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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 134 / Friday, July 16, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
regulations system, we earlier noted our intent to approve the Central Flyway Councils recommendation for a limited two-tier regulations system in selected States to assess impacts to hunters and duck harvests during the 202122
season as published in the Federal Register see 85 FR 51857, August 21, 2020. In October 2019, the Service tasked Division of Migratory Bird Management staff to work with the Flyway Councils to develop a team to address the components needed in an evaluation, and to have a draft evaluation plan that is supported by both the Division of Migratory Bird Management and the Flyway Councils ready for review prior to the spring 2020
SRC meeting. As of spring of 2021 the components of the evaluation plan compliance, developing shared objectives, identifying appropriate metrics for evaluation, monitoring efforts, and addressing law enforcement concerns have been addressed in an MOA between the Service and the two States, which outlines the roles and responsibilities of each partner in the agreement.
We appreciate the work that the Flyway Councils and the Division of Migratory Bird Management have completed to finalize an evaluation plan for the first year of a two-tier regulation study for duck harvests. The group has completed the work we requested last October, and therefore we support moving forward with the study beginning with the 202122 season. The study will allow different speciesspecific and overall bag limits for each of the two license types. We encourage the Central Flyway and the Division of Migratory Bird Management to review information collected during the first season and as the study progresses. The goal of the data collection is to determine whether improvement of collection methods is necessary or appropriate, and to assess possible enforcement issues faced by conservation officers from two-tier regulations.

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4. Canada and Cackling Geese B. Regular Seasons Council Recommendations: The Mississippi Flyway Council recommended increasing the daily bag limit for Canada and cackling geese from 3 to 5 geese in the aggregate in the Mississippi Flyway. The Pacific Flyway Council recommended decreasing the daily bag limit for Canada and cackling geese from 6 to 4 geese in the aggregate in Oregons Northwest Permit Zone.
Written Comments: The Atlantic Flyway Council noted that a regulatory
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change for the for Atlantic Population AP Canada geese recommended by the Atlantic Flyway Council on September 25, 2020, was made to and approved by the Service Regulations Committee on October 21, 2020, but was not reflected in the February 22, 2021, proposed rule for the 20212022 season. The Council recommended a season length of 30
days with a daily bag limit of 1 goose for all AP goose harvest areas other than the Northeast Hunt Unit of North Carolina in the U.S. portion of the Atlantic Flyway for the 20212022
season; and in the Northeast Hunt Unit of North Carolina, a season length of 14
days with a daily bag limit of 1 goose.
Service Response: We agree with the Mississippi Flyway Councils recommendation to increase the daily bag limit for Canada and cackling geese from 3 to 5 geese in the aggregate for the entire 107-day season. The Councils technical assessment suggests that this change will maintain the harvest rate for subarctic Canada and cackling goose breeding populations at or below 11
percent, which serves as a decision threshold between liberal and standard frameworks in the Mississippi Flyway Councils management plan. If operational monitoring for subarctic Canada and cackling goose populations is not conducted during spring and summer 2021 due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, we will discuss with the Mississippi Flyway Council the appropriate daily bag limit for the subsequent season due to the lack of monitoring information.
We also agree with the Pacific Flyway Councils recommendation to decrease the daily bag limit for Canada and cackling geese from 6 to 4 geese in the aggregate in Oregons Northwest Permit Zone. The most recently available 3-year average predicted fall population estimate 201719 for minima cackling geese is 235,137, which is near the lower end of the Councils population objective of 250,000 10 percent 225,000275,000. The decrease in bag limit is specifically intended to maintain objective abundance of minima cackling geese, and is consistent with the Councils harvest strategy for these birds. Also, the bag limit for Canada and cackling geese of 4 per day in the aggregate in Oregons Northwest Permit Zone will simplify regulations by matching the 4-bird bag limit currently allowed for Canada and cackling geese in the aggregate in the basic season framework for Oregon and the Pacific Flyway.
We also agree with the Atlantic Flyway Councils recommendation for a season length of 30 days with a daily bag limit of 1 goose for all AP goose
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harvest areas other than the Northeast Hunt Unit of North Carolina in the U.S.
portion of the Atlantic Flyway for the 20212022 season; and in the Northeast Hunt Unit of North Carolina, a season length of 14 days with a daily bag limit of 1 goose. The recommendation is consistent with the Atlantic Flyway Councils AP goose harvest strategy and available data on the status of the population. The estimated abundance of breeding pairs has declined over the past 5 years combined with poor recruitment since 2009. Also, the Councils recommendation standardizes regulations among States in the Atlantic Flyway and addresses a social concern regarding differential bag limits under the harvest strategys restrictive package.
6. Brant Council Recommendations: The Atlantic Flyway Council recommended that the Service discontinue use of the harvest strategy for Atlantic brant adopted by the Service in 2015 for setting annual Atlantic brant hunting regulations. The Atlantic Flyway Council also recommended frameworks with a 50-day season and a 2-bird daily bag limit for Atlantic brant in the Atlantic Flyway for the 202122 season.
The Pacific Flyway Council recommended that the 202122 brant season frameworks be determined based on the harvest strategy in the Councils management plan for the Pacific population of brant pending results of the 2021 Winter Brant Survey WBS. If results of the 2021 WBS are not available, results of the most recent WBS should be used.
Service Response: We agree with the Atlantic Flyway Councils recommendation to discontinue use of the harvest strategy for Atlantic brant adopted by the Service in 2015 for establishing Atlantic brant season frameworks. As we discussed in the March 28, 2016, Federal Register 81 FR
17302, we adopted in 2015 the Atlantic Flyway Councils harvest strategy to determine the Atlantic brant season frameworks. In developing the annual proposed frameworks for Atlantic brant, the Atlantic Flyway Council and the Service used the number of brant counted during the Midwinter Waterfowl Survey MWS in the Atlantic Flyway to determine annual allowable season length and daily bag limits. The MWS is conducted each January, which is after the date that proposed frameworks are formulated in the regulatory process. However, the data were typically available by the expected publication of final frameworks. When we acquired the
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