper functions of the
Service; (2) will this information be
processed and used in a timely manner;
(3) is the estimate of burden accurate;
(4) how might the Service enhance the
quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (5) how
might the Service minimize the burden
of this collection on the respondents,
including through the use of
information technology.
Comments that you submit in
response to this notice are a matter of
public record. Before including your
address, phone number, email address,
or other personal identifying
information in your comment, you
should be aware that your entire
comment—including your personal
identifying information—may be made
publicly available at any time. While
you can ask us in your comment to
withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so.
Abstract: The National Wildlife
Refuge System Administration Act of
1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd–668ee), as
amended (Administration Act), and the
Refuge Recreation Act of 1962 (16
U.S.C. 460k–460k–4) (Recreation Act)
govern the administration and uses of
national wildlife refuges and wetland
management districts. The
Administration Act consolidated all the
different refuge areas into a single
Refuge System. It also authorizes us to
permit public uses, including hunting
and fishing, on lands of the Refuge
System when we find that the activity
is compatible and appropriate with the
purpose for which the refuge was
established. The Recreation Act allows
the use of refuges for public recreation
when the use is not inconsistent or does
not interfere with the primary
purpose(s) of the refuge.
We administer 373 hunting programs
and 310 fishing programs on 411 refuges
and wetland management districts. We
only collect user information at about 20
percent of these refuges. Information
that we plan to collect will help us:
• Administer and monitor hunting
and fishing programs on refuges.
• Distribute hunting and fishing
permits in a fair and equitable manner
to eligible participants.

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