[Federal Register: August 25, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 164)]
[Notices]
[Page 49941-49942]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr25au05-57]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Information Collection Renewal Sent to the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) for Approval Under the Paperwork Reduction Act; OMB
Control No. 1018-0100; Information Collection in Support of Grant
Programs Authorized by the North American Wetlands Conservation Act
(NAWCA)
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We (Fish and Wildlife Service, Service) have sent a request to
OMB to renew the collection of information described below. We use the
information collected to conduct our NAWCA grant programs in the manner
prescribed by that Act, the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission, and
the North American Wetlands Conservation Council. We also use the
information to comply with Federal reporting requirements for grants
awarded under the program.
DATES: You must submit comments on or before September 26, 2005.
ADDRESSES: Send your comments and suggestions on this information
collection renewal to the Desk Officer for the Department of the
Interior at OMB-OIRA at (202) 395-6566 (fax) or
OIRA_DOCKET@OMB.eop.gov (e-mail). Please provide a copy of your comments to
Hope Grey, Information Collection Clearance Officer, Fish and Wildlife
Service, MS 222-ARLSQ, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203
(mail); (703) 358-2269 (fax); or hope_grey@fws.gov (e-mail).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request a copy of the information
collection requirements, explanatory information, or related materials,
contact Hope Grey at the addresses above or by phone at (703) 358-2482.
For information related to the grant program, which is the subject of
the information collection approval, please visit our Web site at
http://birdhabitat.fws.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The OMB regulations at 5 CFR 1320, which
implement provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C
3501 et seq.), require that interested members of the public and
affected agencies have an opportunity to comment on information
collection and recordkeeping activities (see 5 CFR 1320.8(d)). We have
asked OMB to renew approval of the collection of information for the
NAWCA grants programs. The current OMB control number for this
collection of information is 1018-0100, which expires on August 31,
2005. We are requesting the standard 3-year term of approval for this
information collection activity. Federal agencies 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.
Following our submittal, OMB has up to 60 days to approve or disapprove
our information collection request; however, OMB may make its decision
as early as 30 days after submittal of our request. Therefore, to
ensure that your comments receive consideration, send your comments
and/or suggestions to OMB by the date referenced in the DATES section
of this notice.
We received one comment regarding this notice. The commenter did
not address the necessity, clarity, or accuracy of the information
collection, but stated that the North American Waterfowl Management
Plan and the Council, as constituted, are used to kill waterfowl, not
save them. In addition, the commenter petitions to reconstitute the
Council with different members and requests program materials. We have
not made any changes to our information collection as a result of the
comment.
The North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP), first signed
in 1986, is a tripartite agreement among Canada, Mexico, and the United
States to enhance, restore, and otherwise protect continental wetlands
to benefit waterfowl and other wetlands-associated wildlife through
partnerships between and among the private and public sectors. Because
the 1986 NAWMP did not carry with it a
[[Page 49942]]
mechanism to provide for broadly based and sustained financial support
for wetland conservation activities, Congress passed and the President
signed into law the NAWCA. The purpose of NAWCA, as amended, is to
promote, through partnerships, long-term conservation of North American
wetland ecosystems and the waterfowl and other migratory birds, fish,
and wildlife that depend upon such habitat. Principal conservation
actions supported by NAWCA are acquisition, enhancement, and
restoration of wetlands and wetlands-associated habitat.
In addition to providing for a continuing and stable funding base,
NAWCA establishes an administrative body, the North American Wetlands
Conservation Council, made up of a State representative from each of
the four flyways, three representatives from wetlands conservation
organizations, the Secretary of the Board of the National Fish and
Wildlife Foundation, and the Director of the Service. The Council
recommends funding of select wetlands conservation project proposals to
the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission (MBCC). Competing for grant
funds involves applications from partnerships that describe in
substantial detail project locations, project resources, future
benefits, and other characteristics, to meet the standards established
by the Council and the requirements of NAWCA.
Materials that describe the program and assist applicants in
formulating project proposals for Council consideration are available
on our Web site at http://birdhabitat.fws.gov. Persons who do not have
access to the Web site may still obtain instructional materials by
mail. There has been virtually no change in the scope and general
nature of these instructions since the OMB first approved the
information collection in 1999. Instructions assist applicants in
formulating detailed project proposals for Council consideration. The
instructional materials, including any hard or electronic copy and
information or other instruments, are the basis for this information
collection request. Notices of funding availability, which are updated
regularly, are posted on the Grants.gov Web site (http://www.grants.gov
) as well as in the Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance. We use information collected under this program to respond
to audits, program planning and management, program evaluation,
Government Performance and Results Act reporting, Standard Form 424
(Application For Federal Assistance), grant agreements, budget reports
and justifications, public and private requests for information, data
provided to other programs for databases on similar programs,
congressional inquiries, and reports required by NAWCA.
If we do not collect this information, we would have to eliminate
the program because it would not be possible to determine eligibility
and the relative worth of the proposed projects or to meet our legal
responsibilities under the Act and regulations. Reducing the frequency
of collection would only reduce the frequency of grant opportunities,
as the information collected is unique to each project proposal.
Discontinuation of the program is not a viable option.
Title of Collection: Information Collection in Support of Grant
Programs Authorized by the North American Wetlands Conservation Act
(NAWCA).
OMB Control Number: 1018-0100.
Form Number(s): None.
Frequency of Collection: Occasional. The Small Grants program has
one project proposal period per year and the Standard Grants program
has two per year. Annual reports are due 90 days after the anniversary
date of the grant agreement. Final reports are due 90 days after the
end of the project period. The project period is 2 years.
Description of Respondents: Households and/or individuals;
businesses and/or other for-profits organizations; educational
organizations; not-for-profit institutions; Federal Government; and
State, local and/or tribal governments.
Total Annual Burden Hours: 37,600. We estimate 80 hours for each
Small Grant and 400 hours for each Standard Grant.
Number of Respondents: Approximately 150. We estimate 70 proposals
for the Small Grants program and 80 for the Standard Grants program.
Approximately half of the projects submitted are funded.
We interviewed five previous and current recipients of NAWCA grants
with regard to three aspects of the grants programs: the availability
of the information requested, the clarity of the instructions, and the
annual burden hours for preparing applications and other materials,
such as annual and final reports for both the Small Grants and the
Standard Grants programs. All respondents advised that the information
regarding descriptions of both programs and application instructions
are readily available and the clarity of the information/instructions
for both programs is good, even considering the level of detail and
technical information required in the Standard Grants program
application.
We invite your comments on: (1) Whether or not the collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of the NAWCA grants
programs, including whether or not in the opinion of the respondent the
information has practical utility; (2) the accuracy of our estimate of
the annual hour burden of information requested; (3) ways to enhance
the quality, utility and clarity of the information to be collected;
and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on
respondents. The information collection in this program is part of a
system of records covered by the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552(a)).
Dated: August 3, 2005.
Hope Grey,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 05-16942 Filed 8-24-05; 8:45 am]
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