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[From the Federal Register, July 1, 1994 (Vol. 59), p. 34272]
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Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants: Notice of Interagency Cooperative Policy for Endangered Species Act Section 9 Prohibitions AGENCIES: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior, and National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Notice of policy statement.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 1994. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jamie Rappaport Clark, Chief, Division of Endangered Species, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, ARLSQ 452, 18th and C Streets NW., Washington, DC 20240 (telephone 703/358-2171), or Russell Bellmer, Chief, Endangered Species Division, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1335 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 (telephone 301/713-2322). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background Section 9 of the Act prohibits certain activities that directly or indirectly affect endangered species. These prohibitions apply to all individuals, organizations, and agencies subject to United States jurisdiction. Section 4(d) of the Act allows the promulgation of regulations that apply any or all of the prohibitions of section 9 to threatened species. Under the Act and regulations, it is illegal for any person subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to take (includes harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect; or to attempt any of these), import or export, ship in interstate or foreign commerce in the course of commercial activity, or sell or offer for sale in interstate or foreign commerce any endangered fish or wildlife species and most threatened fish and wildlife species. It is also illegal to possess, sell, deliver, carry, transport, or ship any such wildlife that has been taken illegally. With respect to endangered plants, analogous prohibitions make it illegal for any person subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to import or export, transport in interstate or foreign commerce in the course of a commercial activity, sell or offer for sale in interstate or foreign commerce, or to remove and reduce to possession any such plant species from areas under Federal jurisdiction. In addition, for endangered plants, the Act prohibits malicious damage or destruction of any such species on any area under Federal jurisdiction, and the removal, cutting, digging up, or damaging or destroying of any such species on any other area in knowing violation of any State law or regulation, or in the course of any violation of a State criminal trespass law. Policy It is the policy of the Services to identify, to the extent known at the time a species is listed, specific activities that will not be considered likely to result in violation of section 9. To the extent possible, activities that will be considered likely to result in violation also will be identified in as specific a manner as possible. For those activities whose likelihood of violation is uncertain, a contact will be identified in the final listing document to assist the public in determining whether a particular activity would constitute a prohibited act under section 9. Scope of Policy This policy applies for all species of fish and wildlife and plants, as defined under the Act, listed after October 1, 1994. Authority The authority for this policy is the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531-1544). Dated: June 27, 1994. Mollie H. Beattie, Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior. Dated: June 24, 1994. Rolland A. Schmitten, Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 94-16023 Filed 6-30-94; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310-55-P | |
