[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 184 (Tuesday, September 23, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56823-56824]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-22538]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-HQ-IA-2014-0019; FXIA16710900000-134-FF09A00000]


Advisory Council on Wildlife Trafficking; Meeting

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 
public meeting of the Advisory Council on Wildlife Trafficking 
(Council). The Council's purpose is to provide expertise and support to 
the Presidential Task Force on Wildlife Trafficking. You may attend the 
meeting in person, or you may participate via telephone. At this time, 
we are inviting submissions of questions and information for 
consideration during the meeting.

DATES: Meeting: The meeting will be held on Friday, October 17, 2014, 
from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern Time.
    Registering to Attend the On-Site Meeting: In order to attend the 
meeting on site, you must register by close of business on October 3, 
2014. (You do not need to register in order to listen via phone.) 
Please submit your name, email address, and phone number to Mr. Cade 
London to complete the registration process (see FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT). Because there is limited seating available, 
registrations will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis. 
Members of the public requesting reasonable accommodations, such as 
hearing interpreters, must contact Mr. London, in writing (preferably 
by email), no later than October 3, 2014.
    Submitting Questions or Information: If you wish to provide us with 
questions and information to be considered during the meeting, your 
material must be received or postmarked on or before October 10, 2014. 
Comments submitted electronically using the Federal eRulemaking Portal 
(see ADDRESSES section) must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on 
October 10, 2014.
    Making an Oral Presentation at the Meeting: If you wish to make an 
oral presentation at the meeting (in person or by phone), contact Mr. 
London no later than October 3, 2014 (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT). For more information, see Making an Oral Presentation under 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

ADDRESSES: Meeting Location: The meeting will be held in the U.S. 
Department of the Interior, South Interior Building Auditorium, 1951 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20240.
    Meeting Call-In Numbers: Members of the public unable to attend the 
meeting in person may call in at 888-603-9751 (toll free) or 1-517-623-
4156 (toll).
    Submitting Questions or Information: You may submit questions or 
information for consideration during the meeting by one of the 
following methods:
    1. Electronically: Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. In the Search box, enter FWS-HQ-IA-2014-0019. Then 
click on the ``Search'' button. You may submit questions or information 
by clicking on ``Comment Now!''
    2. By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail or hand-delivery to: Public 
Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-HQ-IA-2014-0019; Division of Policy and 
Directives Management; MS: BPHC, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 5275 
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
    We will not accept email or faxes. We request that you send 
comments only by the methods described above. We will post all comments 
on http://www.regulations.gov. This generally means that we will post 
any personal information you provide us (see the Submitting Public 
Comments section below for more information).
    Reviewing Comments Received by the Service: See Reviewing Public 
Comments in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Cade London, Special Assistant, 
International Affairs, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, by email at 
[email protected] (preferable method of contact); by U.S. 
mail at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: IA; 
Falls Church, VA

[[Page 56824]]

22041-3803; by telephone at (703) 358-2584; or by fax at (703) 358-
2276.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the requirements of the 
Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), we announce that the 
Advisory Council on Wildlife Trafficking (Council) will hold a meeting 
to discuss the implementation of the National Strategy for Combating 
Wildlife Trafficking, and other Council business as appropriate. The 
Council's purpose is to provide expertise and support to the 
Presidential Task Force on Wildlife Trafficking.
    You may attend the meeting in person, or you may participate via 
telephone. At this time, we are inviting submissions of questions and 
information for consideration during the meeting.

Background

    Pursuant to Executive Order 13648, the Advisory Council on Wildlife 
Trafficking was formed on August 30, 2013, to advise the Presidential 
Task Force on Wildlife Trafficking, through the Secretary of the 
Interior, on national strategies to combat wildlife trafficking, 
including but not limited to:
    1. Effective support for anti-poaching activities;
    2. Coordinating regional law enforcement efforts;
    3. Developing and supporting effective legal enforcement 
mechanisms; and
    4. Developing strategies to reduce illicit trade and consumer 
demand for illegally traded wildlife, including protected species.
    The eight-member Council, appointed by the Secretary of the 
Interior, includes former senior leadership within the U.S. Government, 
as well as chief executive officers and board members from conservation 
organizations and the private sector. For more information on the 
Council and its members, visit http://www.fws.gov/international/advisory-council-wildlife-trafficking/.

Meeting Agenda

    The Council will consider:
    1. Measures to combat wildlife trafficking, including but not 
limited to legal frameworks, communication, enforcement, and public/
private partnerships;
    2. Administrative topics; and
    3. Public comment and response.
    The Advisory Council has been focusing its primary efforts to date 
on addressing the current wildlife trafficking crisis affecting 
elephants and rhinos, which are being killed in record numbers for 
their ivory and rhino horn, respectfully. Because the President's 
Executive Order to Combat Illegal Wildlife Trafficking has a broader 
focus on species that are being affected by illegal wildlife 
trafficking, the Council intends to devote a significant portion of its 
upcoming public meeting to gather information on other protected 
species--besides elephants and rhinos--that are facing potential 
extinction risk or other severe threats due to illegal wildlife 
trafficking. To facilitate the gathering of this information, the 
Council would like to obtain testimony from experts who are 
representing organizations that are engaged in wildlife protection 
activities at the upcoming meeting on October 17. Testimony can include 
a written statement of reasonable length, and a request to make an oral 
presentation of approximately 5 minutes to the Council (and no more 
than 7 minutes), which identifies and discusses additional species that 
they believe merit additional attention by the Council and the Task 
Force, and any specific recommendations regarding steps that the Task 
Force and Advisory Council should consider taking to protect such 
species. Experts representing relevant organizations who wish to 
participate in the upcoming meeting, and who want to make an oral 
presentation in person or by phone, should contact Mr. Cade London (FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT) no later than the date given in the DATES 
section for Making an Oral Presentation at the Meeting. Following the 
presentations by experts, members of the public also will have an 
opportunity to be heard for 3 minutes. Individuals requesting general 
public speaking slots should again contact Mr. Cade London (FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT) no later than the date given in the DATES section 
for Making an Oral Presentation at the Meeting.
    The final agenda will be posted on the Internet at http://www.fws.gov/international/advisory-council-wildlife-trafficking/, as 
well as at http://www.regulations.gov.

Making an Oral Presentation

    Members of the public who want to make an oral presentation in 
person or by telephone at the meeting will be prompted during the 
public comment section of the meeting to provide their presentation 
and/or questions. If you want to make an oral presentation in person or 
by phone, contact Mr. Cade London (FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT) no 
later than the date given in the DATES section for Making an Oral 
Presentation at the Meeting.
    Registered speakers who wish to expand on their oral statements, or 
those who wanted to speak but could not be accommodated on the agenda, 
are invited to submit subsequent written statements to the Council 
after the meeting. Such written statements must be received by Mr. 
London, in writing (preferably via email), no later than October 24, 
2014.

Submitting Public Comments

    You may submit your questions and information by one of the methods 
listed in ADDRESSES. We request that you send comments by only one of 
the methods described in ADDRESSES.
    If you submit information via the Federal eRulemaking Portal 
(http://www.regulations.gov), your entire submission--including any 
personal identifying information--will be posted on the Web site.
    If your submission is made via a hardcopy that includes personal 
identifying information, you may request at the top of your document 
that we withhold this information from public review. However, we 
cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. We will post all 
hardcopy submissions at http://www.regulations.gov.

Reviewing Public Comments

    Comments and materials we receive will be available for public 
inspection at http://www.regulations.gov. Alternatively, you may view 
them by appointment during normal business hours at 5275 Leesburg Pike, 
Falls Church, VA 22041-3803. Please contact Mr. London (see FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT).

Obtaining Meeting Minutes

    Summary minutes of the meeting will be available on the Council Web 
site at http://www.fws.gov/international/advisory-council-wildlife-trafficking/, as well as at http://www.regulations.gov. Alternatively, 
you may view them by appointment during normal business hours at 4401 
N. Fairfax Drive, Room 110, Arlington, VA 22203. Please contact Mr. 
London (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).

    Dated: September 17, 2014.
Tina A. Campbell,
Chief, Division of Policy and Directives Management, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-22538 Filed 9-22-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P