<br><font size=3 face="Arial">The fourteenth meeting of the Conference
of the Parties to CITES (CoP14) </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">will be held in The Hague, Netherland, June
3-15, 2007. </font>
<br>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wishes
to inform the public about the proposed </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">resolutions, decisions, and agenda items
that the United States is considering </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">submitting for consideration at CoP14; describe
proposed amendments to the </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">CITES Appendices (species proposals) that
the United States is considering submitting</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">for consideration at CoP14; invite your comments
and information on these</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">proposals; announce a public meeting to discuss
these proposals; and provide</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">information on how non-governmental organizations
based in the United States</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">can attend CoP14 as observers.</font>
<br>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">The following pertains specifically to native
plant species:</font>
<br>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">Proposal which the United States is likely
to submit:</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">1. Taxus cuspidata—Annotate to </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">exclude specimens of the hybrid Taxus</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">x media and all cultivars thereof. </font>
<br>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">Proposals which the United States is still
undecided, pending</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">additional information and consultations:</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">1. Dehesa bear-grass (Nolina</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">interrata)—Transfer from Appendix I to</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">Appendix II.</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">2. Arizona agave or New River agave</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">(Agave arizonica)—Transfer from</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">Appendix I to Appendix II.</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">3. Santa Cruz striped agave (Agave</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">parviflora)—Transfer from Appendix I</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">to Appendix II.</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">4. Oconee bells (Shortia galacifolia)—</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">Remove from Appendix II.</font>
<br>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">DATES: The public meeting will be held on
December 11, 2006, at 1:30 p.m. in the</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">Rachel Carson Room, in the Department of
the Interior at 18th and C Streets,</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">NW., Washington, DC. </font>
<br>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">Comments concerning potential species proposals,
and proposed resolutions, </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">decisions, and agenda items that the United
States is considering submitting for</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">consideration at CoP14, and other items relating
to CoP14, are requested by</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">December 22, 2006.</font>
<br>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">For details on the above information, see
the full notice at: </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial"><http://www.fws.gov/policy/library/E6-18722.pdf><br>
<br>
For more information on CITES, see "CITES in a nutshell," below.<br>
<br>
Patricia S. De Angelis, Ph.D.<br>
Botanist - Division of Scientific Authority<br>
Chair - Plant Conservation Alliance - Medicinal Plant Working Group<br>
US Fish & Wildlife Service<br>
4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Suite 750<br>
Arlington, VA 22203<br>
703-358-1708 x1753<br>
FAX: 703-358-2276<br>
Working for the conservation and sustainable use of our green natural resources.<br>
<www.nps.gov/plants/medicinal><br>
<br>
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<br>
CITES in a nutshell<br>
<br>
WHAT IS CITES?<br>
>><i>CITES is a treaty that aims to ensure that international trade
in animal</i><br>
and plant species is not detrimental to the survival of wild populations.
This </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">is accomplished through a system of permits.
The treaty entered into force in 1975. </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">The CITES web address is: <</font><font size=3 color=blue face="Arial"><u>www.cites.org</u></font><font size=3 face="Arial">>.<br>
<br>
ABOUT THE PARTIES...<br>
>><i>Currently, CITES includes 169 members, including most of the
U.N.-</i></font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">recognized nations of the world. To
see a list of the member countries, </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">go to: <</font><a href=http://www.cites.org/eng/disc/parties/index.shtml><font size=3 color=blue face="Arial"><u>http://www.cites.org/eng/disc/parties/index.shtml</u></font></a><font size=3 face="Arial">>.<br>
<br>
>><i>In the United States, CITES is administered by the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife</i><br>
Service in coordination other agencies, such as the U.S. Department of<br>
Agriculture. For more information, see: <</font><font size=3 color=blue face="Arial"><u>http://www.fws.gov/international/wwa.html</u></font><font size=3 face="Arial">>.<br>
</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">>><i>The CITES world is divided into
six regions: Africa, Asia, Central and</i><br>
South America and the Caribbean, Europe, North American, and Oceania. The<br>
United States is part of the North American Region, which also includes<br>
Canada and Mexico. See <</font><a href=http://www.cites.org/eng/disc/AC_PC.shtml#dir><font size=3 color=blue face="Arial"><u>http://www.cites.org/eng/disc/AC_PC.shtml#dir</u></font></a><font size=3 face="Arial">>.<br>
<br>
<i>>>CITES convenes several international meetings in orderto execute
the </i><br>
treaty, including:<br>
<br>
The Conference of the Parties (CoP) - Until CoP13, these meeting were held<br>
every two years. The time between CoPs has been changed to every
three years.<br>
Representatives from all 169 Parties may participate in this meeting. For
more </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">on previous CoPs (agendas, species proposals),</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u><br>
</u></font><a href=http://www.cites.org/eng/cop/index.shtml.><font size=3 color=blue face="Arial"><u>http://www.cites.org/eng/cop/index.shtml.</u></font></a><font size=3 face="Arial"><br>
<br>
The Plants Committee - Held annually, this meeting is attended by<br>
representatives from each region represented in CITES. Currently,
the<br>
United States is the North American regional representative, with Canada
as<br>
the alternate. See <</font><a href=http://www.cites.org/eng/com/PC/member.shtml><font size=3 color=blue face="Arial"><u>http://www.cites.org/eng/com/PC/member.shtml</u></font></a><font size=3 face="Arial">>.<br>
<br>
The Animals Committee - Held annually, this meeting is attended by<br>
representatives from each region represented in CITES. Currently,
Mexico<br>
is the North American regional representative, and the United States is
the<br>
alternate. See: <</font><a href=http://www.cites.org/eng/com/AC/member.shtml><font size=3 color=blue face="Arial"><u>http://www.cites.org/eng/com/AC/member.shtml</u></font></a><font size=3 face="Arial">>.<br>
<br>
The Standing Committee - Meetings are held as needed. Currently,
Canada is<br>
the North American regional representative, and Mexico is the alternate.<br>
See: <</font><a href=http://www.cites.org/eng/com/SC/member.shtml><font size=3 color=blue face="Arial"><u>http://www.cites.org/eng/com/SC/member.shtml</u></font></a><font size=3 face="Arial">>.<br>
<br>
ABOUT THE SPECIES...<br>
>><i>Under CITES, species may be listed on one of 3 appendices, each</i><br>
conferring a different level of regulation, with the most stringent<br>
controls for Appendix I species. Species listed on Appendix I are<br>
threatened with extinction and trade is permitted only under strict<br>
circumstances. Species listed on Appendix II are impacted by trade
at a<br>
level that requires monitoring in order to avoid threats to extinction.<br>
Appendix III listings essentially provides a monitoring system that allows<br>
countries to enlist assistance of international trading partners to better<br>
understand the level of trade in those species. For more information
on<br>
the CITES appendices, see: <</font><a href=http://www.cites.org/eng/disc/how.shtml><font size=3 color=blue face="Arial"><u>http://www.cites.org/eng/disc/how.shtml</u></font></a><font size=3 face="Arial">>.<br>
<br>
>><i>Permits are required for species that are listed on any of the
three</i><br>
CITES appendices. For more on permits, see: <</font><a href=http://www.fws.gov/permits/><font size=3 color=blue face="Arial"><u>http://www.fws.gov/permits/</u></font></a><font size=3 face="Arial">>.<br>
<br>
HOW MANY SPECIES ARE LISTED?<br>
>><i>Current totals for U.S. native species listed on CITES are:
658 plants</i><br>
and 845 animals. Several U.S.-native medicinal plants are listed
on CITES,<br>
including goldenseal, American ginseng and the entire orchid family. To
find </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">out more about these species, go to the CITES-listed
species database at: </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial"><</font><a href=http://www.cites.org/eng/resources/species.html><font size=3 color=blue face="Arial"><u>http://www.cites.org/eng/resources/species.html</u></font></a><font size=3 face="Arial">>.<br>
</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">HOW DO I FIND OUT WHAT IS LISTED ON CITES?<br>
<i>>>You can search the CITES database two ways: by name or by country.</i></font>
<br>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">To search by name (scientific name or common
name):<br>
Start at the CITES species datase page: <</font><a href=http://www.cites.org/eng/resources/species.html><font size=3 color=blue face="Arial"><u>http://www.cites.org/eng/resources/species.html</u></font></a><font size=3 face="Arial">>.<br>
Under the "Search by name" column, select "Genus."<br>
Type the Genus of the plant of interest and hit enter.</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">
You have another opportunity to select information
for only one country. </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial"> To see
information on all countries, click on "Display Results" at the
bottom of the screen.<br>
You'll
see a list of all species in the genus of interest.<br>
Click on the species of interest.<br>
Click on any of the tabs above the species entry to
get more information on the species.<br>
</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial">To search by country (i.e. for species that
are native to the United States):<br>
Start at the CITES species datase page: <</font><a href=http://www.cites.org/eng/resources/species.html><font size=3 color=blue face="Arial"><u>http://www.cites.org/eng/resources/species.html</u></font></a><font size=3 face="Arial">>.</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial"> Under the column "Search
by country", there is a pull-down menu.<br>
Select United States and click on "Go"<br>
You will see a tabular summary of the
number of listed animals and plants native to the United States.<br>
Click on any of the appendices or click
on the link below each table to get a full list of all the species that
are listed.<br>
Click on any species entry to see information
for that species.</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial"><br>
HOW CAN I LEARN MORE ABOUT CITES?<br>
>><i>CITES World - biennial newsletter of CITES. You can view
issues dating</i><br>
back to 1999 at: <</font><a href=http://www.cites.org/eng/news/newsletter.shtml><font size=3 color=blue face="Arial"><u>http://www.cites.org/eng/news/newsletter.shtml</u></font></a><font size=3 face="Arial">>.<br>
<br>
Highlights from previous issues that may be of interest to you:<br>
Issue 16 (Dec 2005) - U.S. procedures for handling confiscated
species<br>
Issue 15 (July 2005) - U.S. and the Lacey Act<br>
Issue 14 (Dec 2004) - Accessing CITES trade data<br>
<br>
>><i>Endangered Species Bulletin - The September 2005 issues of the
Endangered</i><br>
Species bulletin focused wholly on CITES. You can view this issue
at: <</font><a href="http://www.fws.gov/endangered/esb/2005/ESB09-05.pdf"><font size=3 color=blue face="Arial"><u>http://www.fws.gov/endangered/esb/2005/ESB09-05.pdf</u></font></a><font size=3 face="Arial">>.<br>
</font>