[Federal Register: June 15, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 114)] [Rules and Regulations] [Page 31989-31992] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr15jn99-17] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service 50 CFR Part 23 RIN 1018-AF58 Amendment by Mexico to Appendix III Listing of Bigleaf Mahogany Under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. ACTION: Final rule. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: This rule announces an amendment to the Appendix III listing of bigleaf mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES or Convention). The species in the Americas and its logs, sawn wood, and veneer sheets have been included in Appendix III since November 1995, based on an action by the Government of Costa Rica. The Government of Mexico has supplied information to the CITES Secretariat to independently include the species in Appendix III to support its national legislation for the species and the need for cooperation of other CITES countries in controlling the international trade. We will consider any comments received on whether to enter a reservation on Mexico's action for this species. DATES: This rule is effective on June 15, 1999. The change to the Appendix III listing for the Mexican population of the species as set forth in this rule entered into force on April 29, 1999, under the terms of the Convention. ADDRESSES: Please send correspondence concerning the amendment announced in this rule to Chief, Office of Scientific [[Page 31990]] Authority, ARLSQ 750; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Washington, DC 20240; fax number 703-358-2276. Express and messenger deliveries should be addressed to Chief, Office of Scientific Authority, Room 750; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 North Fairfax Drive; Arlington, Virginia 22203. You may obtain the text of the Appendix III Notification from the Convention's Secretariat on request, and related materials are available for public inspection by appointment from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, at the above address in Arlington, Virginia. Please send certificate/permit questions or any applications concerning this regulation to Chief, Office of Management Authority; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Room 700; Arlington, Virginia 22203; fax number 703-358-2281. Express and messenger deliveries should be addressed to Chief, Office of Management Authority, at that Arlington address. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Susan Lieberman, Chief, Office of Scientific Authority, phone 703-358-1708, fax 703-358-2276, E-mail: r9osa@mail.fws.gov; or the Office of Management Authority, telephone 800-358-2104, E-mail: r9oma__cites@mail.fws.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (TIAS 8249) regulates international trade in certain animal and plant species. The species for which trade in particular specimens is controlled are listed in one of three appendices. Appendix III is comprised of species that any Party country informs the CITES Secretariat are subject to regulation within its jurisdiction for purposes of restricting or preventing exploitation, and for which it needs the cooperation of other Parties to regulate international trade in specimens of the species. Resolution Conf. 9.25 (Rev.) provides guidance to assist Party countries in determining individually whether a species would qualify for inclusion in Appendix III. Appendix I includes species threatened with extinction that are or may be affected by international trade. Appendix II includes species that, although not necessarily now threatened with extinction, may become so unless the trade in specimens is strictly controlled. Appendix II also can include species that must be subject to regulation in order that trade in other currently or potentially threatened species may be brought under effective control (e.g., because of difficulty in distinguishing specimens of currently or potentially threatened species from those of other traded species). Resolution Conf. 9.24 provides criteria and guidance to assist the Parties in determining together (usually at a Conference of the Parties or COP) whether a species would qualify for inclusion in Appendix I or Appendix II. Under CITES, only those species included in Appendix I are banned from international trade for primarily commercial purposes in specimens from the wild. This rule updates the list of CITES species that is reproduced in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR 23.23(f). We published the current information regarding CITES-listed species following COP10 (see below) in the Federal Register of August 22, 1997 (62 FR 44627). As advanced by the Government of Mexico pursuant to Article XVI paragraph 1 of the Convention, this notice acknowledges that now Mexico, Brazil, Bolivia, and Costa Rica have added Swietenia macrophylla (bigleaf mahogany (also respectively called mogno, mara, or caoba)) to Appendix III in support of their domestic conservation measures and need for cooperation of other Parties. Therefore, bigleaf mahogany populations in the Americas (i.e., South America, Central America, the Caribbean, and North America) continue to be included in CITES Appendix III, including only logs, sawn wood, and veneer sheets of the species as the parts or derivatives covered by the provisions of the Convention. Thus, products such as finished furniture are excluded. Moreover, export of specimens from plantations located outside the Americas is not regulated. (At COP10 in June 1997, the categories saw-logs, sawn wood, and veneers were revised slightly to the above for several such listings; 62 FR 44627.) The CITES Secretariat notified the Party countries on January 29, 1999 (in an unnumbered Notification), of this addition to Appendix III by Mexico of this species. In accordance with Article XVI paragraph 2, such an amendment becomes effective 90 days after notification, in this case on April 29, 1999. Appropriate documentation as required by CITES (usually an export permit) must accompany all the shipments of bigleaf mahogany originating from Mexico that are exported on or after that date. The importer must present the documentation upon import to the Party countries. International trade in Appendix III species and their parts and derivatives that are specified as being included requires the issuance of either an export permit, a certificate of origin, a re-export certificate, or a pre-Convention certificate, by the exporting or the re-exporting Party. An export permit, which signifies that the specimens were not obtained in contravention of the laws of that country for conservation, is required if the shipment originates from the Party that added the species to Appendix III. In the case of bigleaf mahogany, the effective dates for countries including the species in Appendix III are: Mexico--April 29, 1999; Brazil--July 26, 1998 (see Federal Register October 30, 1998, 63 FR 58325-58327); Bolivia--March 19, 1998 (see Federal Register of May 14, 1998, 63 FR 26739-26741); and Costa Rica--November 16, 1995 (see Federal Register of February 22, 1996, 61 FR 6793-6795). Export from the other countries in the Americas requires the issuance of either a certificate of origin that verifies the specimens originated in a non-listing country, or a pre-Convention certificate that verifies the specimens were acquired before the provisions of the Convention applied to them (i.e., November 16, 1995). Re-export--the export of specimens that originated in the Americas that were previously imported--requires the issuance of a re-export certificate by all countries. All the countries of South America, Central America, and North America and some countries in the Caribbean are Parties to the Convention and must issue CITES documents that contain standard information (Resolution Conf. 10.2). Countries not party to the treaty must issue comparable documentation as specified in Article X of CITES and Resolution Conf. 9.5. The Convention's Secretariat and the U.S. Office of Management Authority in 1995 (and other times since) have inquired about certificates of origin or permits that exporting range countries issue for shipments of the specimens of this species (i.e., logs, sawn wood, and veneer sheets). We received responses from Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Peru (cf. Secretariat's April 27, 1998, Notification No. 1998/15). Costa Rica, Bolivia, Brazil, and Mexico, as Parties listing the species in Appendix III, use their regular documents (e.g., permits). Importation or exportation of CITES- regulated plant specimens must be through particular designated U.S. Department of Agriculture ports (50 CFR 24.12), which includes additional ports designated for logs and lumber. For [[Page 31991]] information on the types of documents required for such mahogany importation into the United States, as well as requests for any documents needed for such re-export or export from the United States, you should contact the Office of Management Authority (address and phone number above). Any Party country may at any time enter a reservation on a species (or pertinent population) added to Appendix III. A Party that has entered a reservation is treated as a country that is not party to the Convention with respect to the trade in the species concerned (until such time as that Party withdraws its reservation). We thoroughly discussed the limited effects of a reservation in alleviating importers and exporters from documentation requirements with the other CITES Parties in a Federal Register notice on November 17, 1987 (52 FR 43924). In a subsequent Federal Register notice of March 28, 1988 (53 FR 9945; see also 53 FR 12497, April 14, 1988), we made a procedural change in requesting comments about such reservations for species added to Appendix III. Because the effects of such a reservation are limited, and there is also no time limit for reserving on a species or a population added to Appendix III, a proposed rule is not published at the time the list in Sec. 23.23 is amended. Regardless of any U.S. decision to enter a reservation, this particular amendment to Appendix III enters into force on April 29, 1999, under the terms of the Convention. We publish this document to inform the public of this international action, while still affording those interested the opportunity and time to assess the merits of entering a reservation. Therefore, this document is not a rule under 5 U.S.C. 553, and good cause exists to omit the proposed-rule notice and public-comment process since it is unnecessary and contrary to the public interest (5 U.S.C. 553(b)). Because bigleaf mahogany in the Americas was added to Appendix III of the Convention effective on November 16, 1995, and because of the April 29, 1999 effective date of Mexico's action and other reasons stated in this notice, the Service finds that good cause exists for making this rule effective upon its date of publication (5 U.S.C. 553(d)). The Department of the Interior has determined that changes to the Convention Appendices, which result from actions of the Parties to the treaty, do not require preparation of Environmental Assessments as defined under authority of the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321-4347). This notice recognizes Mexico's decision to include one of their native species in CITES Appendix III and serves as public notice of their decision to potential importers and exporters, as well as other persons who may have a need to know of this Appendix III amendment. Because this amendment to 50 CFR Sec. 23.23 is simply a notification to the public on an action that has been taken by Mexico under the terms of CITES, this notice does not constitute a ``rule'' for purposes of the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 551). Accordingly, the provisions of Executive Order 12866, the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), and the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1966 do not apply to this notice. No information collection requirements requiring Office of Management and Budget approval is contained in this action. For any permits or certificates required for re-export from the United States of this or any other CITES-listed species (see 50 CFR 23), the Office of Management and Budget has approved the collection of information under 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. and assigned clearance numbers 1018-0093 and 1018-0012. At the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention (COP10) in June 1997, the United States was among 67 of 112 Parties that voted to include this species in Appendix II; this 60 percent of the Parties in favor, however, fell short of the two-thirds majority needed for adoption of the proposal (see the Federal Register notice of August 22, 1997 (62 FR 44627)). After the vote, Mexico in Plenary stated its intention to include the species in Appendix III. We do not recommend entering a reservation on this enhanced status in Appendix III for the Mexican population of the species. We could consider doing so only if valid and compelling reasons are shown that implementation of this listing would be contrary to the interests or laws of the United States. We now solicit comments on whether to enter a reservation, and we are seeking any new information that becomes available. This document was prepared by Ms. Julie Lyke, Office of Scientific Authority, under the authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 23 Endangered and threatened species, Exports, Imports, Treaties. Regulation Promulgation Accordingly, for the reasons set out above in this document, the Service amends part 23 of title 50 (chapter I, subchapter B) of the Code of Federal Regulations as set forth below: PART 23--ENDANGERED SPECIES CONVENTION 1. The authority citation for part 23 continues to read as follows: Authority: Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, 27 U.S.T. 1087; and Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq. 2. Section 23.23(f) is amended by revising the entry for Swietenia macrophylla under the plant family Meliaceae to read as follows: Sec. 23.23 Species listed in Appendices I, II, and III. * * * * * (f) * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- First listing Species Common name Appendix date (month/ day/year) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * * * * * * * PLANT KINGDOM: PLANTS: * * * * * * * Family Meliaceae: Mahogany family: [[Page 31992]] * * * * * * * Swietenia macrophylla populations in Bigleaf mahogany...... III (Bolivia, Brazil, 11/16/95 the Americas (including logs, sawn Costa Rica, Mexico). wood, and veneer sheets, but no other parts or derivatives, e.g., products). * * * * * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dated: June 3, 1999. Donald J. Barry, Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks. [FR Doc. 99-14928 Filed 6-14-99; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310-55-P