[Federal Register: March 27, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 59)]
[Notices]
[Page 14955-14956]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr27mr98-95]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Proposals To Register An Operation Breeding Appendix-I Species in
Captivity for Commercial Purposes According to the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announces that it intends
to submit to the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade
in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) proposals to
register a breeding operation for Sky-Out Falcons, a breeding facility
for gyrfalcons (Falco rusticolus) and peregrine falcons (Falco
peregrinus), both specific and hybrid offspring, owned and operated by
David H. Jamieson, Reno, Nevada (one of each species). The registration
of this facility will allow specimens to be designated as bred in
captivity for commercial purposes and deemed to be specimens of species
included in Appendix II, as provided for in Article VII, paragraph 4 of
CITES. Public comments are solicited.
DATES: Comments will be accepted until April 27, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Please send correspondence concerning this notice to the
Office of Scientific Authority, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Mail
stop ARLSQ 750, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, Virginia 22203. Fax
number 703-358-2276. Copies of the full text of the registration
proposals are available from the Office of Scientific Authority and
will be mailed upon request. Comments and other information received
are available for public inspection by appointment from 8 a.m. to 4
p.m., Monday through Friday, at the Arlington, Virginia, address.
[[Page 14956]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Susan Lieberman, Chief, Office of
Scientific Authority, at the address given above (telephone: 703-358-
1708).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora, TIAS 8249, hereinafter referred to as CITES, is an
international treaty designed to regulate international trade in animal
and plant species that are or may become threatened with extinction.
Authority for implementing CITES has been delegated to the Secretary of
Interior through the Endangered Species Act of 1973 as amended (16
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). Species are listed in Appendix I, II, or III of
CITES, depending on the degree of threat and level of control needed.
Species listed in Appendix I receive the highest level of protection
and require both an import permit from the country of import and an
export permit from the country of export, and imports may not be for
primarily commercial purposes. However, Article VII, paragraph 4 of
CITES provides that specimens of animal species included in Appendix I
bred in captivity for commercial purposes shall be deemed to be
specimens of species included in Appendix II. Appendix-II species
require an export permit only (no import permit) and may be imported
for commercial or non-commercial purposes.
Through resolutions adopted at meetings of the Conference of the
Parties to CITES, the Parties have defined criteria for registering
breeding operations with the CITES Secretariat, whereby specimens of
Appendix-I species from those operations would qualify as bred in
captivity for commercial purposes. Resolution Conf. 10.16 adopted at
the Tenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES (which
replaces Conf. 2.12 (rev.)) requires that parental breeding stock at
such operations must: (a) be established in accordance with the
provisions of CITES and relevant national laws and in a manner not
detrimental to the survival of the species in the wild; (b) be
maintained without introduction of specimens from the wild, except for
occasional augmentation to prevent or alleviate deleterious inbreeding,
and for other limited purposes; and (c) have produced offspring of
second (F2) or subsequent generations (F3, F4, etc.) in a controlled
environment, belong to a species included in a list, established by the
CITES Standing Committee, of species commonly bred to second or
subsequent generations, or be managed in a manner that has been
demonstrated to be capable of reliably producing second-generation
offspring in a controlled environment. Resolution Conf. 8.15 provides
guidelines for registering and monitoring operations breeding Appendix-
I animal species for commercial purposes, and specifies the
documentation required to establish that the operation meets the
criteria of Resolution Conf. 10.16.
To register a captive-breeding operation, the Management Authority
of the country in which the operation is located must approve the
operation, in consultation with that country's Scientific Authority.
The sponsoring Management Authority must then submit a proposal to
register the operation to the CITES Secretariat, which will follow the
process presented in Resolution Conf. 8.15.
After a review of relevant information, including breeding records
and other documentation, the Fish and Wildlife Service has prepared for
submission to the CITES Secretariat the following proposals: (1) the
registration of Sky-Out Falcons owned and operated by David H.
Jamieson, Reno, Nevada, as a commercial captive-breeding operation for
gyrfalcons (Falco rusticolus), an Appendix I species, and hybrids; and
(2) the registration of Sky-Out Falcons for peregrine falcons (Falco
peregrinus), an Appendix-I species, and hybrids. Although this is the
first commercial captive-breeding operation proposed for registration
within the United States for any species, it is not the first operation
registered with the CITES Secretariat for these two species (15
operations have been registered for peregrine falcons and 10 operations
for gyrfalcons). The Sky-Out Falcons operation has been breeding
falcons since 1974, with a combined production of 45 gyrfalcons and 46
peregrine falcons in 1995 and 1996. All of these offspring have been
second-generation captive-hatched offspring. The Service is satisfied
that all breeding stock has been legally acquired and maintained under
appropriate permits, as determined by the Division of Law Enforcement
in Region 1 of the Fish and Wildlife Service. Mr. Jamieson has provided
detailed information on current holdings, husbandry practices,
enclosures, production at his operation, and breeding strategies for
genetic management of his flocks so as to minimize deleterious
inbreeding. (Mr. Jamieson currently holds a pair of F. p. anatum, a
species listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973,
as amended. This pair of birds is not included in this registration
process and any offspring of either member of the pair would not be
considered registered under Resolution Conf. 8.15.)
Required Determination
The Service prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) in accordance
with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), for this notice and
concluded in a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) based on a
review and evaluation of the information contained within the EA that
there would be no significant impact on the human environment as a
result of this action and that the preparation of an environmental
impact statement on this action is not required by Section 102(2) of
NEPA or its implementing regulations. The EA and FONSI for this action
are on file at the Service's Office of Scientific Authority in
Arlington, Virginia, and a copy may be obtained by any interested
person for review and provide comments by contacting the individual
identified under the section entitled, FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.
Author
This notice was prepared by Mr. Timothy J. Van Norman, Wildlife
Biologist, Office of Scientific Authority, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (703/358-1708).
Dated: March 20, 1998.
Margaret Tieger,
Acting Chief, Office of Management Authority.
[FR Doc. 98-8048 Filed 3-26-98; 8:45 am]
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