Published 60-FRN (91 FR 34639)

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Federal Register / Vol. 91, No. 109 / Monday, June 8, 2026 / Notices
infrastructure (e.g., electric, water,
sewer lines, driveways), would
individually and cumulatively have a
minor effect on ABM and the human
environment. Reasonably foreseeable
effects encompass effects of
implementation of the action along with
other past, present, and reasonably
foreseeable future effects. Therefore, we
have then made a preliminary
determination that each proposed ESA
section 10(a)(1)(B) permit would meet
the requirements of the GCP and FEIS.

khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with NOTICE

Next Steps
The Service will evaluate each
application and any comments received
as a result of this notice to determine
whether to issue the requested ITPs. We
will also conduct an intra-Service
consultation pursuant to section 7 of the
ESA to evaluate the effects of the
proposed take. After considering the
preceding and other matters, we will
determine whether the permit issuance
criteria of section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA
have been met. If met, the Service will
issue:
• ITP number PER28008529 to Chris
Prantl,
• ITP number PER26823969 to Dan
Higdon,
• ITP number PER26823534 to Elite
South Alabama Vacation Series LLC,
• ITP number PER27847814 to John
Davidson Properties LLC,
• ITP number PER27582682 to
Jonathon Lazzarino,
• ITP number PER27003784 to Phouc
Nguyen,
• ITP number PER25662935 to RBM
Homes LLC,
• ITP number PER26824147 to Silver
Davis LLC, and
• ITP number PER24494290 to Willie
and Sheri Payne.
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone
number, email address, or other
personal identifying information in your
comment, be aware that your entire
comment, including your personal
identifying information, may be made
available to the public. If you submit a
comment at https://
www.regulations.gov, your entire
comment, including any personal
identifying information, will be posted
on the website. If you submit a
hardcopy comment that includes
personal identifying information, such
as your address, phone number, or
email address, you may request at the
top of your document that we withhold
this information from public review.
However, we cannot guarantee that we
will be able to do so. Moreover, all
submissions from organizations or

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businesses, and from individuals
identifying themselves as
representatives or officials of
organizations or businesses, will be
made available for public disclosure in
their entirety.
Authority
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
provides this notice under the ESA
section 10(c) and its implementing
regulations (50 CFR 17.32), the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and the Department
of the Interior’s implementing
regulations (43 CFR part 46).
Jeffrey Powell,
Acting Field Supervisor, Alabama Ecological
Service Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2026–11418 Filed 6–5–26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS–HQ–IA–2026–1948;
FXES111609C0000–267–FF09E41000; OMB
Control Number 1018–0186]

Agency Information Collection
Activities; Federal Fish and Wildlife
Permit Applications and Reports––
Requirements for African Elephants
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.
ACTION: Notice of information collection;

request for comment.
SUMMARY: In accordance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we,
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(Service), are proposing to renew an
information collection without change.
DATES: Comments will be accepted on or
before August 7, 2026. Comments
submitted electronically using the
Federal eRulemaking Portal (see
ADDRESSES, below) must be received by
11:59 p.m. eastern time on the closing
date. To ensure your comment is
received and considered, you must
submit it using one of the methods
identified in the ADDRESSES section of
this document. Comments submitted
through any method not authorized in
this document, or sent to an address not
listed here, will not be considered.
ADDRESSES:
Comment submission: All
submissions must include the docket
number [FWS–HQ–IA–2026–1948] for
this document. You must submit
comments using one of the following
methods:
• Electronic submission: Federal
eRulemaking Portal at: https://

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34639

www.regulations.gov. In the Search box,
enter FWS–HQ–IA–2026–1948, which is
the docket number for this action. Then
click the Search button. On the resulting
page, you may submit a comment by
clicking on ‘‘Comment.’’ Please ensure
that you have found the correct
document before submitting your
comments.
• U.S. mail: Service Information
Collection Clearance Officer, Attn:
Docket No. FWS–HQ–IA–2026–1948,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB
(JAO/3W), 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls
Church, VA 22041–3803.
Comments submitted through any
method not authorized in this
document, or sent to an address not
listed here, will not be considered. We
will not accept comments via email, fax,
or hand delivery. We are not required to
consider comments that are submitted
after the comment period ends or that
are submitted via a method outside of
these instructions. Comments
containing profanity, vulgarity, threats,
or other inappropriate content will not
be considered. We will post all
comments at https://
www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Madonna Baucum, Service Information
Collection Clearance Officer, by email at
[email protected], or by telephone at
(703) 358–2503. Individuals who are
hearing or speech impaired may call the
Federal Relay Service at 1–800–877–
8339 for TTY assistance. You may also
view the information collection request
(ICR) at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/
do/PRAMain.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In
accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501
et seq.) and 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), 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.
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
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) control number. As part of our
continuing effort to reduce paperwork
and respondent burdens, we are
soliciting comments from the public and
other Federal agencies on the proposed
ICR described below. We are especially

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khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with NOTICE

34640

Federal Register / Vol. 91, No. 109 / Monday, June 8, 2026 / Notices

interested in public comments
addressing the following:
(1) Whether or not the collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the
agency, including whether or not the
information will have practical utility;
(2) The accuracy of our estimate of the
burden for this collection of
information, including the validity of
the methodology and assumptions used;
(3) Ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and
(4) How might the agency minimize
the burden of the collection of
information on those who are to
respond, including through the use of
appropriate automated, electronic,
mechanical, or other technological
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology (e.g., permitting
electronic submission of response).
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 personally identifiable
information in your comment, you
should be aware that your entire
comment—including your personally
identifiable information—may be
publicly available at any time. While
you can ask us in your comment to
withhold your personally identifiable
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so.
Abstract: The general permit
provisions in 50 CFR part 13 provide
the uniform rules, conditions, and
procedures for activities requiring a
permit under all laws, treaties, and
regulations administered by the Service.
The requirements in 50 CFR part 13 are
in addition to any other permit
regulations that may apply to a specific
circumstance.
When a species is listed as threatened,
section 4(d) of the Endangered Species
Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16
U.S.C. 1533), gives discretion to the
Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to
issue regulations that the Secretary
deems necessary and advisable to
provide for the conservation of such
species. Considering the rise in
international trade of live elephants,
particularly of wild-sourced elephants,
and recent CITES developments
concerning regulation of trade in live
elephants, as well as a need to clarify
our enhancement standards and
improve the permitting process for
import of sport-hunted elephant
trophies, we reevaluated the provisions
of the regulations that were issued
under section 4(d) of the ESA for the
African elephant. We found it is

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appropriate for the United States to
adopt requirements under the ESA to
ensure that activities with live African
elephants under U.S. jurisdiction
enhance the conservation of the species
and that live African elephants are well
cared for, so that any domestic demand
for live African elephants enhances
their conservation and does not
contribute to their decline in the wild.
In addition, clarifying the
enhancement requirement for the
import of African elephant sport-hunted
trophies and receiving information from
the range countries enables us to ensure
that authorized imports contribute to
enhancing the conservation of the
species and do not contribute to the
decline of the species. Clarifying the
enhancement standards in the decisionmaking process for the import of African
elephant sport-hunted trophies
increases transparency with
stakeholders. To support U.S. African
elephant conservation efforts, we allow
certain types of imports only from
countries that have achieved a Category
One designation under the CITES
National Legislation Project, which is
accomplished by meeting the basic
requirements to implement CITES
through the Party’s adoption of national
laws to implement the treaty.
On April 1, 2024, we issued a rule (89
FR 22522) which revised regulations
promulgated under ESA section 4(d)
rule (50 CFR 17.40(e)) by adopting
measures that were necessary and
advisable for the current conservation
needs of the species, based on our
evaluation of the current threats to the
African elephant. This final section 4(d)
rule removed from 50 CFR 17.40(e)(2)
the exception from prohibitions for
import, export, interstate commerce,
and foreign commerce in live African
elephants, except when a permit can be
issued under 50 CFR part 17. The final
rule also established the standards used
to evaluate ‘‘enhancement’’ under the
ESA for the import of wild-sourced live
African elephants under a new 50 CFR
17.40(e)(10). This provision established
an annual certification requirement for
range countries that allow for export of
live African elephants destined for the
United States to provide the Service
with information about the management
and status of African elephants in their
country.
This final rule also clarified our
evaluation of the existing enhancement
requirement regarding applications for
the import of sport-hunted trophies by
adding a new provision to 50 CFR
17.40(e)(6). This provision established
an annual certification requirement for
range countries that allow for export of
sport-hunted trophies destined for the

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United States to provide the Service
with information about the management
and status of African elephants and the
hunting programs in their country. This
provision did not change the
enhancement requirement for the
import of sport-hunted trophies under
the previous section 4(d) rule but
clarified how that requirement can be
met.
The final rule also incorporated the
CITES National Legislation Project
category designations (see 50 CFR 23.7
and https://www.cites.org) into the
acceptance of imports under 50 CFR
17.40(e)(2), (e)(6), and (e)(10) under a
new 50 CFR 17.40(e)(11).
Before a country can issue an export
permit for CITES Appendix I or II
specimens, the CITES Scientific
Authority of the exporting country must
determine that the export will not be
detrimental to the species, and the
Management Authority must be satisfied
that the specimens were acquired
legally. For the export of Appendix III
specimens, the Management Authority
must be satisfied that the specimens
were acquired legally (CITES does not
require findings from the Scientific
Authority). Prior to the importation of
Appendix I specimens, both the
scientific and Management Authorities
of the importing country must make
required findings. The Scientific
Authority must also monitor trade of all
species to ensure that the level of trade
is sustainable.
Article VIII(3) of the CITES treaty
states that participating parties should
make efforts to ensure that CITES
specimens are traded with a minimum
of delay. Section XII of Resolution Conf.
12.3 (Rev. CoP20) Permits and
certificates recommends use of
simplified procedures for issuing CITES
documents to expedite trade that will
have no impact, or a negligible impact
on conservation of the species involved.
All Service permit applications use
forms in the 3–200 series, with each
form tailored to a specific activity and
its corresponding permitting
requirements. We collect standard
identifier information for all permits,
such as the name of the applicant and
the applicant’s address, telephone
numbers, tax identification number,
email address, and website address, if
applicable. Standardization of general
information common to the application
forms makes filing applications easier
for the public, as well as expediting our
review of applications.
The information that we collect on
applications and reports is the
minimum necessary for us to determine
if the applicant meets/continues to meet
issuance requirements for the particular

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khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with NOTICE

Federal Register / Vol. 91, No. 109 / Monday, June 8, 2026 / Notices
activity. Respondents submit
application forms periodically as
needed; submission of reports is
generally on an annual basis, or as
identified conditionally as part of an
issued permit. We examined
applications in this collection, focusing
on questions frequently misinterpreted
or not addressed by applicants. We have
made clarifications to many of our
applications to make it easier for the
applicant to know what information we
need and to accommodate future
electronic permitting. Use of these
forms:
• Reduces burden on applicants.
• Improves customer service.
• Allows us to process applications
and finalize reviews quickly.
We will request OMB approval to
renew, without change, the reporting
and recordkeeping requirements
identified below:
(1) Permit Application (Form 3–200–
37h), ‘‘Interstate Commerce, Transfer,
Export, or Foreign Commerce of Live
African Elephants under the U.S.
Endangered Species Act (ESA)’’ 50 CFR
17.40—Form 3–200–37h will cover
activities involving the interstate
commerce, transfer, export, or foreign
commerce of live African elephants. The
application form applies to both wildsourced and captive-bred live African
elephants. The information provided in
the application form will be used to
determine whether a permit can be
issued to the applicant under the
relevant Federal regulations pertaining
to the requested activity. We collect the
following information from domestic
entities (i.e., individuals, private sector,
State/local/Tribal governments), noting
applicants may need to provide
information from the foreign entity as
part of their application submission:
• Standardized identifier information
required in 50 CFR 13.12.
• Name and address where the permit
is to be mailed, if different from
physical address.
• Name, phone number, and email of
individual(s) for the Service to contact
with questions.
• Whether the applicant or any
owners of the business (if applying as a
business, corporation, or institution)
have been assessed a civil penalty or
convicted of any criminal provision of
any statute or regulation relating to the
activity for which the application is
filed; been convicted, or entered a plea
of guilty or nolo contendere, for a felony
violation of the Lacey Act, the Migratory
Bird Treaty Act, or the Bald and Golden

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Eagle Protection Act; forfeited collateral;
or are currently under charges for any
violation of the laws.
• Type of activity requested
(interstate commerce, transfer, export, or
foreign commerce).
• The current location of the
animal(s) (if different from the physical
address).
• Name and physical address of the
recipient of the specimen.
• For each animal involved in the
export/transport, the applicant must
provide the following information:
Æ Scientific name (genus, species,
and if applicable, subspecies);
Æ Common name;
Æ Approximate birth date (mm/dd/
yyyy);
Æ Wild or captive-bred;
Æ Quantity;
Æ Sex (males, females, e.g., 10, 2); and
Æ Permanent markings or
identification (microchip #, leg band #,
tattoos, studbook #, etc.).
• Information regarding source of
specimen(s).
• A description and justification for
the requested activity.
• Information regarding technical
expertise and facilities.
• Information confirming that the
receiving facility meets the CITES
‘‘suitably equipped to house and care
for’’ requirements.
• The transportation/shipment
condition of the live animals.
A. Recordkeeping Requirements—
Completion of Form 3–200–37h requires
the retention of records regarding details
on the identification of the elephants, as
well as regarding their acquisition,
original source, and subsequent
transfers, as well as records
documenting staff technical expertise
and facility information for the species.
B. Permit Fee—Form 3–200–37h
imposes a nonhour burden cost of $100
per application. Amendments will incur
a $50 processing fee.
(2) Range Country Certification
Requirements—As described above, the
final rule establishes an annual
certification requirement for range
countries to provide the Service with
information about the management and
status of African elephants and their
habitat, within their country. This is not
part of the application form itself, but a
separate certification document/report/
letter from the foreign country’s
government. The foreign government
may provide the certification and
information directly to the Service, or
the applicant may provide it to the

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34641

Service. The certification and
information will be subject to
verification by the Service.
This annual certification from the
range country will be kept on file and
made available to the public. Without
this properly documented and verifiable
annual certification, the Service would
be unable to issue the requested import
permit. This annual certification is
specifically for requests to import live,
wild-sourced African elephants or
African elephant sport-hunted trophies.
Information to be collected from the
range country for the import of live,
wild-sourced elephants includes
specific information on whether family
units were kept intact and whether any
of the animals collected are pregnant.
Alternatively, information collected for
the import of sport-hunted trophies
includes specific information on the use
of the meat of the animal.
A copy of the Form 3–200–37h,
‘‘Interstate Commerce, Transfer, Export,
or Foreign Commerce of Live African
Elephants under the U.S. Endangered
Species Act (ESA)’’ is available to the
public by submitting a request to the
Service Information Collection
Clearance Officer using one of the
methods identified in ADDRESSES.
Title of Collection: Federal Fish and
Wildlife Permit Applications and
Reports—Requirements for African
Elephants.
OMB Control Number: 1018–0186.
Form Numbers: Form 3–200–37h.
Type of Review: Extension without
change of a currently approved
collection.
Respondents/Affected Public:
Individuals (including hunters); private
sector (including biomedical companies,
circuses, zoological parks, botanical
gardens, nurseries, museums,
universities, antique dealers, exotic pet
industry, taxidermists, commercial
importers/exporters of wildlife and
plants, freight forwarders/brokers);
State, local, Tribal, and Federal
governments; and foreign governments.
Respondent’s Obligation: Required to
obtain or retain a benefit.
Frequency of Collection: On occasion
or annually, depending on activity.
Total Estimated Annual Nonhour
Burden Cost: $2,800 for costs associated
with application processing fees, which
range from $0 to $250. State, local,
Tribal, and Federal government agencies
and those acting on their behalf are
exempt from processing fees.

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Federal Register / Vol. 91, No. 109 / Monday, June 8, 2026 / Notices
Average
number of
annual
respondents

Requirement

Average
number of
responses
each

Average
number of
annual
responses

Average
completion
time per
response

Estimated
annual
burden
hours *

Hardcopy Application—Interstate Commerce, Transfer, Export, or Foreign Commerce of Live African Elephants under the U.S.
Endangered Species Act (ESA) (Form 3–200–37h) 50 CFR 17.40(e)
Individuals ............................................................................
Private Sector ......................................................................
Government .........................................................................

1
10
5

1
1
1

1
10
5

6
6
6

6
60
30

ePermits Application—Interstate Commerce, Transfer, Export, or Foreign Commerce of Live African Elephants under the U.S.
Endangered Species Act (ESA) (Form 3–200–37h) 50 CFR 17.40(e)
Individuals ............................................................................
Private Sector ......................................................................
Government .........................................................................

1
10
5

1
1
1

1
10
5

5.25
5.25
5.25

5
53
26

Amendment—Interstate Commerce, Transfer, Export, or Foreign Commerce of Live African Elephants under the U.S. Endangered
Species Act (ESA) (Form 3–200–37h) 50 CFR 17.40(e)
Individuals ............................................................................
Private Sector ......................................................................
Government .........................................................................

1
5
3

1
1
1

1
5
3

4
4
4

4
20
12

ePermits Amendment—Interstate Commerce, Transfer, Export, or Foreign Commerce of Live African Elephants under the U.S.
Endangered Species Act (ESA) (Form 3–200–37h) 50 CFR 17.40(e)
Individuals ............................................................................
Private Sector ......................................................................
Government .........................................................................

1
5
3

1
1
1

1
5
3

3.5
3.5
3.5

4
18
11

Range Country Certification Requirements 50 CFR 17.40(e) NEW
Foreign Government ............................................................

37

1

37

10

370

Totals ............................................................................

87

........................

87

........................

619

* Rounded.

The authority for this action is the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
Madonna Baucum,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2026–11412 Filed 6–5–26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS–R5–MB–2026–1981;
FXMB1231099BPP0–267–FF09M21200;
OMB Control Number 1018–0195]

Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission to the Office of
Management and Budget; Northeast
Region Hunter Participation Surveys
khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with NOTICE

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.
ACTION: Notice of information collection;

request for comment.
SUMMARY: In accordance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA), we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (Service), are proposing to

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renew a currently approved information
collection.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to
submit comments on or before July 8,
2026.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent
within 30 days of publication of this
notice to https://www.reginfo.gov/
public/do/PRAMain. Find this
particular information collection by
selecting ‘‘Currently under Review—
Open for Public Comments’’ or by using
the search function. Please provide a
copy of your comments to the Service
Information Collection Clearance
Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
MS: PRB (JAO/3W), 5275 Leesburg Pike,
Falls Church, VA 22041–3803 (mail); or
by email to [email protected]. Please
reference ‘‘1018–0195’’ in the subject
line of your comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Madonna Baucum, Service Information
Collection Clearance Officer, by email at
[email protected], or by telephone at
(703) 358–2503. Individuals in the
United States who are deaf, deafblind,
hard of hearing, or have a speech
disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or

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TeleBraille) to access
telecommunications relay services.
Individuals outside the United States
should use the relay services offered
within their country to make
international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States. You may
also view the information collection
request at https://www.reginfo.gov/
public/do/PRAMain.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In
accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act (PRA; 44 U.S.C. 3501 et
seq.) and its implementing regulations
at 5 CFR part 1320, all information
collections require approval under the
PRA. We may not conduct or sponsor,
and you are not required to respond to,
a collection of information unless it
displays a currently valid Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) control
number.
On February 27, 2026, we published
in the Federal Register (91 FR 9877) a
notice of our intent to request that OMB
approve this information collection. In
that notice, we solicited comments for
60 days, ending on April 28, 2026. We
also published the Federal Register
notice on Regulations.gov (Docket No.
FWS–R5–MB–2025–1497) to provide

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