U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, International Affairs

REPORT OF CITES ACTIVITIES BY THE UNITED STATES SINCE THE 42ND MEETING OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE

- FOR PRESENTATION TO THE 45TH MEETING OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE - Report compiled April 19, 2001

Since the 42^nd meeting of the CITES Standing Committee in September 1999, the United States has taken many active measures in its implementation of the Convention. Provided below is a summary of some of the key measures that the United States took during the period from September 1999 through April 2001:

COP11 RELATED ACTIVITIES

REGIONAL COORDINATION IN PREPARATION FOR COP11: In February 2000, the United States hosted a regional meeting of the North American CITES Region in Washington D.C. The purposes of this regional meeting was to prepare for the 11^th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES (COP11). All COP11 related issues were discussed, and the Management and Scientific Authorities of the United States, Canada, and Mexico participated actively in the meeting. There was thus extensive pre-COP11 coordination within the Region, and when possible regional positions were developed.

U.S. SUBMISSIONS FOR CONSIDERATION AT COP11: On November 12, 1999, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) submitted the United States’ species listing proposals, proposed resolutions, proposed decisions, discussion papers, and meeting agenda items to the CITES Secretariat for consideration at COP11, which was subsequently held April 10-20, 1999, in Gigiri, Kenya. The United States submitted 11 species listing proposals, four of which were co-sponsored by other CITES Party countries. It also co-sponsored four listing proposals submitted by other Party countries. The United States submitted one proposed resolution, one proposed decision, and three discussion papers. It also co-sponsored one discussion paper submitted by another Party country.

RESULTS OF COP11: COP11 was held April 10-20, 2000, at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Headquarters in Gigiri, Kenya. The United States participated fully in the meeting. At COP11, the Parties in North America elected the United States as the North American Regional Representative on the CITES Standing Committee for the intersessional period between COP11 and COP12. The United States was also elected by the members of the Standing Committee as the Chair of the Standing Committee. Kenneth Stansell, from the USFWS, currently serves in that capacity. The Parties of North America also selected Dr. Susan Lieberman, from the USFWS (Scientific Authority), to continue as the North American Regional Representative on the CITES Animals Committee for the intersessional period between COP11 and COP12. The members of the Animals Committee elected her to continue as Vice-Chair of the Animals Committee. The alternate representative to the Animals Committee is Dr. Rodrigo Medellin from Mexico. The regional representative to the Plants Committee id Dr. Patricia Dávila from Mexico.

CITES ANIMALS COMMITTEE ACTIVITIES

REVIEW OF THE APPENDICES: At the 15^th meeting of the CITES Animals Committee (AC15), held in Madagascar July 5-9, 1999, the United States offered to review the listing of four taxa in the CITES Appendices, as part of an ongoing process. Those taxa are: Saiga tatarica, Falco peregrinus, Dermochelys coriacea, and Antipatharia spp. Questionnaires were sent to all range states for these taxa, and the U.S. Scientific Authority prepared detailed analyses of the status of the species, in the context of CITES Resolution Conf. 9.24. Those documents were submitted to the Secretariat and subsequently discussed at the 16^th meeting of the Animals Committee (AC16, held in the United States in December 2000).

TRADE IN TIME-SENSITIVE RESEARCH SAMPLES: The U.S. Scientific Authority coordinated on this issue within the North American Region, particularly with Mexico, and with several U.S. research institutions. Mexico was asked at COP11 to take the lead on this issue, and provided input at AC16. There were active discussions and working group deliberations on this issue at AC16.

TRADE IN FRESHWATER TURTLES AND TORTOISES IN SOUTHEAST ASIA: In response to discussions at AC15, the United States and Germany co-sponsored a document that was submitted to COP11 on this issue. The U.S. Scientific Authority provided funding towards a workshop on the Asian turtle trade held in Cambodia in December 1999, which was well received and led to fruitful discussion and adoption of a Decision at COP11. The U.S. Scientific and Management Authorities are in close contact with herpetologists active on this issue. The United States is an active member of the Working Group established at AC16, and is active both in Animals Committee discussions on this issue (based on Decision 11.93), and in preparations for a technical workshop on this issue (based on Decision 11.150). The United States also provided significant funding ($22,000) to enable the technical workshop to take place, through excess funds from the U.S. State Department voluntary contribution to the CITES Trust Fund.

TRADE IN Tursiops truncatus ponticus: In response to Decision 11.91, adopted at COP11, requesting that the Animals Committee evaluate this issue, the United States submitted a document addressing the biological status of and trade in the species, for consideration at AC16. The United States is an active participant in the informal contact group on this issue established by AC16.

CONSERVATION OF SEAHORSES AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY SYNGNATHIDAE: In response to discussions and Decisions adopted at COP11, Dr. Susan Lieberman, Chief of the U.S. Scientific Authority and North American Regional Representative on the Animals Committee, coordinated with Project Seahorse and other NGOs involved with the conservation of syngnathids. Working in cooperation with the Secretariat and Project Seahorse, Dr. Lieberman (as Regional Representative) submitted a document for consideration at AC16, dealing with implementation of Decision 11.97. The United States continues to work with interested Parties and NGOs in the implementation of Decision 11.97. The United States also provided significant funding ($22,000) for the technical workshop called for in Dec. 11.97, through excess funds from the State Department voluntary contribution to the CITES Trust Fund.

ANIMALS AND PLANTS COMMITTEE MEETINGS IN THE UNITED STATES: The USFWS hosted meetings of the CITES Animals and Plants Committees in the United States, December 7-15, 2000, at its National Conservation Training Center (NCTC) in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. A joint meeting of the Animals and Plants Committees was held December 7-9, to discuss the review of the CITES listing criteria (Resolution Conf. 9.24). The separate meetings of the Animals Committee (the 16^th meeting) and the Plants Committee (the 10^th meeting) followed, from December 11-15. The USFWS was very proud to host these highly successful meetings at NCTC – the first meetings of the Animals and Plants Committees in the history of CITES to be held in the United States.

TRADE IN HARD CORALS: The United States has been an active member of the Working Group established at AC15, and continued during and after AC16, to consider aspects of the trade in hard coral. This led to adoption of Resolution Conf. 11.10 at COP11. The U.S. Scientific Authority participates actively in this Working Group, and coordinates with other U.S. Government offices (particularly the National Marine Fisheries Service), as well as Mexico and Canada on this issue.

SIGNIFICANT TRADE: The United States, particularly through its Scientific Authority, is very active in Animals Committee issues pertaining to the implementation of Resolution Conf. 8.9.

FUNDING FOR PROJECTS: The United States also provided significant funding ($45,000) for Animals Committee-related projects, through excess funds from the U.S. State Department voluntary contribution to the CITES Trust Fund.

CITES PLANTS COMMITTEE ACTIVITIES

TIMBER BROCHURE: In 1997, during the 10^th meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP10), the CITES Timber Working Group recommended to the COP that a brochure be developed to educate timber producers and consumers about CITES and its role in regulating the timber trade. A brochure intended to meet this need was developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service in 1999. Over 30,000 copies were distributed to CITES Parties during 2000. The brochure will also be posted on the Web in the near future.

MAHOGANY WORKING GROUP ACTIVITIES: Preliminary results of a review of U.S. bigleaf mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) imports conducted in 2000 indicated that at least one quarter of sawn mahogany imported into the United States, representing more than 17 million dollars per year, are not accompanied by the proper documentation (Blundell, unpublished). The United States continues to review U.S. bigleaf mahogany imports, with a view toward assessing implementation of the listing of this species in Appendix III. Results of this study will be made available for discussion at the upcoming meeting of the Mahogany Working Group.

REVIEW OF THE GENUS Guaiacum: At COP11, the CITES Parties concluded that a review of the genus Guaiacum should be conducted. This review is to: clarify the current taxonomy of this genus as it is most widely understood; resolve how species within the genus may be distinguished from each other when in trade; and assess the status in the wild, status in trade and threats to the species. In the latter half of 2000, at the request of the U.S. Scientific Authority, graduate students in the University of Maryland Program on Conservation Biology contributed to this review by investigating the status in the wild, status in trade, and threats to Guaiacum species in Mexico. The U.S. Scientific Authority forwarded the results of the study to the Plants Committee, and the students gave a presentation of the results of the study at the 10^th meeting of the CITES Plants Committee (PC10) in December 2000. The Plants Committee was very supportive, and asked the students to continue their work. A Working Group consisting of Mexico, Costa Rica, and the United States was formed to provide guidance for the study. The Secretariat is coordinating the project and has secured funding from the Netherlands and the United States for the project. A report will be presented at the 11^th meeting of the CITES Plants Committee (PC11) in Malaysia.

REVIEW OF SEVERAL U.S. PLANT SPECIES CURRENTLY LISTED IN THE CITES APPENDICES: In the latter half of 2000, the U.S. Scientific Authority completed an assessment of the status of Astrophytum asterias with respect to the current CITES listing criteria, as requested by Dr. Jonas Lüthy, of the Management Authority of Switzerland. The results of the assessment indicate that this species continues to qualify for Appendix I based upon its restricted range in southern Texas and the continuing threat of collection from the wild. These findings were also provided to the Chairman of the Plants Committee, and the issue was discussed at PC10 in December 2000. The U.S. Scientific Authority is currently assessing the status of the following species, in light of discussions at COP11: Dudleya traskiae, Sclerocactus mariposensis, Shortia galacifolia, Lewisia maguirei, and L. serrata.

NOMENCLATURE OF THE GENUS Taxus: In the latter half of 2000, the U.S. Scientific Authority received a request to clarify the taxonomy and nomenclature of the genus Taxus, especially Taxus yunnanensis and Taxus baccata, as they relate to the Himalayan yew (Taxus wallichiana), which is listed in CITES Appendix II. In addition, the U.S. Scientific Authority is seeking clarification on how parts and derivatives of these yew species and the Chinese yew (Taxus chinensis) can be distinguished from one another in international trade. The United States provided a paper outlining its specific concerns with respect to CITES implementation for Taxus wallichiana for consideration at PC10. The work is continuing.

PLANTS COMMITTEE MEETING IN THE UNITED STATES: The USFWS hosted the 10^th meeting of the CITES Plants Committee (PC10) in the United States, December 11-15, 2000, at its National Conservation Training Center (NCTC) in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. [See the discussion above in the section on CITES Animals Committee activities.]

GINSENG MONITORING PROJECT: The U.S. Scientific Authority is working with scientific researchers, the States, and other U.S. Federal agencies (National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, and U.S. Geological Survey/Biological Resources Division (USGS/BRD)) to establish a long-term nationwide monitoring program for wild American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius). This monitoring program will involve the establishment of survey plots across most States where wild ginseng is currently harvested, which will be surveyed annually. The data gathered will be analyzed to determine whether current levels of harvest are sustainable and whether further harvest restrictions are necessary. As a result of these efforts, Dr. Jim McGraw (Plant Population Biologist at West Virginia University) received a grant from the USGS/BRD’s Species at Risk Program to begin implementing (in summer 2000) such monitoring in the eight States with the highest levels of harvest.

In addition to monitoring, the USFWS is also funding research at West Virginia University to examine, among other things, the status of wild ginseng in West Virginia; the utility of some population indices currently being used by the U.S. Scientific Authority to assess the status of wild populations of ginseng; the importance of timing of harvest season; and the possible effects of deer browsing and dispersal of seeds by deer and turkey.

GOLDENSEAL RESEARCH UNDERWAY: A study of the distribution, abundance, and effects of harvest on goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis), conducted by West Virginia University, has received funding under the USGS/BRD’s Species at Risk Program with the support of the U.S. Scientific Authority. Results from this project are expected in 2001.

PLANT CONSERVATION ALLIANCE MEDICINAL PLANT WORKING GROUP: The U.S. Scientific Authority is currently facilitating the Medicinal Plant Working Group (MPWG), a group of representatives from industry, Government, academia, Native American tribes, and environmental organizations allied to conserve medicinal plants native to the United States under the umbrella of the Plant Conservation Alliance (PCA). The PCA is a consortium of 10 U.S. Federal Government member agencies and over 165 non-Federal cooperators that serves as the North American Plant Specialist Group of the IUCN Species Survival Commission. The MPWG’s primary focus is to facilitate action on behalf of medicinal plants native to the United States that are of particular conservation concern, to balance biological and commercial needs and, in the long term, minimize the need for regulatory intervention. Since its inception in June 1999, membership in the PCA-MPWG has grown to over 210 individuals from at least 38 states and tribes and eight foreign countries. Participation is open to anyone who is interested.

IDENTIFICATION SHEETS: The United States is currently developing CITES Identification Sheets for the following 11 plant species, as identified in CITES Doc. 11.11.3, presented by the Identification Manual Committee at COP11: Agave arizonica, Agave victoriae-reginae, Dudleya stolonifera, Dudleya traskiae, Fouquieria columnaris, Fouquieria fasciculata, Fouquieria purpusii, Lewisia maguirei, Lewisia serrata, and Nolina interrata. The United States expects to have draft materials prepared for review some time this summer and will provide them for discussion at PC11 in September 2001, if they are ready in time.

FUNDING FOR PROJECTS: The United States provided significant funding ($45,000) for Plants Committee-related projects, through excess funds from the U.S. State Department voluntary contribution to the CITES Trust Fund.

ACTIVITIES RELATING TO THE CITES LISTING CRITERIA

REVIEW OF THE LISTING CRITERIA: The United States is actively engaged in implementation of Decision 11.2, regarding the review of the criteria for amendment of Appendices I and II (Resolution Conf. 9.24). Dr. Susan Lieberman of the USFWS (Scientific Authority), as regional representative to the Animals Committee, was selected by the Chair of the Animals Committee to serve on the Criteria Working Group (CWG). She attended the first meeting of the CWG in Canberra, Australia, in August 2000, and will attend the second meeting of the CWG in Spain in May 2001. Dr. Lieberman coordinates regularly with the Scientific Authorities of Mexico and Canada on the listing criteria revision (both animal and plant issues), and her comments on this issue reflect input from all of the North American Parties. The United States submitted extensive comments in response to Notification to the Parties No. 2000/51, on the listing criteria. The USFWS hosted the second joint meeting of the CITES Animals and Plants Committees in the United States, December 7-9, 2000, at its National Conservation Training Center (NCTC) in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. The joint meeting was held to discuss the review of the CITES listing criteria; all three countries of North America participated actively in discussions at that meeting. The U.S. Scientific Authority and the National Marine Fisheries Service have been active in collaboration between CITES and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization on this topic.

CITES IMPLEMENTING LEGISLATION IN THE UNITED STATES

NOTICE OF PROPOSED POLICY ON GENERAL CONSERVATION PERMITS: On October 28, 1999, the USFWS published a notice in the U.S. Federal Register announcing a proposed policy to enhance the use of permits as conservation tools by granting general conservation permits under a number of wildlife and plant laws and treaties (including CITES). The proposed policy recognizes scientific and conservation professionals and related institutions as partners in resource conservation and management and provides incentives for them to work with protected species and their habitats. It establishes a framework for the USFWS to evaluate permit applications based on a risk assessment and grant a general conservation permit under certain circumstances to professionals conducting scientific, management, and conservation activities. The proposed policy is intended to complement the current system used to process permit applications. Development of this policy is the first step in an ongoing review of the USFWS’s permits programs and policies. The USFWS has developed a long-term implementation plan for permits reform and is conducting a study of existing permits programs and practices that have proven successful.

PROPOSED RULE TO REVISE U.S. REGULATIONS TO IMPLEMENT CITES: The USFWS published a proposed rule in the Federal Register on May 8, 2000, to update the regulations that implement CITES in the United States. Since the existing regulations were finalized, the CITES Conference of the Parties (COP) has held nine meetings where resolutions have been adopted. The USFWS proposes to incorporate certain applicable CITES resolutions into 50 CFR Part 23, the CITES implementing regulations. Revised regulations will help the USFWS more effectively promote species conservation, fulfill its responsibilities as a CITES Party, and help those affected by CITES understand how to conduct international trade in CITES-listed species.

CITES TRAINING AND ENFORCEMENT ASSISTANCE

LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING, EQUIPMENT DONATION SUPPORT AFRICAN WILDLIFE CONSERVATION; USFWS RECOGNIZES CABELA’S ASSISTANCE: On July 18, 2000, the USFWS issued a news release announcing that it and Cabela’s, a major U.S. outdoor retailer, are providing training and equipment to support the Lusaka Task Force, a wildlife law enforcement coalition of nine central and southern African nations. This new public-private partnership will help meet some basic needs of the Task Force officers as they work to protect elephants, rhinoceroses, and other animals from poaching and illegal trade. Safari Club International (SCI), a worldwide game hunters’ organization that also promotes wildlife conservation and education, is also supporting this effort.

LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING IN BOKOR NATIONAL PARK, CAMBODIA: From December 4-17, 2000, the USFWS with the Ministry of Environment of Cambodia, Wildaid and the Wildlife Conservation Society held a training course sponsored by Wildaid for rangers and protected area directors from Bokor National Park and 6 other parks and sanctuaries. Also among the trainees and trainers were representatives of the Cambodian Wildlife Protection Office and the Forest Crime Monitoring Unit. USFWS assisted with the anti-poaching section of the course which focused on how to effectively and efficiently patrol in and around protected areas. Modules included patrol and navigation techniques, weapons safety, wildlife crime scene analysis, and wildlife investigation.

UNITED STATES CONDUCTS CITES TRAINING WORKSHOP IN BELIZE: During COP11, the Government of Belize requested that the United States conduct a workshop in Belize, to provide participants from the government of Belize, and also the governments of Jamaica, Barbados, and the Bahamas (all English-speaking countries in the CITES South American, Central American, and Caribbean Region) with CITES implementation training. The training was to emphasize and focus on plant identification techniques. The United States agreed to carry out this training workshop and subsequently provided the Belize Government with $14,000 in funding to assist them in securing a classroom for the workshop, and to assist participants from Belize, Jamaica, Barbados, and the Bahamas in attending the workshop. A generous grant from the U.S. Department of State provided the necessary funding for the workshop.

February 19-23, 2001, the USFWS, with assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), conducted a workshop in San Ignacio, Cayo, Belize, to provide participants from the governments of Belize, the Bahamas, Barbados, and Jamaica with training that included: implementation of CITES by Management and Scientific Authorities, identification of specimens of CITES-listed plant and wildlife species by inspection officials, and plant and wildlife inspection techniques. By conducting this training workshop, the U.S. Government helped insure that the participating CITES Party countries have the necessary skills and abilities to properly implement the CITES treaty.

Participants in the workshop agreed that they had come away with a better understanding of CITES and a better ability to implement the CITES treaty. The participation in the workshop has opened up good channels of communication in Belize between the Management Authority and members of the Scientific Authority, the Agricultural Health Authority, and Customs, and should enhance CITES implementation in Belize. It has also opened up good channels of communication among the participating countries. The Management Authority of Belize intends to follow-up with a national workshop to disseminate the information learned at the CITES training workshop to a larger audience of Belizean nationals to further improve the implementation of CITES in Belize.

CORAL WORKSHOP: With funding assistance from the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service, assisted by the U.S. Scientific Authority and the U.S. Department of State, convened a workshop in Indonesia in April 2001, to: 1) discuss the status of stony coral trade, international concerns, and existing mechanisms to regulate the trade and conserve resources; and 2) develop guidance on best practices in coral collection, resource management, and resource monitoring to ensure that the trade is sustainable. Participants included government officials (Fishery Management Authorities and CITES Management and Scientific Authorities), international NGOs, industry representatives, coral reef scientists, and a multi-stakeholder international organization developing a certification scheme for marine ornamentals (MAC). Representatives from coral exporting nations (Indonesia, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Viet Nam, and Vanuatu), major importing countries (the United States and the European Union), and countries that harvest coral for domestic use only (Australia) also participated.

LAW ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES

CAVIAR DEALERS INDICTED FOR SMUGGLING CONSPIRACY: On November 18, 1999, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a news release announcing that a Federal grand jury returned a 22-count Indictment charging U.S. Caviar & Caviar (USC&C), located in Rockville, Maryland, along with the company’s President and owner, Hossein Lolavar, and sales manager, Faye Briggs, and President of Kenfood Trading LLC, USC&C’s largest caviar supplier from the United Arab Emirates, Ken Noroozi, with a 4-year conspiracy to smuggle caviar into the United States and make false statements. The Indictment alleged that, as part of the conspiracy, the defendants imported approximately 18,720 pounds of caviar, claimed to be of Russian origin, from the United Arab Emirates in 1998 with the use of false and forged caviar labels actually made in Rockville at the headquarters of USC&C. The defendants were also charged with avoiding payment of customs duty by using false double invoices that declared the caviar to be of lesser value and creating and using forged wildlife documents, including Russian health certificates made at the company’s Rockville facility. According to the Indictment, an employee of the caviar company was directed to "fill out blank Russian Health Certificates, to stamp them with a rubber stamp which was fabricated in the United States to resemble an actual Russian seal, and to forge the signature of a Russian health inspector..."

The Indictment also charges Lolavar, Briggs, and USC&C with defrauding American Airlines by substituting American paddlefish and hackleback for authentic Russian sturgeon caviar. As part of this alleged mail fraud scheme, the defendants also were alleged to have sold previously frozen, partially pasteurized, smuggled and misbranded caviar to victim customers such as American Airlines, Fresh Fields, and Sutton Place Gourmet.

The maximum penalty for each felony count of conspiracy, smuggling, wildlife violations, mail fraud, and false statements is five years in prison and/or a $250,000 criminal fine.

TWO SOUTH FLORIDIANS SENTENCED FOR ILLEGALLY TRAFFICKING IN WEST INDIES TORTOISES AND RARE AND ENDANGERED IGUANAS: On November 18, 1999, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a news release announcing that two South Florida residents, Dwayne D. Cunningham and Robert A. Lawracy, were sentenced in Federal court in Fort Lauderdale for illegally trafficking in West Indian reptiles protected under domestic and international law in violation of the Lacey Act and the Federal smuggling and conspiracy statutes. Cunningham was sentenced to 14 months in Federal prison for his role in the illegal smuggling scheme. His co-defendant, Lawracy, received a sentence of 24 months in prison. Both were also sentenced to supervised release for a specified period after they serve their prison terms.

Cunningham and Lawracy were found guilty in May 1999 of conspiring with one another to violate the Lacey Act, the Federal smuggling statue, and the CITES treaty. In addition, Cunningham was also sentenced on a substantive Lacey Act conviction, for having sold two smuggled Virgin Island Rock Iguanas and Lawracy was sentenced as a result of being found guilty of importing 49 undersized red foot tortoises contrary to law.

NORTH CAROLINA MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO TRAFFICKING VENUS FLYTRAPS: On November 17, 1999, the USFWS issued a press release announcing that, on November 2, 1999, Ted Allan Minton of Thurman, North Carolina, pleaded guilty in a Baltimore Federal Court to conspiracy in the trafficking of carnivorous Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) plants. This species is listed in CITES Appendix II and is protected as a species of special concern by the State of North Carolina. Minton, a plant nursery owner, sold Venus flytraps that had been illegally taken from the wild in eastern North Carolina to international plant dealers in the Netherlands. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act by trafficking the flytraps.

FLORIDA IMPORTER SENTENCED IN LANDMARK CORAL SMUGGLING CASE: On December 2, 1999, the USFWS issued a news release announcing that, on December 2, a Florida man and his company were sentenced in the first successful felony prosecution ever for illegal coral trafficking. Petros "Pete" Leventis was sentenced to serve 18 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release and pay a $5,000 fine and a $200 special assessment for his role in a smuggling operation that used false declarations, invoices, and shipping documents to circumvent U.S. and Philippine laws as well as international trade restrictions that protect corals and other marine species. His company, Greek Island Imports, was fined $25,000, sentenced to five years probation, and ordered to pay an $800 special assessment in U.S. District Court in Tampa.

FORMER CURATOR OF REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS AT THE SAN DIEGO ZOO SENTENCED: On February 17, 2000, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a news release announcing that, on February 17 in Federal district court in San Diego, California, defendant Earl Thomas Schultz was sentenced to serve three years probation, 30 days in community confinement, six months home detention, and ordered to pay $74,307.96 in restitution and a $200.00 special assessment. Schultz pled guilty on August 3, 1999, pursuant to a plea agreement to two felony charges - one count of wire fraud, and one count of theft concerning programs receiving Federal funds.

Schultz was charged by Information filed on July 29, 1999. According to the Information, Schultz, who was the Curator of Reptiles and Amphibians at the San Diego Zoo, defrauded the Zoo of his honest services and of money and property worth more than $70,000 over the course of approximately five years. Specifically, the Information alleged that Schultz misapplied funds, to his own personal use and benefit, that were derived from sales of Zoo reptiles. The Information further alleged that Schultz obtained advance funds from the Zoo purportedly for business-related travel and the acquisition of various products for the Zoo. Schultz allegedly converted a substantial portion of these funds to his personal use and benefit, submitting false vouchers, invoices, and other documents to the Zoo to account for the funds he had converted.

WILDLIFE SMUGGLING PLEA: On March 7, 2000, the Department of Justice issued a news release announcing that, on March 7, Phillip David Langston, of Naples, Florida, pled guilty to conspiring to smuggle and selling a large variety of reptile species including caiman lizards, dwarf caimans, frog-headed turtles, galliwasps, giant tree frogs, Gibba turtles, green anacondas, Haitian boas, Haitian dwarf boas, Haitian vine boas, mata mata turtles, red-tailed boas, rhinoceros iguanas, twistneck turtles, white-lipped mud turtles, and yellow-footed tortoises. Langston specifically acknowledged selling approximately 60 rhinoceros iguanas (native to Haiti and the Dominican Republic), which is a species currently threatened with extinction and listed in Appendix I of CITES. Many of the other species he trafficked in, including the anacondas, boas, caiman lizards, dwarf caimans, and yellow-footed tortoises, are listed in CITES Appendix II.

The U.S. Government and the defendant have agreed that the retail market value of the reptiles listed in the conspiracy charge was at least $120,000. Langston further admitted that, as part of his scheme to smuggle reptiles into the United States, he established a "breeding farm" in Peru for the purpose of making it appear that wild-caught Amazon specimens, protected under U.S. and Peruvian law, were instead captive-bred. Under the terms of his plea, Langston, in addition to any imprisonment and fine imposed by the court, must surrender his U.S. Fish and Wildlife import-export license. Sentencing is scheduled for May 26, 2000. The conspiracy charge, a felony, is punishable by up to five years in jail and up to a $250,000 fine.

CAVIAR SMUGGLER SENTENCED TO PRISON TERM AND FINED: On June 12, 2000, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a news release announcing that, in the first case upholding international protection for declining wild sturgeon populations, caviar importer Eugeniusz Kozcuk of Stamford, Connecticut, was sentenced to 20 months in a Federal prison and fined $25,000 by the U.S. District Court Judge in the Eastern District of New York on June 6, 2000. Kozcuk also forfeits $70,000 and 2,000 pounds of caviar worth more than $2 million.

Kozcuk had been found guilty in November 1999 of conspiracy, smuggling, and violating the Lacey Act, a Federal law protecting wildlife taken, transported, or sold in violation of any U.S. or foreign law, or treaty that the U.S. is signatory to. He and a business associate paid off-duty airline employees to smuggle suitcases packed with caviar into the United States, where they were intercepted by Federal investigators in October 1998. Business records revealed sales of 21,000 pounds of caviar during a seven-month period when only 88 pounds of caviar were legally imported. Two co-defendants have yet to be sentenced. Wieslaw Rozbicki was convicted of a felony Lacey Act violation, and Polish national Andrzej Lepkowski pleaded guilty to conspiracy to smuggle wildlife.

TWO CZECH REPUBLIC NATIONALS FACE FEDERAL CHARGES FOR SMUGGLING CAVIAR INTO THE UNITED STATES: On June 19, 2000, the Department of Justice issued a news release announcing that, on that date, two men appeared in Federal court in Boston, Massachusetts, to answer smuggling charges stemming from their arrest at Logan Airport the week before. The two men, both from the Czech Republic, arrived from Germany and were arrested by agents from the USFWS and the U.S. Customs Service at Logan Airport on Tuesday, June 13, 2001. The arrests were made after inspectors found 160 tins of Russian caviar stashed in their luggage.

U.S. Attorney Donald K. Stern announced that Petr Mika, age 37, from the Czech Republic, and Leos Bubenicek, age 37, also from the Czech Republic, were arrested and charged with smuggling and violating the Federal Endangered Species Act. According to documents filed in U.S. District Court, both men came in on separate Lufthansa flights from Poland via Germany. Bubenicek arrived in the early afternoon. A search of his luggage at U.S. Customs revealed 80 tins, approximately 1 pound a piece, of Russian caviar in one of his checked bags. According to the criminal complaint, Bubenicek did not declare the caviar, as required, nor did he present any import or re-export permit, which is also required. He was also found to have about $1,200 in cash. According to the criminal complaint, Bubenicek, when originally questioned about the caviar, claimed that he was on a special diet. He then later told investigators that he had answered an ad that recruited people to take items to the United States. Bubenicek claimed that he met a person who only gave his first name and provided him with the suitcases filled with the caviar. Mika arrived on a later Lufthansa flight, also from Poland via Germany. According to the criminal complaint, both Mika and Bubenicek listed a hotel in Winthrop as their destination here in the United States. Mika's luggage also contained 80 tins of Russian caviar and he also had $1,200 on his person. He did not declare either the caviar or the money. Mika stated that he was presented with the two suitcases by a person who only gave his first name.

Bubenicek and Mika appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles B. Swartwood on June 19, and further hearings were held later that week. Both face maximum penalties of five years' imprisonment and fines up to $250,000 for the smuggling charges. The charges under the Endangered Species Act carry a maximum of one year imprisonment and a fine of up to $100,000.

BIRD IMPORTER SENTENCED TO PRISON: On June 7, 2000, the USFWS issued a news release announcing that Johanne Flikkema, of Flikkema Aviaries in Fenwick, Ontario, was sentenced to six months in prison and fined $7,500 for illegally importing birds to the United States from Canada. The sentence, the first imprisonment under the Wild Bird Conservation Act of 1992, was handed down on June 1, 2000, by Judge William M. Skretny in U.S. District Court in Buffalo.

Flikkema had pleaded guilty in February 2000 to two felony charges for illegally importing protected wild African finches into the United States through Canada in violation of both U.S. and Canadian law. The birds were sold to stores and individuals in the United States. One felony charge was mandated by the Wild Bird Conservation Act, the second was for making false statements.

SHAHTOOSH DEALERS PLEAD GUILTY IN LANDMARK CASE: On July 10, 2000, the USFWS issued a news release announcing that, on July 9, several importers of shahtoosh shawls made from the hair of the Tibetan antelope (Pantholops hodgsonii), a rare and highly protected species (listed in CITES Appendix I), entered guilty pleas in Federal court in Newark, New Jersey, marking the first criminal prosecution in the United States for the illegal sale of smuggled shahtoosh shawls. Navarang Exports of Bombay, India, entered a guilty plea to smuggling shahtoosh shawls into the United States in violation of the Endangered Species Act and CITES. Also entering guilty pleas were Linda Ho McAfee, a Hong Kong resident and former president of Cocoon North America, formerly of Cliffwood, New Jersey, and now of New York City; and Janet Mackay-Benton of New Egypt, New Jersey, former marketing director for Cocoon. Both women pleaded guilty to violating the Endangered Species Act in March 1995, by exporting nearly 100 shawls intended for sale at a fashion boutique in Paris, France.

According to the pleas, between September 1994 and March 1995, Navarang, whose president is Iqbal Memon, brought 308 shahtoosh shawls into the United States with Cocoon operating as its U.S. agent for importation, exportation, and distribution of the shawls. In addition to the CITES and Endangered Species Act violations, the two organizations declared that the shawls were woolen (cashmere), significantly understating their value, and paid only $1,041 in import duty. Based on a realistic retail value of $246,400 for the shawls, Navarang and Cocoon underpaid duty to the U.S. Customs Service by nearly $32,000. Navarang faces a maximum penalty of up to $500,000, while Ho McAfee and Mackay-Benton each face up to six months imprisonment and $25,000 fines.

ELEPHANT IVORY SMUGGLER SENTENCED TO PRISON: On August 9, 2000, the USFWS issued a news release announcing that Bayo Namory, a citizen of the Ivory Coast residing in New York City, was sentenced on August 3, 2000, to serve 12 months and one day in prison for smuggling elephant ivory carvings. The investigation was prosecuted by Attorney Julie Meyers of the Eastern District of New York, and was a joint investigation between the USFWS and the U.S. Customs Service, with assistance from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

The case began on January 26, 2000, when agents from the USFWS and the Customs Service received information from British Customs officers that ivory carvings might be concealed with a shipment of African handicrafts in transit from the Ivory Coast to the United States. Upon arriving at JFK International Airport, 72 ivory carvings were intercepted, many disguised in a sand and lacquer-like substance and painted to resemble stone carvings. The smuggled ivory pieces have an appraised value of more than $200,000 in New York City’s African art market.

Namory was arrested on February 2, 2000, attempting to pick up the shipment. He was indicted on March 1 by a Federal grand jury in the Eastern District of New York on two counts of smuggling elephant ivory in violation of CITES, the African Elephant Conservation Act (AECA), and the Lacey Act. On April 14, 2000, Namory pleaded guilty to one count of smuggling elephant ivory in violation of CITES and the AECA.

REPTILE TRAFFICKER SENTENCED: On September 8, 2000, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a news release announcing that Phillip David Langston, of Naples, Florida, was sentenced on that date for his role in a conspiracy to violate U.S. and international wildlife protection laws and U.S. Customs laws. Langston had previously pled guilty on an indictment handed-up by a grand jury in Miami on December 21, 1999, charging him with trafficking during the period of November 1994 through July 1995, in reptile species that originated in Haiti and the Peruvian Amazon and that are protected under CITES. Langston was sentenced to 15 months in jail and a period of two years supervised release thereafter.

In entering his guilty plea, Langston admitted to conspiring to smuggle and selling a large variety of reptile species protected under CITES and/or foreign law in the Southern District of Florida, including caiman lizards, dwarf caimans, frog-headed turtles, Gibba turtles, green anacondas, Haitian boas, Haitian dwarf boas, Haitian vine boas, mata mata turtles, red-tailed boas, rhinoceros iguanas, twistneck turtles, white-lipped mud turtles, and yellow-footed tortoises.

REPTILE SMUGGLER PLEADS GUILTY TO MULTIPLE FELONY CHARGES: On December 13, 2000, the USFWS issued a news release announcing that Keng Liang "Anson" Wong, a well known international wildlife dealer who spent nearly two years in a Mexican prison fighting extradition to the United States, pleaded guilty (on December 13) in Federal court in San Francisco to 40 felony charges stemming from 1992 and 1998 Federal indictments for trafficking in some of the most rare and endangered reptile species on earth. The charges include money laundering, conspiracy, smuggling, and violations of the Lacey Act, a U.S. wildlife protection law that prohibits trade in animals protected under Federal, State, or international law, and the making of false statements concerning wildlife shipments. The maximum penalty for money laundering is 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine; the remaining charges each carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Wong is scheduled to be sentenced in March 2001.

Some of Wong’s black market dealings, which involved the unlawful importation and sale of more than 300 protected reptiles native to Asia and Africa between 1996 and 1998, were documented by an undercover USFWS investigation that successfully infiltrated the illegal reptile trade. That investigation revealed that Wong spearheaded an international wildlife smuggling ring that illegally imported exotic reptiles by concealing them in express delivery packages, airline baggage, and large commercial shipments of legally declared animals. A number of the species involved, such as Komodo dragons and plowshare tortoises, already on the brink of extinction, occur only in very limited, geographically isolated habitats.

CAVIAR SMUGGLER PLEADS GUILTY: WILDLIFE INSPECTORS FOUND 1,700 POUNDS IN MISLABELED CONTAINERS: On March 30, 2001, the USFWS issued a news release announcing that Grigori Oudovenko, age 39, has pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, for attempting to smuggle 2.5 million dollars worth of caviar into the United States, according to Tom Healy, special agent in charge of law enforcement for the USFWS in the Northeast. A Russian citizen, Oudovenko is president of MNA Atlantic, a caviar exporting firm with offices in St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia, and in New York City. The osetra caviar and sevruga caviar, less expensive than the more well known beluga caviar, were in a container with dried fish and labeled to match the rest of the shipment, according to Healy. USFWS special agents and inspectors discovered the illegal shipment in July 2000, at the Port of Newark, New Jersey. Oudovenko faces a maximum of five years in prison and $250,000 fine for violating the Lacey Act, which protects wildlife through enforcement of State laws and international treaty obligations. Sentencing is scheduled for July 2001.

In a related investigation, a shipment of 380 pounds of caviar was intercepted at New York’s JFK Airport in January 2001. The caviar was sent from MNA Atlantic to an American company. The shipment was labeled as osetra caviar and sevruga caviar, but DNA testing revealed that most of the shipment was the world’s most expensive variety from beluga caviar.

PUBLIC EDUCATION EFFORTS

THE RHINOCEROS AND TIGER CONSERVATION ACT OF 1998: REQUEST FOR PUBLIC INPUT INTO THE DEVELOPMENT AND EXECUTION OF AN EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH PROGRAM ACTION PLAN: The Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act of 1994 was amended in 1998 to prohibit the sale, importation, or exportation of products labeled or advertised as containing rhinoceros or tiger products, and to carry out an associated educational outreach program. Prior to developing and carrying out such a program, the USFWS sought input and guidance from the public on the necessary components of such an effort. To guide this effort, the USFWS developed a draft interim educational plan with the goals of a long-term plan clearly identified. However, the action items proposed were only for a short time frame until the USFWS could meet with the public and solicit input for the development of future action items.

On April 20, 2000, the USFWS published a notice in the Federal Register requesting public comments and input on the draft Educational Outreach Program Interim Action Plan and seeking partnerships to carry out the final plan. The notice also announced two public meetings to discuss the draft Plan and requested modifications for future activities under a long-term plan.

The two scheduled public meetings were held as follows: the first was held on May 18, 2000, 1:30-4:30 p.m., at the College of Insurance, 101 Murray Street, New York, New York; and the second was held on June 4, 2000, 1:30-4:30 p.m., at the Galleria Park Hotel, 191 Sutter Street, San Francisco, California.

UNITED STATES WORKS WITH ITS TRADITIONAL MEDICINE COMMUNITY: During 2000, the USFWS continued to work with the U.S. traditional medicine community through the community’s pre-existing educational infrastructure. The USFWS continued to raise awareness about the use of endangered species in traditional medicines, in keeping with its commitment to community ownership of this issue.

CITES UPDATE: The USFWS produces a periodical news letter called the CITES Update, which provides the latest information relative to the CITES treaty. The USFWS distributes each edition of the CITES Update to a mailing list of over 700 CITES Cooperators from other U.S. Government agencies, State governments, NGOs, industry, academia, and the general public. It also posts each edition on its Website. During the period from September 1999 through April 2001, the USFWS produced, distributed, and posted eight editions of its CITES Update.

OTHER U.S. CITES-RELATED ACTIVITIES

PROPOSED RULE TO RECLASSIFY CERTAIN VICUÑA POPULATIONS FROM ENDANGERED TO THREATENED: On September 8, 1999, the USFWS published a proposed rule in the Federal Register to reclassify vicuña (Vicugna vicugna) populations of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru from endangered to threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The USFWS’s position was that, except for the recently introduced population of Ecuador, the endangered listing may no longer correctly reflects the conservation status of this species. This proposal included a special rule that would allow importation into the United States of raw vicuña fiber, cloth, and finished products from certain populations. The proposal would bring our Endangered Species Act listing more into line with the species’ listing in the CITES Appendices. The final rule will be published very soon.

90-DAY FINDING ON PETITION TO RECLASSIFY A POPULATION OF THE STRAIGHT-HORNED MARKHOR UNDER THE ESA: On September 23, 1999, the USFWS published a notice in the Federal Register announcing a 90-day finding that a petition to reclassify under the U.S. Endangered Species Act the straight-horned markhor (Capra falconeri) population of the Torghar Hills region of Balochistan Province, Pakistan, from endangered to threatened has presented substantial information indicating that the action may be warranted. The USFWS also found that there was substantial information indicating that other subspecies of markhor may warrant listing as threatened or endangered under the ESA. The USFWS thus initiated a status review of the entire species Capra falconeri.

NOTICE REGARDING EXPORTS OF AMERICAN GINSENG: On October 7, 1999, the USFWS published a notice in the Federal Register seeking comments and information on the conservation status of American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) and the impact of harvest and international trade on the species. This review of the status of the species and related trade was to assist the USFWS in determining any appropriate modification to export restrictions for wild American ginseng during the 2000 harvest season and beyond. The U.S. CITES Scientific Authority posts its annual ginseng findings on the USFWS Website at http://international.fws.gov/animals/ginindx.html.

IUCN AND NON-DETRIMENT FINDINGS: The U.S. Scientific Authority worked to provide funding from the U.S. State Department annual contribution to IUCN, to allow IUCN to host a workshop to develop guidance for CITES Scientific Authorities on the making of required non-detriment findings. Dr. Susan Lieberman, Chief of the U.S. Scientific Authority, was invited to participate in the 2^nd workshop, in October 1999, in Cambridge, United Kingdom, and is active in the IUCN efforts on this issue.

MASTERS COURSE IN SPAIN: Dr. Lieberman of the USFWS Division of Scientific Authority was invited in October 1999 and November 2000 as a lecturer at the CITES Master Course in Baeza, Spain. She lectured on many different Scientific Authority-related issues, including the role of the U.S. Scientific Authority, and how non-detriment findings are made in the United States.

NOTICES OF PROPOSED AND FINAL POLICY REGARDING PRE-CONVENTION CERTIFICATES FOR STURGEON AND PADDLEFISH CAVIAR: On October 26, 1999, the USFWS published a notice in the Federal Register proposing a policy to no longer issue or accept for import any pre-Convention CITES certificates for sturgeon or paddlefish caviar. A pre-Convention certificate for caviar documents that the caviar pre-dates April 1, 1998, the effective date of the listing of all previously unlisted species of the Order Acipenseriformes (sturgeon and paddlefish) in the CITES Appendices.

Then, on December 6, 1999, the USFWS published another notice in the Federal Register announcing its final policy to no longer issue or accept for import any pre-Convention CITES certificates for sturgeon or paddlefish caviar. In discussions with members of the caviar industry, the USFWS determined that the shelf life of caviar would not exceed nine to 12 months. Therefore, the decision was made to no longer accept pre-Convention certificates, as all stocks held prior to the listing date would no longer be considered fit for human consumption, and any shipment claimed to be pre-Convention would not actually be so.

NOTICE OF INTENT TO INCLUDE SEVERAL NATIVE U.S. SPECIES IN APPENDIX III OF CITES: On January 26, 2000, the USFWS published a proposed rule in the Federal Register proposing to include the Alligator snapping turtle (Macroclemys temminckii) and all species of map turtles (Graptemys spp.) in CITES Appendix III. These species are all native to the United States. As of April 2001, the United States has not yet requested the Secretariat to include any of these species in Appendix III.

IMPORTATION AND INTERSTATE MOVEMENT OF CERTAIN LAND TORTOISES: On March 22, 2000, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) published an interim rule in the Federal Register prohibiting, until further notice, the importation into the United States and interstate movement of the following species of land tortoises: leopard tortoise (Geochelone pardalis), African spurred tortoise (Geochelone sulcata), and Bell’s hingeback tortoise (Kinixys belliana). These prohibitions are necessary to prevent the introduction and spread of exotic ticks known to be vectors of heartwater disease, an acute infectious disease of ruminants. The prohibitions seek to provide protection against an outbreak of heartwater disease in domestic and wild populations of ruminants in the United States.

DETERMINATION OF THREATENED STATUS FOR THE CONTIGUOUS U.S. DISTINCT POPULATION SEGMENT OF THE CANADA LYNX: The USFWS published a final rule in the Federal Register on March 24, 2000, determining threatened status under the U.S. Endangered Species Act for the contiguous U.S. distinct population segment of the Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis), with a special rule. This population segment occurs in forested portions of the States of Colorado, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. The contiguous U.S. distinct population of the lynx is threatened by the inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms. Current U.S. Forest Service Land and Resource Management Plans include programs, practices, and activities within the authority and jurisdiction of Federal land management agencies that may threaten lynx or lynx habitat. The lack of protection for lynx in these Plans render them inadequate to protect the species. The effective date of this threatened status was April 24, 2000.

90-DAY FINDING ON PETITION TO LIST TIBETAN ANTELOPE: The USFWS published a notice in the Federal Register on April 25, 2000, announcing the 90-day finding that a petition to list the Tibetan antelope (Pantholops hodgsonii) as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act throughout its range has presented substantial information indicating that the action may be warranted. As such, the USFWS initiated a status review of the species. The results of that status review, and any proposed action for listing under the Endangered Species Act, will be published shortly.

FINAL RULE DOWNLISTING THE YACARÉ CAIMAN: The USFWS published a final rule in the Federal Register on May 4, 2000, reclassifying the yacaré caiman (Caiman yacare, also known as Caiman crocodilus yacare) from its current endangered status to threatened status under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, because the current endangered listing does not correctly reflect the present status of this species. The USFWS also listed the common caiman (Caiman crocodilus crocodilus) and the brown caiman (Caiman crocodilus fuscus) as threatened by reason of similarity of appearance.

The yacaré caiman is native to Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Bolivia, and the other two caiman occur in Mexico and Central and South America. All three taxa are listed in Appendix II of CITES, which allows for international commercial trade in these species. Listing the two taxa as threatened by reason of similarity of appearance assists in protecting the yacaré caiman by facilitating wildlife inspections of shipments at the ports of entry and detection of illegal shipments.

A special rule for these three caiman populations allows U.S. commerce in their skins, other parts, and products from individual countries of origin and countries of re-export if certain conditions are satisfied for those countries prior to exportation to the United States. These conditions largely pertain to the implementation of a CITES Universal Tagging System Resolution for crocodilian skins as well as provisions intended to support sustainable management of wild populations of the above three caiman taxa. In the case where tagged caiman skins and other parts are exported to another country, usually for tanning and manufacturing purposes, and the processed skins and finished products are exported to the United States, the rule prohibits importation or re-exportation of such skins, parts, and products if the USFWS determines that either the country of origin or re-export is engaging in practices that are detrimental to the conservation of caiman populations.

USFWS WITHDRAWS APPROVAL OF POLAR BEAR POPULATION FOR THE IMPORT OF TROPHIES: The USFWS published an emergency interim rule in the Federal Register on January 10, 2001, revising the regulations, effective immediately, to withdraw approval of the M’Clintock Channel population for the import of trophies. Polar bears sport hunted in this population after May 31, 2000, the close of the 1999-2000 Canadian hunting season, were not eligible for import. This action was necessary because the Canadian Wildlife Service provided new information that shows the M’Clintock Channel population no longer meets the import requirements of the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

USFWS’S REVISED CITES APPENDICES NOW AVAILABLE ON THE WEB: In February 2001, the USFWS revised its version of the CITES Appendices to include the amendments adopted at COP11. With this revision, the USFWS’s version is now current. It is now available on the USFWS Website at http://international.fws.gov/cites/cites.html.

NAFTA CEC: USFWS offices coordinate closely with counterparts in Mexico and Canada on programs of the NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) CEC (Center for Environmental Cooperation). The Scientific and Management Authorities of the three countries coordinate on NAFTA CEC programs that relate to plant and animal trade within the region (not limited to CITES-listed species).

TRADE IN ALIEN INVASIVE SPECIES: Although not specifically a CITES issue, the United States is very active on this critical conservation issue, and works closely with Mexico and Canada.

HAWKSBILL SEA TURTLE RANGE STATES DIALOGUE: At the initiative of several countries in the Wider Caribbean, the CITES Secretariat is organizing the first Hawksbill Sea Turtle Dialogue meeting for range countries, to be hosted by the Government of Mexico. The United States will attend the meeting, in Mexico City, May 15-17, 2001. The U.S. delegation will include USFWS, NMFS, the State of Florida, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Close cooperation on a number of sea turtle conservation projects continues between the United States and Mexico. Coordination is also underway in anticipation of the hawksbill range states meeting. The United States also provided significant funding ($45,000) to enable the meeting to take place, through excess funds from the U.S. State Department voluntary contribution to the CITES Trust Fund, and funding contributed by the National Marine Fisheries Service to the Secretariat.

"MIKE": The United States is engaged in a number of ways in the MIKE (Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants) Program, which was first established by COP10 through Resolution Conf. 10.10. The United States is a member of the MIKE Subgroup of the Standing Committee. The United States also has provided significant funding to a number of MIKE-related projects in Africa and Asia, through the African Elephant Conservation Act and the Asian Elephant Conservation Act. Information on the funding mechanisms associated with those Acts, and details on projects the United States has funded (through the USFWS Division of International Conservation) are available on the USFWS Website, at http://international.fws.gov/grants/grants.html.

MOLECULAR SYSTEMATICS FOR IDENTIFICATION OF CYPRIPEDIOID ORCHIDS IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE: In March 2001, the U.S. Geological Survey/Biological Resources Division (USGS/BRD) provided funding for a study entitled "Molecular Systematics for Identification of Cypripedioid Orchids in International Trade." The study, which will begin this year, will use molecular genetic techniques and DNA markers to provide diagnostic tools for the identification of specific genera within the Cypripedioid orchid subfamily, and the identification of species and hybrids of specific CITES Appendix I and II orchid species. The results of this research will provide a quick method of distinguishing Appendix I and II Cypripedioid orchid specimens in international trade.

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