[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 229 (Wednesday, November 28, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71012-71013]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-28897]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R9-IA-2011-0087; 96300-1671-0000 FY12 R4]


Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International 
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES); Sixteenth 
Regular Meeting; Public Meeting

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

[[Page 71013]]


ACTION: Notice of meeting date change.

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SUMMARY: The United States, as a Party to the Convention on 
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora 
(CITES), will attend the sixteenth regular meeting of the Conference of 
the Parties to CITES (CoP16) in Bangkok, Thailand, during March 3 to 
15, 2013. Currently, the United States is developing its negotiating 
positions on proposed resolutions, decisions, and amendments to the 
CITES Appendices (species proposals), as well as other agenda items 
that have been submitted by other Party countries, the permanent CITES 
committees, and the CITES Secretariat for consideration at CoP16. In a 
notice published on November 9, 2012, we announced a public meeting to 
be held on December 5, 2012, to discuss the items on the provisional 
agenda for CoP16. This notice revises the previously announced date of 
the public meeting.

DATES: The public meeting will be held on December 13, 2012, at 1:30 
p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in the Sidney Yates 
Auditorium at the Main Interior Building at 18th and C Streets NW., 
Washington, DC. Directions to the building can be obtained by 
contacting the Division of Management Authority (see FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT). For more information about the meeting, see 
``Announcement of Public Meeting'' under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert R. Gabel, Chief, Division of 
Management Authority; telephone 703-358-2095; facsimile 703-358-2298.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild 
Fauna and Flora, hereinafter referred to as CITES or the Convention, is 
an international treaty designed to control and regulate international 
trade in certain animal and plant species that are now or potentially 
may become threatened with extinction. These species are listed in 
Appendices to CITES, which are available on the CITES Secretariat's Web 
site at http://www.cites.org/eng/app/index.php. Currently, 176 
countries, including the United States, are Parties to CITES. The 
Convention calls for regular biennial meetings of the Conference of the 
Parties, unless the Conference of the Parties decides otherwise. At 
these meetings, the Parties review the implementation of CITES, make 
provisions enabling the CITES Secretariat in Switzerland to carry out 
its functions, consider amendments to the lists of species in 
Appendices I and II, consider reports presented by the Secretariat and 
the permanent CITES committees (Standing, Animals, and Plants 
Committees), and make recommendations for the improved effectiveness of 
CITES. Any country that is a Party to CITES may propose amendments to 
Appendices I and II, resolutions, decisions, and agenda items for 
consideration by all the Parties at the meetings.
    On November 9, 2012, we published a notice in the Federal Register 
(77 FR 67390) that announced the provisional agenda for CoP16, 
solicited comments on the items on the provisional agenda, and 
announced a public meeting to discuss the items on the provisional 
agenda. In that notice, we announced that the public meeting would be 
held on December 5, 2012, in the Sidney Yates Auditorium at the Main 
Interior Building at 18th and C Streets NW., Washington, DC. The date 
of that public meeting has now been changed. The public meeting will be 
held on the date specified in the DATES section and at the address 
specified in the ADDRESSES section. You can obtain directions to the 
building by contacting the Division of Management Authority (see the 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section above). Please note that the 
Sidney Yates Auditorium is accessible to the handicapped, and all 
persons planning to attend the meeting will be required to present 
photo identification when entering the building. Persons who plan to 
attend the meeting and who require interpretation for the hearing 
impaired must notify the Division of Management Authority by December 
5, 2012. For those who cannot attend the public meeting but are 
interested in watching via live stream, please go to our Web site 
http://www.fws.gov/international/cites/cop16/, and look for the link to 
the live feed.

Future Actions

    Through an additional notice and Web site posting in advance of 
CoP16, we will inform you about tentative U.S. negotiating positions on 
species proposals, proposed resolutions, proposed decisions, and agenda 
items that were submitted by other Party countries, the permanent CITES 
committees, and the CITES Secretariat for consideration at CoP16.

Author

    The primary author of this notice is Mark Albert, Division of 
Management Authority.

Authority

    This action is authorized by the U.S. Endangered Species Act of 
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

    Dated: November 26, 2012.
Susan L. Wilkinson,
Alternate Federal Register Liaison.
[FR Doc. 2012-28897 Filed 11-26-12; 4:15 pm]
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