60-day notice

Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 227 / Monday, November 24, 2008 / Notices
Total Estimated Burden Hours:
21,019.
Status: Extension of a currently
approved collection.
Authority: Section 3507 of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 35, as
amended.
Dated: November 17, 2008.
Lillian L. Deitzer,
Departmental Paperwork Reduction Act
Officer, Office of the Chief Information
Officer.
[FR Doc. E8–27806 Filed 11–21–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210–67–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R9-ES-2008-N0308] [92210-1111-0000B3]

Proposed Information Collection; OMB
Control Number 1018-0119; Policy for
Evaluation of Conservation Efforts
When Making Listing Decisions (PECE)
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES

AGENCY:

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. This
IC is scheduled to expire on January 31,
2009. 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: Your comments must be received
on or before January 23, 2009.
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), or hope_grey@fws.gov (e-mail).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To
request additional information about
this ICR, contact Hope Grey by mail or
e-mail (see ADDRESSES) or by
telephone at (703) 358–2482.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
Section 4 of the Endangered Species
Act (ESA) specifies the process by
which we can list species as threatened
or endangered. When we consider

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whether or not to list a species, the ESA
requires us to take into account the
efforts being made by any State or any
political subdivision of a State to protect
such species. We also take into account
the efforts being made by other entities.
States or other entities often formalize
conservation efforts in conservation
agreements, conservation plans,
management plans, or similar
documents. The conservation efforts
recommended or called for in such
documents could prevent some species
from becoming so imperiled that they
meet the definition of a threatened or
endangered species under the ESA.
The Policy for Evaluation of
Conservation Efforts When Making
Listing Decisions (PECE) encourages the
development of conservation
agreements/plans and provides certainty
about the standard that an individual
conservation effort must meet for us to
consider whether it contributes to
forming a basis for making a decision
about the listing of a species. PECE
applies to ‘‘formalized conservation
efforts’’ that have not been implemented
or have been implemented but have not
yet demonstrated if they are effective at
the time of a listing decision.
Under PECE, formalized conservation
efforts are defined as conservation
efforts (specific actions, activities, or
programs designed to eliminate or
reduce threats or otherwise improve the
status of a species) identified in a
conservation agreement, conservation
plan, management plan, or similar
document (68 FR 15100). The
development of such agreements/plans
is voluntary. There is no requirement
that the individual conservation efforts
included in such documents be
designed to meet the standard in PECE.
PECE specifies that to consider if a
formalized conservation effort(s)
contributes to forming a basis for
making a listing decision, we must find
that the effort is sufficiently certain to
be implemented and effective so as to
have contributed to the elimination or
adequate reduction of one or more
threats to the species identified through
our analysis of listing factors specified
in section 4(a)(1) of the ESA. To gauge
whether or not this standard has been
met, PECE includes criteria for
evaluating the certainty of
implementation and the certainty of
effectiveness of individual conservation
efforts.
One criterion is whether provisions
for monitoring and reporting progress
on implementation and effectiveness of
the effort are included in the plan or
agreement. Also, if we use a
conservation effort(s) that satisfies the
PECE standard as part of the basis for a

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71041

decision not to list a species or to list
the species as threatened rather than
endangered, we must:
(1) Track the status of the effort(s),
including the progress of its
implementation and effectiveness and
(2) If necessary, reevaluate the status
of the species and consider whether or
not initiating the listing process is
necessary.
The nature and frequency of the
monitoring and reporting will vary
according to the species addressed, land
ownership, specific conservation efforts,
expertise of participants, and other
factors. Generally, monitoring and
reporting occurs annually for several
years as the conservation efforts are
implemented and their effectiveness is
evaluated. The information collected
through monitoring is invaluable to the
Service, the States, and other entities
involved in agreements and plans, and
to others concerned about the welfare of
the species covered by the agreements/
plans.
Agreements/plans developed with the
intent of influencing a listing decision
and with involvement of the Service
constitute an information collection that
requires OMB approval under the
Paperwork Reduction Act. Estimating
the hours associated with developing a
conservation agreement or plan is
difficult because:
(1) Development and associated
monitoring of conservation efforts are
completely voluntary, and we cannot
predict who will decide to develop
these efforts, how many entities they
might involve, or the type and extent of
the planning, monitoring, and reporting
processes they might use.
(2) We cannot predict which species
are certain to become the subjects of
conservation efforts, and, therefore, we
cannot predict the number, nature, and
extent of conservation efforts and
monitoring that might be included in
conservation agreements/plans designed
with the intent of influencing a decision
regarding listing a species.
(3) Many agreements/plans are
developed to satisfy requirements of
other laws or for other purposes. We
cannot predict whether or the extent to
which some of these plans may be
expanded to attempt to make listing
unnecessary.
II. Data
OMB Control Number: 1018-0119.
Title: Policy for Evaluation of
Conservation Efforts When Making
Listing Decisions (PECE).
Service Form Number(s): None.
Type of Request: Extension of
currently approved collection.

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71042

Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 227 / Monday, November 24, 2008 / Notices

Affected Public: Individuals; States,
tribes, local governments; and not-forprofit institutions.

Respondent’s Obligation: Required to
obtain or retain a benefit.
Frequency of Collection: On occasion.
Number of annual
respondents

Activity
Original Agreement ..................................................................
Monitoring ................................................................................
Reporting .................................................................................
Totals ................................................................................

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
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so.
Dated: October 9, 2008.
Hope Grey,
Information Collection Clearance Officer,
Fish and Wildlife Service.
FR Doc. E8–27831 Filed 11–21–08; 8:45 am
BILLING CODE 4310–55–S

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

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U.S. Geological Survey
Agency Information Collection
Activities: Submitted for Office of
Management and Budget (OMB)
Review; Comment Request on
Extension of Existing Information
Collection
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS),
Interior.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
AGENCY:

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Number of annual
responses

4
7
7
18

4
7
7
18

SUMMARY: We (U.S. Geological Survey)
have sent an Information Collection
Request (ICR) to OMB for review and
approval. The ICR, which is
summarized below, describes the nature
of the collection and the estimated
burden and cost. This ICR is scheduled
to expire on November 14, 2008. 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. However, under OMB
regulations, we may continue to
conduct or sponsor this information
collection while it is pending at OMB.
DATE: You must submit comments on or
before December 24, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Send your comments on
this information collection directly to
the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB), Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs, Attention: Desk
Officer for the Department of the
Interior via OMB e-mail:
(OIRA_DOCKET@omb.eop.gov); or by
fax (202) 395–6566; and identify your
submission with #1028–0048.
Please submit a copy of your
comments to the Phadrea Ponds,
Information Collections, U.S. Geological
Survey, 2150–C Center Avenue, Fort
Collins, CO 80525 (mail); (970) 226–
9230 (fax); or FAX: pponds@usgs.gov
(e-mail). Use Information Collection
Number 1028–0048 in the subject line.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To
request additional information about
this ICR, contact Jim Dewey at (303)
274–8419.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
OMB Control Number: 1028–0048.
Title: USGS Earthquake Report.
Type of Request: Revision of a
currently approved collection.
Affected Public: General Public.
Respondent Obligation: Voluntary.
Frequency of Collection: On occasion,
after an earthquake.
Estimated Completion Time: 6
minutes.
Estimated Annual Number of
Respondents: 200,000.

Note: We have recalculated our estimated
number of responses requested in our 60 day

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Completion time
per response
2,000 hours .....
600 hours ........
120 hours ........
.....................

Annual burden
hours
8,000
4,200
840
13,040

FR notice (73 FR 53267) from 100,000 to
200,000 responses. This recalculation is
based on our experience with the data
compiled over the three year period (2005–
2008), during which we had many more
responses than we anticipated in 2005.

Estimated Annual Burden Hours:
20,000 hours.
Note: We have recalculated our estimated
number of responses requested in our 60 day
FR notice (73 FR 53267) from 10,000 to
20,000 hours. Assuming that 200,000
respondents will each spend 6 minutes
responding to the proposed information
collection the total adjusted hour burden will
be 20,000 hours.

Abstract: The collection of
information applies to a World-Wide
Web site questionnaire that permits
individuals to report on the effects of
the shaking from an earthquake—on
themselves personally, buildings, other
man-made structures, and ground
effects such as faulting or landslides.
The USGS may use the information to
provide qualitative, quantitative, or
graphical descriptions of earthquake
damage.
We will protect information from
respondents considered proprietary
under the Freedom of Information Act
(5 U.S.C. 552) and implementing
regulations (43 CFR part 2), and under
regulations at 30 CFR 250.197, ‘‘Data
and information to be made available to
the public or for limited inspection.’’
Responses are voluntary. No questions
of a ‘‘sensitive’’ nature are asked. We
will release data collected on these
forms only in a summary format that is
not company-specific.
Comments: To comply with the
public consultation process, on
September 14, 2008, we published a
Federal Register notice (73 FR 53267)
announcing our intent to submit this
information collection to OMB for
approval. In that notice we solicited
public comments for 60 days, ending on
November 14, 2008. We did not receive
any comments concerning the notice.
We again invite comments concerning
this information collection on:
(1) Whether or not the collection of
information is necessary, including
whether or not the information will
have practical utility;

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