I wrote in asking for more information the proposed addition of amphibians which have not been certified chytrid-free being added to the Lacey Act. Here is the reply I received.
"Thank you for your interest in the chytrid fungus issue. We received a petition from the Defenders of Wildlife that asked us to evaluate their suggestion of listing amphibians in trade as injurious wildlife unless they are certified as being free of chytrid fungus. The petitioners are concerned that trade is a pathway for the fungus, which is devastating amphibian populations. The Defenders petition can be found here:
http://www.defenders.org/resources/p...ry_salazar.pdf
We are currently gathering information to address that petition and are not ready to answer questions at this time. We will soon be publishing a notice in the Federal Register that will be asking the public for information on the subject. The Federal Register notice may answer some of your questions. We encourage you to submit information at that time through one of the methods explained in the notice. Your information, along with other public comments, might help us to best address the petition. You can check
http://www.regulations.gov periodically for Docket No. FWS-R9-FHC-2009-0093.You won't find it until it publishes, but you will have 90 days once it publishes to submit your information online at
http://www.regulations.gov. Then we will evaluate all the information submitted and may publish a proposed rule with specific details of what we propose, or make a finding that there is no basis for further action. If we proceed to a proposed rule, there would also be a public comment period. After that, either a final rule would follow, or we could withdraw the proposed rule and take no further action. The process is long, but it greatly benefits from input from the knowledgeable public. During this process, no regulations are expected to change related to the petition.
You might find some useful information on the injurious wildlife provisions of the Lacey Act from this fact sheet:
http://www.fws.gov/fisheries/ans/pdf...tSheet2007.pdf
Again, thank you for your interest in this issue.
Susan Jewell, Injurious Wildlife Listing Coordinator
Fisheries and Habitat Conservation
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
4401 N. Fairfax Drive, MS 770
Arlington, VA 22203
phone 703-358-2416 fax 703-358-2487
susan_jewell@fws.gov"
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