16 U.S.C. § 1537a — Convention implementation

(a) Management Authority and Scientific Authority. The Secretary of the Interior, called the “Secretary” in this section, is designated as the Convention’s Management Authority and Scientific Authority. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service must carry out the respective functions of each Authority. (b) Management Authority functions. The Secretary must do everything necessary and appropriate to carry out the Management Authority’s functions under the Convention. (c) Scientific Authority functions and determinations. (1) The Secretary must do everything necessary and appropriate to carry out the Scientific Authority’s functions under the Convention. (2) For the wildlife determinations and advice that the Secretary gives under Article IV of the Convention, the Secretary must rely on the best available biological information from professionally accepted wildlife-management practices. The Secretary does not have to estimate population size, and does not have to require a State to estimate population size, when making those determinations or giving that advice. (d) Reservations by the United States under the Convention. If the United States votes against including a species in Appendix I or II of the Convention and does not enter a reservation for that species under paragraph (3) of Article XV, the Secretary of State must, before the 90th day after the last day on which the reservation could be entered, submit a written report to the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate. The report must state why the reservation was not entered. (e) Wildlife preservation in the Western Hemisphere. (1) The Secretary of the Interior, called the “Secretary” in this subsection, must work with the Secretary of State and act for and represent the United States in every way required by the Convention on Nature Protection and Wildlife Preservation in the Western Hemisphere, called the “Western Convention” in this subsection. In carrying out these responsibilities, the Secretary and the Secretary of State must consult the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, and the heads of other agencies about matters that relate to or affect their areas of responsibility. (2) The Secretary and the Secretary of State must work with the parties to the Western Convention and, when feasible and appropriate, with State agencies, to take the steps needed to carry out the Western Convention. These steps must include, but are not limited to—(A) working with the parties and international organizations to develop personnel resources and programs that will help carry out the Western Convention; (B) identifying bird species that migrate between the United States and other parties, identifying the habitats on which those species depend, and taking cooperative measures to ensure that those species do not become endangered or threatened; and (C) identifying the measures needed and appropriate to carry out the Western Convention’s provisions protecting wild plants. (3) By September 30, 1985, the Secretary and the Secretary of State must submit a report to Congress describing the steps taken under this subsection and identifying the main remaining actions needed for complete and effective implementation of the Western Convention. (4) This subsection does not affect the authority, jurisdiction, or responsibility that the States have under State laws or regulations to manage, control, or regulate resident fish or wildlife.