Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget; North American Woodcock Singing Ground Survey

Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget; North American Woodcock Singing Ground Survey

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before September 14, 2026.

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 March 2, 2026, we published in the Federal Register (91 FR 10109) a notice of our intent to request that OMB approve this information collection. In that notice, we solicited comments for 60 days, ending on May 1, 2026. We also published the notice on Regulations.gov (Docket No. FWS-HQ-MB-2026-0166). We received two comments in response to that notice. However, the commenters did not address the information collection requirements; therefore, no response is required to those comments.

As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burdens, we are again inviting the public and other Federal agencies 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.

We are especially interested in public comment 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 Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703-712) designates the Department of the Interior as the primary agency responsible for managing migratory bird populations frequenting the United States and setting hunting regulations that allow for the well-being of migratory bird populations. These responsibilities dictate that we gather accurate data on various characteristics of migratory bird populations.

The North American Woodcock Singing Ground Survey is an essential part of the migratory bird management program. Federal, State, Provincial, Tribal, and local conservation agencies conduct the survey annually to provide the data necessary to determine the population status of the American woodcock. In addition, the information is vital in assessing the relative changes in the geographic distribution of the species. We use the information primarily to develop recommendations for hunting regulations. Without information on the population's status, we might promulgate hunting regulations that:

• Are not sufficiently restrictive, which could cause harm to the woodcock population, or
• Are too restrictive, which would unduly restrict recreational opportunities afforded by woodcock hunting.

State, local, Tribal, Provincial, and Federal conservation agencies, as well as other participants, use Form 3-156 to conduct annual field surveys. Instructions for completing the survey and reporting data are on the reverse of the form and on the internet. Observers scan/email or scan/upload (via the link provided) Form 3-156 to State and Province coordinators and/or enter the information electronically through the internet at https://naturecounts.ca/nc/amwo/main.jsp.

We collect observer information (name and email address) so that we can contact the observer if questions or concerns arise. Observers provide information on:

• Sky condition, temperature, wind, and precipitation;
• Stop number;
• Odometer reading;
• Time at each stop;
• Number of American Woodcock males heard peenting (calling);
• Disturbance level; and/or
• Comments concerning the survey.

Data results are entered via a web browser application by the observer or a State or Province coordinator. A mobile application which operates on portable electronic devices is also available to enter data while in the field. Substantial improvements are still being made to the browser that will mimic the user experience of the mobile application. The data entry feature for both will still be collecting data on all the same fields within the survey form. For those routes with spatial data within the mobile application, a mapping feature allows observers to see each stop location along the route and keep track of their current location. This will assist in stop location verification efforts and help maintain a verified spatial reference for the survey. Stop location verification, or more broadly, device location verification, is the process of confirming the physical location of a user's device (phone, computer) using GPS, Wi-Fi, or cellular network data.

The administrator sends paper-based survey forms to every observer; however, the observer is not required to submit the paper-based results to the Service. They are advised to send a copy to State and Province coordinators for data entry, quality assurance and quality control checks, and/or follow up.

Proposed Revision

With our November 2023 submission, we also included the following collections: North American Woodcock Singing Ground Survey-CAN and North American Woodcock Singing Ground Survey-U.S. These two collections were for observers who only submitted their survey form with no data entry; therefore, Service staff entered their data for them. This no longer occurs so we removed these two information collections for the current renewal.

We use the information that we collect to analyze the survey data and prepare reports. Assessment of the population's status serves to guide the Service, the States, and the Canadian Government in the annual promulgation of hunting regulations.

Title of Collection: North American Woodcock Singing Ground Survey.

OMB Control Number: 1018-0019.

Form Number: Form 3-156 (US) and Form 3-156 (CAN).

Type of Review: Renewal, without change, of a currently approved collection.

Respondents/Affected Public: State, local, Tribal, and Provincial governments.

Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.

Frequency of Collection: Annually.

Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: None.

The authority for this action is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. ).