Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Proposed Reclassification of Certain Vicuna Populations From Endangered to Threatened and a Proposed Special Rule

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) proposes to reclassify vicuna (Vicugna vicugna) populations of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru from endangered to threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (Act or ESA). The recently re-introduced population of Ecuador, treated as a distinct population segment under the Act in accordance with the Service's Policy on Distinct Vertebrate Population Segments (61 FR 4722), will remain listed as endangered. The Service also proposes to establish a special rule (under Section 4(d) of the Act) allowing the importation into the United States of wool and legal vicuna products produced with wool from vicuna populations listed both as threatened under the Act and in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), except that the Appendix II semi-captive populations of Catamarca, Jujuy, La Rioja, Salta, and San Juan Provinces in Argentina are specifically excluded from the special rule until such time as their conservation benefit for wild vicuna populations has been demonstrated adequately. It is proposed that importation into the United States of wool and legal vicuna products made from wool that originated from threatened and approved Appendix II populations will require valid CITES export permits from the country of origin and also the country of re-export, when applicable. Should the conservation or management status of threatened vicuna populations change in one or more range countries, the potential would remain to repeal the special rule or reclassify the population as endangered, should that become necessary for the conservation of the vicuna. The Service invites information and comments on this proposed rule. The analysis of the information and comments received could lead to a final decision that would differ substantially from this proposal.