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OMB Control No: 1018-0206	ICR Reference No: 202307-1018-003
Status: Active	Previous ICR Reference No:
Agency/Subagency: DOI/FWS	Agency Tracking No:
Title: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Grassland Easements
Type of Information Collection: Existing collection in use without an OMB Control Number	Common Form ICR: No
Type of Review Request: Regular
OIRA Conclusion Action: Approved without change	Conclusion Date: 09/23/2025
Retrieve Notice of Action (NOA)	Date Received in OIRA: 11/30/2023
Terms of Clearance: Approval is granted for one year due to lack of response to OMB comments from the agency during review (10 months). The agency is reminded to provide prompt response during review. In accordance with 1320.5(a), the agency is reminded that an agency cannot collect information without a valid OMB control number.

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	09/30/2026	36 Months From Approved
Responses	3,615	0	0
Time Burden (Hours)	11,955	0	0
Cost Burden (Dollars)	2,115,000	0	0

Abstract: The Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act (16 U.S.C. 718d(b)(3)) and the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act (P.L. 109-59, section 1119) authorize the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) to enter into grassland easements with private landowners. Title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) contains land use management regulations for rights-of-way, mineral operations, and revenue sharing. Title 43 of the CFR contains regulations pertaining to the Secretary of the Interior and to the public lands. Title 41 of the CFR, Chapter 101, contains the Federal Property Management Regulations, and Chapter 102 contains the Federal Management Regulation. In addition, Service Manual Part 341 FW 6, Minimally Restrictive Conservation Easement Acquisition, discusses the Service’s real property acquisition authorities and responsibilities. Vast grasslands once covered much of North America. Settlement, agriculture, and development have reduced prairie habitats to a patchwork of isolated grasslands in a sea of croplands, roads, and cities. Loss of grasslands is detrimental to people as well as to wildlife. Grasslands help reduce soil erosion caused by wind and water. They also filter chemicals, thus protecting our water supplies. Vegetation such as grass, forbs, and shrubs, help trap snow and rain. This allows a more regulated flow of precipitation to seep into the ground, recharging water supplies. Grasslands also provide season-long forage for livestock. Many wildlife species depend on grasslands for food, cover, and nesting sites. Protecting grasslands ensures that wildlife will be there for future generations to enjoy. In the United States, the Prairie Pothole Region is located within the northern Great Plains in parts of Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Characterized by thousands of shallow, glacially formed wetlands known as potholes, the Prairie Pothole Region provides habitat for globally significant populations of breeding waterfowl. In addition, the Prairie Pothole Region is important as breeding and migratory habitat for many species of grassland and wetland-dependent birds. The Service acquires easements from willing sellers only. Once approved, the easements are a permanent (perpetual) easement between the Service and all present and future landowners. A grassland easement is a legal agreement signed with the United States of America, through the Service, that pays the landowner to permanently keep their land in grass. Eligible property must lie within an approved county and have potential value to wildlife. Highest priority lands are large tracts of grassland with high wetland densities; and native prairie or soils most likely to be converted to cropland. Landowners retain the right to open or close their lands to hunting and trapping, as they have in the past. In addition, subsurface rights such as oil, gas, and minerals are not affected. However, the easement may limit enrollment or participation in U.S. Department of Agriculture programs where base acres of cropland are used to determine program eligibility, such as the Conservation Reserve Program. Landowners should contact their local Farm Service Agency for information regarding eligibility. Property subject to a grassland easement remains on local tax rolls. By selling easements, landowners receive funds to pay down debt, reinvest in capital improvements, or buy other lands to maintain and/or expand working lands.

Authorizing Statute(s): PL: Pub.L. 109 - 59 1119 Name of Law: Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act
US Code: 16 USC 718d(b)(3) Name of Law: Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	88 FR 16651	03/20/2023
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	88 FR 83573	11/30/2023
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? Yes

ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Approved	Change Due to Agency Discretion
Annual Number of Responses	3,615	3,615
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	11,955	11,955
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	2,115,000	2,115,000

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: Yes

Burden Increase Due to: Miscellaneous Actions

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: This is a request for a new control number in conjunction with a collection in use without OMB approval.

Annual Cost to Federal Government: $19,908

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination. Yes

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination. Yes

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? No

Agency Contact: Madonna Baucum 202 354-1916 madonna_baucum@nps.gov

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