Speak up: your chance to have concerns about CITES addressed

The deadline for submissions is July 10 and note: The USFWS will not consider comments sent by email or fax.

Your options are:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-HQ-IA-2014-0018 (the docket number for this notice).
  
• U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-HQ-IA-2014-0018; Division of Policy and Directives Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 5275 Leesburg Pike; MS: BPHC; Falls Church, VA 22041.
  

The Ornithological Council will be asking the USFWS to propose an agenda item for revision, suspension, or revocation of the permit validation requirement, consistent with a petition we filed (together with the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections and the American Society of Mammalogists) to the USFWS to revise, suspend, or revoke the requirement within the United States. We have also asked the USFWS to propose a de-listing of four species in Papua New Guinea that were blanket-listed as Birds-of-Paradise but have subsequently been determined not to be Birds-of-Paradise.

If you would like to suggest other proposals but would rather not submit yourself, feel free to contact the Ornithological Council and we will consider making the proposal if we determine that there is a sufficient factual basis to do so. Sorry, but we are not in a position to make proposals for taxa other than birds, but as to implementation matters, we would consider making the proposal.

Stay informed

Bookmark our CITES CoP17 page and check back for updates and open public comment periods

Open Public Comment Period: Submit Your Ideas Before July 10th!

Today, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service published a Federal Register notice inviting the public to provide information and recommendations on resolutions, decisions, and agenda items for the United States to consider submitting for discussion at CoP17. Public comments will be accepted until July 10, 2015. Click here to read the Federal Register notice and learn how to submit comments.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is a treaty agreed to by 181 nations (referred to as "Parties) that protects species from becoming endangered or extinct because of international trade.

Every two to three years, a meeting of the Conference of the Parties is held to review, discuss, and negotiate changes in the implementation of CITES, including changes in protections for certain species. The 17th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP17) to CITES will be held in South Africa in 2016 at a venue city and date to be determined.

How can I contribute information or ideas for CITES CoP17?

We're committed to conducting an open and transparent process as we prepare for CoP17 that considers the interests of the public, stakeholders, other federal agencies, and Congress. We will publish a series of Federal Register notices to solicit public input on the development of U.S. proposals, documents, and negotiating positions for CoP17. This process helps us to develop robust proposals and positions by taking into account a wide variety of views and anticipating potential implementation and enforcement challenges.