[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 185 (Friday, September 23, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65667-65668]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-23008]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-HQ-IA-2014-0018; 96300-1671-0000-R4]


Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International 
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES); 
Seventeenth Regular Meeting; Tentative U.S. Negotiating Positions for 
Agenda Items and Species Proposals Submitted by Foreign Governments and 
the CITES Secretariat

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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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 seventeenth regular meeting of the Conference 
of the Parties to CITES (CoP17) in Johannesburg, South Africa, 
September 24 to October 5, 2016. This notice announces the availability 
of tentative U.S. negotiating positions on amendments to the CITES 
Appendices (species proposals), draft resolutions and decisions, and 
agenda items submitted by other countries and the CITES Secretariat for 
consideration at CoP17.

ADDRESSES: Copies of tentative U.S. negotiating positions on amendments 
to the CITES Appendices (species proposals), draft resolutions and 
decisions, and agenda items submitted by other countries and the CITES 
Secretariat for consideration at CoP17 are available:
     Electronically at: http://www.regulations.gov in Docket 
No. FWS-HQ-IA-2014-0018, or on our Web site at http://www.fws.gov/international/cites/cop17;
     By email request to: [email protected]; or
     By postal mail or in person, by appointment, between 8 
a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays, at: 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters, Division of Management 
Authority, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803; telephone 
703-358-2095.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information pertaining to 
resolutions, decisions, and other agenda items, contact Craig Hoover, 
Chief, Division of Management Authority; telephone: 703-358-2095; 
email: [email protected]; facsimile: 703-358-2298. For 
information pertaining to species proposals, contact Rosemarie Gnam, 
Chief, Division of Scientific Authority; telephone: 703-358-1708; 
email: [email protected]; facsimile: 703-358-2276.

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 182 countries and the European Union have ratified, 
accepted, approved, or acceded to CITES; these 183 entities are known 
as Parties. 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 other agenda items for 
consideration by all of the Parties at the meetings. Accredited 
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) may participate in the meeting as 
approved observers and may speak during sessions when recognized by the 
meeting Chairman, but they may not vote or submit proposals.
    This is our sixth in a series of Federal Register notices on the 
development of U.S. submissions and tentative negotiating positions for 
CoP17. In this notice, we announce the availability of tentative U.S. 
negotiating positions on species proposals, draft resolutions and 
decisions, and agenda items submitted by other Parties and the 
Secretariat for consideration at CoP17. The ADDRESSES section, above, 
explains how to obtain a copy of all of this information.
    We published our first CoP17-related Federal Register notice on 
June 27, 2014 (79 FR 36550), in which we requested information and 
recommendations on species proposals for the United States to consider 
submitting for consideration at CoP17. In that notice, we also 
described the U.S. approach to preparations for CoP17. We published our 
second such Federal Register notice on May 11, 2015 (80 FR 26948), in 
which we requested information and recommendations on proposed 
resolutions, decisions, and other agenda items for the United States to 
consider submitting for consideration at CoP17, and provided 
preliminary information on how to request approved observer status for 
nongovernmental organizations that wish to attend the meeting. In our 
third CoP17-related Federal Register notice, published on August 26, 
2015 (80 FR 51830), we requested public comments and information on 
species proposals that the United States is considering submitting for 
consideration at CoP17, and in our fourth such notice, published on 
December 4, 2015 (80 FR 75873), we requested public comments and 
information on proposed resolutions, decisions, and other agenda items 
that the United States was considering submitting for consideration at 
CoP17, and provided more information on how to request approved 
observer status for nongovernmental organizations that wish to attend 
the meeting. In our fifth Federal Register notice, published on June 
23, 2016 (81 FR 40900), we announced the provisional agenda for CoP17, 
solicited comments on the items on the provisional agenda, and 
announced a public meeting for July 19, 2016.
    A link to the complete list of those Federal Register notices, 
along with

[[Page 65668]]

information on U.S. preparations for CoP17, can be found at http://www.fws.gov/international/cites/cop17. The notices and public comments 
received can be viewed at http://www.regulations.gov in Docket No. FWS-
HQ-IA-2014-0018. You may obtain additional information on those Federal 
Register notices from the following sources: For information on 
proposed resolutions, decisions, and other agenda items, contact the 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Management Authority, 5275 
Leesburg Pike, MS-IA, Falls Church, VA 22041; and for information on 
species proposals, contact the Division of Scientific Authority, 5275 
Leesburg Pike, MS-IA, Falls Church, VA 22041. Our regulations governing 
this public process are found in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 
at 50 CFR 23.87. Pursuant to 50 CFR 23.87(a)(3)(iii), with this notice 
we are posting on http://www.regulations.gov (see Docket No. FWS-HQ-IA-
2014-0018) and on our Web site (http://www.fws.gov/international/publications-and-media/federal-register-notices.html) a summary of our 
proposed negotiating positions on the items included in the CoP17 
agenda and proposed amendments to the Appendices, and the reasons for 
our proposed positions.

Announcement of Provisional Agenda for CoP17

    The provisional agenda for CoP17 is currently available on the 
CITES Secretariat's Web site at http://www.cites.org/eng/cop/17/doc/index.php. The working documents associated with the items on the 
provisional agenda, including proposed resolutions, proposed decisions, 
and discussion documents, are also available on the Secretariat's Web 
site. To view the working document associated with a particular agenda 
item, access the provisional agenda at the above Web site, locate the 
particular agenda item, and click on the document link for that agenda 
item in the column entitled ``Document.'' Finally, the species 
proposals that will be considered at CoP17 are also available on the 
Secretariat's Web site. Proposals for amendment of Appendices I and II 
can be accessed at the web address given above.

Tentative Negotiating Positions

    On http://www.regulations.gov (see Docket No. FWS-R9-IA-2014-0018) 
and on our Web site (http://www.fws.gov/international/publications-and-media/federal-register-notices.html), we summarize the tentative U.S. 
negotiating positions on proposals to amend the Appendices (species 
proposals), draft resolutions and decisions, and agenda items that have 
been submitted by other countries and the CITES Secretariat. Documents 
submitted by the United States either alone or as a co-proponent for 
consideration by the Parties at CoP17 can be found on the Secretariat's 
Web site at: http://www.cites.org/eng/cop/17/doc/index.php. Those 
documents are: CoP17 Docs. 18.1, 27, 40, and 52, and (co-sponsored with 
South Africa) Doc. 20. The United States, either alone or as a co-
proponent, submitted the following proposals to amend Appendices I and 
II: CoP17 Props. 9-12, 19, 27, 36, 44, 48, 52, 60, and 62. We will not 
provide any additional explanation of the U.S. negotiating positions 
for documents and proposals that the United States submitted. The 
introduction in the text of each of the documents the United States 
submitted contains a discussion of the background of the issue and the 
rationale for submitting the document.

Available Information on CoP17

    Information concerning the results of CoP17 will be available after 
the close of the meeting on the Secretariat's Web site at http://www.cites.org, or upon request from the Division of Management 
Authority (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, above), or on our Web 
site (http://www.fws.gov/international/cites/cop17).

Author

    The primary author of this notice is Clifton A. Horton, Division of 
Management Authority.

Authority

    This notice is issued under the authority of the U.S. Endangered 
Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

    Dated: September 15, 2016.
Stephen Guertin,
Acting Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-23008 Filed 9-22-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P