IS THE USF&WS INVOLVED IN PLANT PRODUCT PERMITS
AND ENFORCEMENT?
(Excerpts from F&W Agency websites)
From:
http://www.fws.gov/endangered/what-we-d ... ities.html International Activities | Overview
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Endangered Species Program deals primarily with species found in the U.S. or its territories. However wildlife does not recognize our national borders and species that are familiar to us in our backyards spend much of their time in other countries. Foreign endangered species are primarily managed under the International Affairs Program which includes conservation grants, permits for import or export and regulations under CITES (Convention of International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and
Flora).
From:
http://www.fws.gov/endangered/permits/faq.html What other offices issue permits for endangered or threatened species?
The FWS Division of Management Authority, located in our headquarters office, issues permits for foreign endangered and threatened species, and for import/export of native and foreign species.
From:
http://www.fws.gov/endangered/permits/index.html Permits
Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act is designed to regulate a wide range of activities affecting
plants and animals designated as endangered or threatened, and the habitats upon which they depend.
What are the different types of permits?
The FWS Endangered Species program, located in each of our Regional offices, issues permits for native endangered and threatened species, except for import or export permits, which are issued by the Division of Management Authority.
From:
http://www.fws.gov/international/DMA_DSA/DMA_home.html Division of Management Authority Overview
How are we organized?
DMA is one of three divisions within the International Affairs Program of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which is an agency within the Department of the Interior.
What work do we do?
U.S. Management Authority. International cooperation is essential to safeguarding the survival of many wild animals and
plants in trade. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) provides a framework for nations to work together to prevent further declines in wildlife populations. Most of U.N. recognized nations of the world are now party to CITES, the total number of signatories now exceeding 160 countries. Each country has a Management Authority to oversee implementation of the Convention. In the United States, this role is carried out by DMA.
Primary functions.
The Branch of Permits uses permits as a tool to help conserve wildlife for enjoyment and use by people, both today and in the future. Through the permitting process valuable data are gathered, shared, and used to monitor and manage trade of animals and
plants. The branch processes permits under CITES, Lacey Act (injurious wildlife), Marine Mammal Protection Act, Wild Bird Conservation Act, and U.S. Endangered Species Act.
From:
http://www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-poli ... icies.html Laws & Policies | Regulations and Policies
The Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA-Fisheries in the Department of Commerce share responsibility for administration of the Endangered Species Act. We have issued internal guidance and national policies to promote efficiency and nationwide consistency in implementing the ESA to conserve and recover listed species of
plants and animals native to the United States and its territories.
From:
http://www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-poli ... ion-9.html 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.
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…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.
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).
Notes by Chuck Erikson: The Endangered Species Act (ESA), Lacey Act, CITES, and U.S. Fish & Wildlife (USF&WS) regulations all consider both animal and plant species as being “wildlife”. All “wildlife” materials and products entering or leaving the U.S. are required by law to be accompanied by an F&W Import/Export Permit since F&W is the agency in charge of enforcement at the borders as well as domestically – as recent evidence that F&W is actively enforcing plant product violations, on November 17, 2009 it was none other than U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials who raided Gibson’s facilities in Nashville and seized raw wood, guitars, and computers. The F&W Permit is needed regardless of whether or not the customs clearance forms involved are the F&W Declaration Form 3-177 (for animal wildlife) or other non-F&W forms such as the APHIS PPQ Forms 505, 585 or 621 (plant wildlife – see details below).
PPQ Form 505: Plant and Plant Product Declaration Form: (
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/ ... onform.pdf). This reporting is not limited to only listed (protected/endangered/threatened, or CITES Class I, II, and III) species, but the form requires a declaration for all plant species regardless of their protected or non-protected status :
“You are required to complete this form if you are importing any of the following:
Any wild member of the plant kingdom, including roots, seeds, parts, or products thereof, and
including trees from either natural or planted forest stands, except: 1. Common cultivars,
except trees, and common food crops (including roots, seeds, parts, or products thereof).”
Although the PPQ 505 is for importing, since both the Lacey Act and CITES apply equally to “export, re-export, import and introduction from the sea” you still need an F&W Import/Export Permit and must use declaration forms for the shipment. Information on exporting plant products (woods) can be found in the USDA “CITES I-II-III Timber Species Manual” at:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export ... /cites.pdf. Currently, “Re-exportation of CITES Protected Timber Species” begins on page 3-1, and “Determine Which Documents Are Needed” begins on page 3-20.
Importing plant materials or products requires using one of these USDA/APHIS permit application forms:
PPQ 585, Application for Permit to Import Timber or Timber Products (logs and lumber)
PPQ 621, Application for Application for Protected Plant Permit to Engage in the Business of Importing, Exporting, or Re-exporting Protected Plants (CITES)
When exporting plant materials or products in any form (such as parts or completed products), one or more of these USDA/APHIS declaration forms, including the PPQ 621 shown above, will be necessary (from:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export ... orms.shtml):
PPQ Form 572, Application for Inspection and Certification of Domestic Plants and
Plant Products for Export
“No Phytosanitary Export Certificate can be issued until an application is completed”, and “A form designed to provide the information needed to complete PPQ Forms 577 , 578, and 579, and to serve as a worksheet for the certifying official conducting the inspection. Although this form is required by regulation, in practice, alternative methods are used to obtain the necessary information for inspection and certification. When a PPQ Form 572, is used by an exporter as an application, the exporter should complete only the description of consignment section. Certifying officials should carefully check that extraneous information was not included on the form by the exporter.”
PPQ Form 577, Phytosanitary Certificate
“The Phytosanitary Certificate, PPQ Form 577, is used to certify that the domestic plants or plant products have been inspected according to appropriate procedures, and they are considered to be free from quarantine pests, practically free from other injurious pests, and conform to the current phytosanitary regulations of the importing country.”
PPQ Form 579, Phytosanitary Certificate for Reexport
“The Phytosanitary Certificate for Reexport, PPQ Form 579, certifies that, based on the original foreign phytosanitary certificate and/or an additional inspection, the plants or plant products officially entered the United States, are considered to conform to the current phytosanitary regulations of the importing country, and have not been subjected to the risk of infestation of infection during storage in the United States.”
These declaration requirements allow border agents to verify whether a physical inspection of the wood involved agrees with what is being declared in the documents.
But since inspection and enforcement are delegated to the USFWS, the importer/exporter must possess an F&W Import/Export Permit. In practice, until such time as any wood (or shell product) is actually declared and inspected at a port of entry, it must be handled as though it were a listed species, thus requiring the use of the F&W Permit.
Shipments containing “wildlife” can only be cleared at specified ports of entry (not all ports). Additionally, a shipment which contains “wildlife” material or requires any type of permitting (CITES I, II, and III species all require permitting, such as the F&W Import/Export Permit or the APHIS PPQ Forms 585 and 621) must go through a “formal clearance” procedure regardless of its size or value.
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/ ... ct_Q&A.pdf:
9. Is there a de minimis exception?
The statute does not provide for any de minimis exceptions, either to the substantive prohibitions or to the declaration requirement.
Also, the quantity of each species of plant material (i.e. wood) in a shipment must be tallied and listed separately using metric units only:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/ ... easure.pdfBeginning May 1, 2010, APHIS is requiring that plant material quantities be reported on the declaration using standardized metric units: kg, m, m2, m3.
The Lacey Act prohibits interstate movement of any fish or wildlife (wood, bone, ivory, or shell) unless the container or package has been properly marked, as below.
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/ ... -may08.pdf:
§ 3372. Prohibited acts:
“(b) Marking offenses
It is unlawful for any person to import, export, or transport in interstate commerce any container or package containing any fish or wildlife unless the container or package has previously been plainly marked, labeled, or tagged in accordance with the regulations issued pursuant to paragraph (2) of section 3376 (a) of this title.”
To be in compliance with “paragraph (2) of section 3376 (a)”, how is this done?
For imports/exports: by either 1) writing on the outside of the box “CONTAINS WILDLIFE PRODUCTS” and attaching a list of the contents which includes both the common and Latin names of the species involved, their countries of origin, their Harmonized Tariff Code Classification Numbers, and your F&W Permit Number, or, 2) writing on the box only your F&W Permit Number (“FWS LE XXXXXX-X”) and including a detailed list inside the shipment.
For interstate shipments: writing on the outside of the box “CONTAINS WILDLIFE PRODUCTS” and having either on or inside the box a list of the contents which includes everything mentioned above, except that a F&W Import/Export Permit is not required (since you’re not importing or exporting).
Although I haven’t heard of the interstate shipping regs being enforced anywhere, and it’s extremely doubtful that any carrier or agency is even paying attention, we’re now using a stamp for marking all packages as mentioned above to avoid F&W showing up at some point and accusing us of not having been in compliance.