[Federal Register: October 30, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 209)]
[Notices]
[Page 61363-61365]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr30oc07-48]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Proposed Information Collection; Africa Grant Program
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We (Fish and Wildlife Service) will ask the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the information collection (IC)
described below. As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 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 IC. We 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.
DATES: You must submit comments on or before December 31, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the IC to Hope Grey, Information
Collection Clearance Officer, Fish and Wildlife Service, MS 222-ARLSQ,
4401 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203 (mail);
hope_grey@fws.gov (e-mail); or (703) 358-2269 (fax).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information
about this IC, contact Hope Grey by mail, fax, or e-mail (see
ADDRESSES) or by telephone at (703) 358-2482.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
The Division of International Conservation awards grants funded
under the:
[[Page 61364]]
(1) African Elephant Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 4201-4245).
(2) Asian Elephant Conservation Act of 1997 (16 U.S.C. 4261).
(3) Great Apes Conservation Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-411).
(4) Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act of 1994 (16 U.S.C. 5306).
(5) Marine Turtle Conservation Act (Pub. L. 108-266).
(6) Wildlife Without Borders Programs - Mexico, Latin America and
the Caribbean, and Russia.
OMB has approved the information collection associated with the
above grants and assigned control number 1018-0123. We plan to ask OMB
to approve our proposed information collection associated with the
Africa Grant Program, which will be our newest area of focus under the
Wildlife Without Borders programs.
Africa's magnificent wildlife resources are under increasing
pressure from human activities. The proposed Africa grant initiative
aims to provide training opportunities for African conservationists,
educators, and policymakers to strengthen wildlife management in and
around protected areas. For the purpose of this fund, protected areas
are defined as sites that are publicly or privately owned with
recognized legal status accorded by national, provincial, or local
government, containing primarily unmodified natural systems managed for
long-term protection. Examples include: national parks, forest
reserves, buffer zones, community reserves, and privately held land
conservancies. Of particular interest are projects that provide
training to:
(1) Raise capacity in and around protected areas to mitigate the
impact of extractive industries, climate change, human /wildlife
conflict, illegal trade in bushmeat, and/or wildlife disease.
(2) Strengthen the administrative capacity (human resource
management, financial management, vehicle and facility maintenance,
grant writing and project implementation, community outreach and
education, conflict resolution, and coalition building) of protected
areas.
(3) Strengthen university, college, and other conservation training
programs that address protected area management.
(4) Strengthen decisionmakers' knowledge of concepts relevant to
protected area legislation, policy, and finance and the importance of
harmonizing these with other national sectoral policies.
By providing wildlife professionals with opportunities for
training, we can help empower a generation of local people to address
key conservation issues such as the threat to wildlife from extractive
industries, illegal hunting, human/wildlife conflict, and wildlife
disease.
Applicants submit proposals for funding in response to Notices of
Funding Availability that we will publish on Grants.gov. We plan to
collect the following information:
(1) Cover page with basic project details (FWS Form 3-2338).
(2) Project summary and narrative.
(3) Letter of appropriate government endorsement.
(4) Brief curricula vitae for key project personnel.
(5) Complete Standard Forms 424 and 424b (nondomestic applicants do
not submit the standard forms).
Proposals may also include, as appropriate, a copy of the
organization's Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NIRCA) and any
additional documentation supporting the proposed project.
The project summary and narrative are the basis for this
information collection request for approval. A panel of technical
experts reviews each proposal to assess how well the project addresses
the priorities identified by each program's authorizing legislation. As
all of the on-the-ground projects funded by this program will be
conducted outside the United States, the letter of appropriate
government endorsement ensures that the proposed activities will not
meet with local resistance or work in opposition to locally identified
priorities and needs. Brief curricula vitae for key project personnel
allow the review panel to assess the qualifications of project staff to
effectively carry out the project goals and objectives. As all Federal
entities must honor the indirect cost rates an organization has
negotiated with its cognizant agency, we require all organizations with
a NICRA to submit the agreement paperwork with their proposals to
verify how their rate is applied in their proposed budget. Applicants
may provide any additional documentation that they believe best
supports their proposal.
II. Data
OMB Control Number: None. This is a new collection.
Title: Africa Grant Program.
Service Form Number(s): 3-2338.
Type of Request: New collection.
Affected Public: Domestic and nondomestic Federal, State, and local
governments, nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations; public and
private institutions of higher education; and any other organization or
individual with demonstrated experience deemed necessary to carry out
the proposed project.
Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.
Frequency of Collection: Annually.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of annual Number of annual Completion time per Annual burden
Activity respondents responses response hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FWS Form 3-2338 (cover page).... 50 50 1 hour............. 50
Application narrative........... 50 50 11 hours........... 550
Report (mid-term and final)..... 10 20 30 hours........... 600
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals...................... 110 120 ................... 1,200
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
III. Request for Comments
We invite comments concerning this IC on:
(1) whether or not the collection of information is necessary,
including whether or not the information will have practical utility;
(2) the accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this collection
of information;
(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.
Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of
public record. We will include and/or summarize each comment in our
request to OMB to approve this IC. Before including your address, phone
number, e-mail 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
[[Page 61365]]
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
Dated: August 22, 2007.
Hope Grey,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. E7-21301 Filed 10-29-07; 8:45 am]
Billing Code 4310-55-S