50 CFR § 17.50-17.52 - Similarity of Appearance

189 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., Interior § 17.52 by the Puerto Rican harlequin but terfly. (B) Normal residential and urban ac tivities, such as mowing, weeding, edg ing, and fertilizing. (C) Maintenance of recreational trails in Commonwealth Forests by mechanically clearing vegetation, only when approved by or under the aus pices of the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, or conducted on lands established by private organizations or individuals solely for conservation or recreation. (D) Habitat management or restora tion activities expected to provide a benefit to Puerto Rican harlequin but terfly or other sensitive species, in cluding removal of nonnative, invasive plants. These activities must be coordi nated with and reported to the Service in writing and approved the first time an individual or agency undertakes them. (E) Projects requiring removal of the host plant to access and remove illicit garbage dumps that are potential sources of intentionally set fires, pro vided such projects are conducted in coordination with and reported to the Service. (F) Fruit fly trapping by the U.S. De partment of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, pro vided trapping activities do not disturb the host plant. (v) Possess and engage in other acts with unlawfully taken wildlife, as set forth at § 17.21(d)(2) for endangered wildlife. [77 FR 20986, Apr. 6, 2012, as amended at 79 FR 67348, Oct. 24, 2014; 84 FR 64227, Nov. 21, 2019; 85 FR 65260, Oct. 15, 2020; 86 FR 72427, Dec. 20, 2021; 87 FR 73678, Dec. 1, 2022; 88 FR 2036, Jan. 12, 2023] § 17.48 Special rules—common sponges and other forms. [Reserved] Subpart E—Similarity of Appearance SOURCE: 42 FR 32377, June 24, 1977, unless otherwise noted. § 17.50 General. (a) Whenever a species which is not Endangered or Threatened closely re sembles an Endangered or Threatened species, such species may be treated as either Endangered or Threatened if the director makes such determination in accordance with section 4(e) of the Act and the criteria of paragraph (b) of this section. After the Director has made such determination in accordance with the notification procedures specified in the Act, such species shall appear in the list in § 17.11 (Wildlife) or § 17.12 (Plants) with the notation ‘‘(S/A)’’ (similarity of appearance) in the ‘‘Sta tus’’ column, following either a letter ‘‘E’’ or a letter ‘‘T’’ to indicate wheth er the species is being treated as En dangered or Threatened. (b) In determining whether to treat a species as Endangered or Threatened due to similarity of appearance, the Di rector shall consider the criteria in section 4(e) of the Act, as indicated below: (1) The degree of difficulty enforce ment personnel would have in distin guishing the species, at the point in question, from an Endangered or Threatened species (including those cases where the criteria for recognition of a species are based on geographical boundaries); (2) The additional threat posed to the Endangered or Threatened species by the loss of control occasioned because of the similarity of appearance; and (3) The probability that so desig nating a similar species will substan tially facilitate enforcement and fur ther the purposes and policy of the Act. [42 FR 32377, June 24, 1977, as amended at 81 FR 51605, Aug. 4, 2016] § 17.51 Treatment as endangered or threatened. (a) Any species listed in § 17.11 or § 17.12, pursuant to § 17.50, shall be treated as Endangered or Threatened, as indicated in the ‘‘Status’’ column. (b) All of the provisions of subparts C (Endangered Wildlife), D (Threatened Wildlife), F (Endangered Plants) or G (Threatened Plants), as appropriate, shall apply to any such species. § 17.52 Permits—similarity of appear ance. Upon receipt of a complete applica tion and unless otherwise indicated in a rule found at §§ 17.40 through 17.48, §§ 17.73 through 17.78, or §§ 17.84 through VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:18 Mar 18, 2024 Jkt 259237 PO 00000 Frm 00199 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259237.XXX 259237js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 190 50 CFR Ch. I (10–1–23 Edition) § 17.61 17.86, the Director may issue permits for any activity otherwise prohibited with a species designated as endan gered or threatened due to its simi larity of appearance. Such a permit may authorize a single transaction, a series of transactions, or a number of activities over a specified period of time. (a) Application requirements. An appli cation for a permit under this section must be submitted to the Director by the person who wishes to engage in the prohibited activity. The permit for ac tivities involving interstate commerce of plants must be obtained by the sell er; in the case of wildlife, the permit must be obtained by the buyer. The ap plication must be submitted on an offi cial application form (Form 3–200) pro vided by the Service, or must contain the general information and certifi cation required by § 13.12(a) of this sub chapter. It must include, as an attach ment, all of the following information: Documentary evidence, sworn affida vits, or other information to show spe cies identification and the origin of the wildlife or plant in question. This in formation may be in the form of hunt ing licenses, hide seals, official stamps, export documents, bills of sales, cer tification, expert opinion, or other ap propriate information. (b) Issuance criteria. Upon receiving an application completed in accordance with paragraph (a) of this section, the Director will decide whether or not a permit should be issued. In making his decision, the Director shall consider, in addition to the general criteria, in § 13.21(b) of this subchapter, the fol lowing factors: (1) Whether the information sub mitted by the applicant appears reli able; (2) Whether the information sub mitted by the applicant adequately identifies the wildlife or plant in ques tion so as to distinguish it from any Endangered or Threatened wildlife or plant. (c) Permit conditions. In addition to the general conditions set forth in part 13 of this subchapter, every permit issued under this section shall be sub ject to the following special conditions: (1) If indicated in the permit, a spe cial mark, to be specified in the per mit, must be applied to the wildlife or plant, and remain for the time des ignated in the permit; (2) A copy of the permit or an identi fication label, which includes the sci entific name and the permit number, must accompany the wildlife or plant or its container during the course of any activity subject to these regula tions. (d) Duration of permits. The duration of a permit issued under this section shall be designated on the face of the permit. [42 FR 32377, June 24, 1977, as amended at 81 FR 51605, Aug. 4, 2016] Subpart F—Endangered Plants § 17.61 Prohibitions. (a) Except as provided in a permit issued pursuant to § 17.62 or § 17.63, it is unlawful for any person subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to commit, to attempt to commit, to so licit another to commit, or to cause to be committed, any of the acts de scribed in paragraphs (b) through (e) of this section in regard to any Endan gered plant. (b) Import or export. It is unlawful to import or to export any Endangered plant. Any shipment in transit through the United States is an importation and an exportation, whether or not it has entered the country for customs purposes. (c) Remove and reduce to possession. (1) It is unlawful to remove and reduce to possession any endangered plant from an area under Federal jurisdiction. (2) Notwithstanding paragraph (c)(1) of this section, any employee or agent of the Service, any other Federal land management agency, or a State con servation agency, who is designated by that agency for such purposes, may, when acting in the course of official duties, remove and reduce to posses sion endangered plants from areas under Federal jurisdiction without a permit if such action is necessary to: (i) Care for a damaged or diseased specimen; (ii) Dispose of a dead specimen; or (iii) Salvage a dead specimen which may be useful for scientific study. (3) Any removal and reduction to pos session pursuant to paragraph (c)(2) of VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:18 Mar 18, 2024 Jkt 259237 PO 00000 Frm 00200 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259237.XXX 259237js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R