[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 173 (Thursday, September 6, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45275-45276]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-19310]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-HQ-R-2018-N109; FXGO1664091HCC0-FF09D00000-189]


International Wildlife Conservation Council; Public Meeting

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announces a public meeting of the 
International Wildlife Conservation Council, which provides advice and 
recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior regarding the benefits 
that result from U.S. citizens traveling to foreign nations to engage 
in hunting.

DATES: September 26, 2018 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. (Eastern Time) and 
September 27, 2018 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (Eastern Time). For 
deadlines and directions on registering to attend, submitting written 
material, and giving an oral presentation, please see Public Input 
under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service's Headquarters Building, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 
22041-3803.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cade London, Policy Advisor, by email 
(preferred) at [email protected]; by telephone at (703) 358-2584; by U.S. 
mail at USFWS--International Affairs (see ADDRESSES); or via the 
Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act (5 U.S.C. Appendix 2), we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, announce a public meeting of the International Wildlife 
Conservation Council (council). The council provides advice and 
recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior regarding the benefits 
that result from U.S. citizens traveling to foreign nations to engage 
in hunting.

Background

    Formed in December 2017, the council is an advisory body whose 
duties include, but are not limited to:
    (a) Developing a plan for public engagement and education on the 
benefits of international hunting.
    (b) Reviewing and making recommendations for changes, when needed, 
on all Federal programs and/or regulations, to ensure support of 
hunting as:
    1. An enhancement to foreign wildlife conservation and survival, 
and
    2. An effective tool to combat illegal trafficking and poaching.
    (c) Recommending strategies to benefit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service's permit office in receiving timely country data and 
information so as to remove barriers that impact consulting with range 
states.
    (d) Recommending removal of barriers to the importation into the 
United States of legally hunted wildlife.
    (e) Ongoing review of import suspension/bans and providing 
recommendations that seek to resume the legal trade of those items, 
where appropriate.
    (f) Reviewing seizure and forfeiture actions/practices, and 
providing recommendations for regulations that will lead to a reduction 
of unwarranted actions.
    (g) Reviewing the Endangered Species Act's foreign listed species 
and interaction with the Convention on International Trade in 
Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna, with the goal of 
eliminating regulatory duplications.
    (h) Recommending methods for streamlining/expediting processing of 
import permits.

Meeting Agenda

    The council will convene to hear and discuss the following:
    1. Presentations made by conservation and sport hunting experts and 
government officials,
    2. Administrative topics, and
    3. Public comment and response.
    The final agenda will be posted on the internet at http://www.fws.gov/iwcc.

Attendance

    If you plan to attend this meeting, you must register by close of 
business on the date listed in Public Input. Please submit your name, 
time of arrival, email address, and phone number to the Policy Advisor 
for International Affairs (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). Space 
is limited and requests to attend will be accommodated in the order 
they are received.

Public Input

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                                                   You must contact the
                                                    Policy Advisor for
                                                   International Affairs
               If you wish to. . .                   (see FOR FURTHER
                                                   INFORMATION CONTACT)
                                                    no later than. . .
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Attend the meeting..............................  September 21, 2018.

[[Page 45276]]

 
Submit written information before the meeting     September 21, 2018.
 for the council to consider during the meeting.
Give an oral presentation during the public       September 21, 2018.
 comment period.
Attend the meeting and request reasonable         September 19, 2018.
 accommodations.
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    Members of the public requesting reasonable accommodations, such as 
hearing interpreters, may contact Mr. London in writing (preferably by 
email), or via the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 no later 
than September 19, 2018.

Submitting Written Information

    Interested members of the public may submit relevant information 
for the council to consider during the public meeting. Written 
statements must be received by the date in the table above so that the 
information may be made available to the council for consideration 
prior to the meeting. Submit written statements in the following 
formats: one hard copy with original signature, and/or one electronic 
copy via email (acceptable file formats are Adobe Acrobat PDF, MS Word, 
MS PowerPoint, or rich text file).

Giving an Oral Presentation

    Requests to address the council during the public comment period 
will be accommodated in the order the requests are received. Interested 
parties must contact the Policy Advisor for International Affairs in 
writing (preferably via email; see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). 
Depending on the number of people who want to comment and the time 
available, the amount of time for individual oral comments may be 
limited. Registered speakers who wish to expand upon their oral 
statements, or those who had wished to speak but could not be 
accommodated on the agenda, may submit written statements up to 30 days 
after the meeting.

Public Disclosure of Comments

    Written comments we receive become part of the administrative 
record associated with this action. 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 made publicly 
available at any time. While you can request in your comment that we 
withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we 
cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. All submissions from 
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying 
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or 
businesses, will be made available for public disclosure in their 
entirety.

Meeting Minutes

    Detailed minutes of the meeting will be available for public 
inspection within 90 days of the meeting. They will be posted on the 
internet at http://www.fws.gov/iwcc.

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. Appendix 2.

James W. Kurth,
Deputy Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, exercising the 
authority of the Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-19310 Filed 9-5-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P