Notice2026-18704
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Preliminary Land Acquisition Process
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
September 14, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentFish and Wildlife Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are proposing to renew a currently approved information collection with change.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 176 (Monday, September 14, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 176 (Monday, September 14, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58170-58172]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-18704]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-HQ-NWRS-2026-3400; FVRS34510900000-XXX-FF09R50000; OMB
Control Number 1018-0174]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Preliminary Land Acquisition Process
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we,
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are proposing to renew a
currently approved information collection with change.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before
October 14, 2026.
[[Page 58171]]
ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of
this notice to <a href="https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>. Find this
particular information collection by selecting ``Currently under
Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.
Please provide a copy of your comments to the Service Information
Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB
(JAO/3W), 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803 (mail); or by
email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6821060e07372b070404280e1f1b460f071e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="266f4840497965494a4a6640515508414950">[email protected]</span></a>. Please reference ``1018-0174'' in the
subject line of your comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Madonna L. Baucum, Service Information
Collection Clearance Officer, by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#ce87a0a8a1918da1a2a28ea8b9bde0a9a1b8"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5b12353d3404183437371b3d2c28753c342d">[email protected]</span></a>, or by
telephone at (703) 358-2503. Individuals in the United States who are
deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial
711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay
services. Individuals outside the United States should use the relay
services offered within their country to make international calls to
the point-of-contact in the United States. You may also view the
information collection request (ICR) at <a href="https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>.
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
OMB control number.
On March 13, 2026, we published in the Federal Register (91 FR
12437) 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 12, 2026. We also published the Federal Register
notice on <a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a> Docket No. FWS-R3-NWRS-2025-1496). We
received one anonymous comment in response to that notice. The
commenter did not address the information collection requirements;
therefore, no response is required.
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 personal identifying information in your comment, you
should be aware that your entire comment--including your personal
identifying information--may be 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.
Abstract: Information collected by the Service (in support of the
land acquisition program) is required under applicable statutes,
Department of Justice regulations, Department of the Interior and
Service policies, and best business practices. In addition, the land
acquisition program facilitates Secretarial Orders 3356 and 3366 by
tracking land acquisitions that have potential to support public
hunting, fishing, and other forms of outdoor recreation, and access
related thereto. Authorities for the collection of realty-related
information include:
<bullet> U.S. Department of Justice; Regulations of the Attorney
General Governing the Review and Approval of Title for Federal Land
Acquisitions (2016);
<bullet> Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property
Acquisition Policies Act of 1970, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4601 et seq.);
<bullet> National Wildlife Refuge Administration Act of 1966 (16
U.S.C. 668dd et seq.);
<bullet> Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act (16
U.S.C. 718a et seq.);
<bullet> Migratory Bird Conservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C.
715-715r);
<bullet> Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (54 U.S.C.
200301 et seq.);
<bullet> Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531
et seq.);
<bullet> Emergency Wetlands Resources Act of 1986 (16 U.S.C. 3901);
and
<bullet> Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956, as amended (16 U.S.C.
742a).
The Service tracks information collected from landowners as part of
the preliminary land acquisition process. Information collected by the
Service as part of the preliminary land acquisition process may include
the following:
<bullet> Initial Requests--Initial landowner request to consider
their property, to include such items as:
[cir] Identifying information for the legal property owner(s), such
as:
--Name of primary property owner, along with spouse and/or co-owner(s)
whose names appear on the current deed to the property under review;
--Marital status;
--Other names used; and
--Contact information, to include telephone numbers, personal email
addresses, and mailing/home addresses.
[cir] Financial information, to include Social Security Numbers
(necessary for final payment transaction).
[cir] Property description, to include such information as:
--Property name,
--Location,
--Legal description, and
--Introductory information.
<bullet> Permission to Inspect and Appraise (Form 3-2471)--Collects
information about the property owner and location, and grants
permission to enter and inspect the property for real estate
acquisition purposes. Inspection may include, but is not limited to:
[cir] Appraisal valuations;
[cir] Boundary survey;
[cir] Hazardous materials examination (contaminant survey); and
[cir] Physical examination of any structures on the property.
We do not use Form 3-2471 in projects that are under Memoranda of
Understanding, Memoranda of Agreement, Cooperative Agreements, certain
donation partnerships, and other special cases.
<bullet> Waiver of Appraisal Requirement (Form 3-2461)--Per 49 CFR
24.102(c)(2), a willing-seller landowner
[[Page 58172]]
may release the Service from the obligation of obtaining an appraisal
for (1) land donations and (2) certain land acquisitions where the
anticipated value is low and the valuation problem is uncomplicated.
Unless delivered in person, both the Permission to Inspect and
Appraise form (Form 3-2471) and the Waiver of Appraisal Requirement
form (Form 3-2461) will contain a cover letter referred to as the
access permission letter. The access permission letter does not request
any information, but is used to explain the form or waiver process.
Information is collected and protected in accordance with the
Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) and the Freedom of Information Act (5
U.S.C. 552). We will maintain the information in a secure system of
records (Real Property Records, FWS-11; 71 FR 68635 (November 27,
2006); modification published 88 FR 16277 (March 16, 2023)). We gather
Social Security numbers and banking information to assist with
electronic payments and preparation of the required Internal Revenue
Service 1099 Forms.
Proposed Revision
The Service proposes to rescind Form 3-2471, ``Permission to
Inspect and Appraise'' and Form 3-2461, ``Waiver of Appraisal
Requirement'' forms because the property information was previously
provided in the initial landowner request and is prepopulated by the
Service, and the property owner signs only to verify and approve the
information. Therefore, since the property owners are not required to
resubmit this information, the forms do not require OMB approval under
the PRA.
Title of Collection: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Preliminary
Land Acquisition Process.
OMB Control Number: 1018-0174.
Form Numbers: 3-2461 and 3-2471.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals/households, private
sector, and State/local/Tribal governments participating in realty
transactions with the Service.
Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 669.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 669.
Estimated Completion Time per Response: Varies from 15 minutes to 2
hours, depending on activity.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 495.
Frequency of Collection: On occasion.
Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: None.
An agency 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.
The authority for this action is the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
Madonna Baucum,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
[FR Doc. 2026-18704 Filed 9-11-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 14, 2026.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.