Review of Policy Actions

James P. Lewis, ASA Director of Operations Peter Jenkins, Center for Invasive Species Prevention

Where it all started

October 2014 – Martel Paper

Global Wildlife Conservation The Biodiversity Group Conservation International Center for Biological Diversity Defenders of Wildlife Fauna & Flora International Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History International Society for the Study and Conservation of Amphibians Meet Your Neighbours Detroit Zoological Society Herpetological League Insituexsitu Amphibiaweb Amphibian Ark Conserve It Forward Wildlife Conservation Society Inaturalist The Wandering Herpetologist And many other groups……

Call for action

Letters sent to USFWS

PO Box 129, Austin, TX 78767 USA � www.amphibians.org � P

age 1

November 17, 2014

Dan Ashe, Director

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Department of the Interior

1849 C St NW

Washington, DC 20240

Re: Urgent request to protect native salamanders

Dear Director Ashe,

This is an urgent request on behalf of the Amphibian Survival Alliance (ASA) and the undersigned partners for

you to protect America’s salamanders by taking action against a well-documented emerging and deadly wildlife

disease, Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (or Bsal), which so far has not arrived in the USA.

As the world’s largest partnership dedicated to amphibian conservation, the ASA is supported by many of the

world’s leading conservation organizations and research institutions. This network positions us uniquely to help

advise on the implementation of a broad range of conservation strategies, and we offer our assistance to the

Service in helping to address the significant issue.

We ask you to use every possible authority to achieve this, with particular focus on the Lacey Act and the

Endangered Species Act (ESA). We note that the ESA Sec. 7(a)(1) directs: “The Secretary [of the Interior] shall

review other programs administered by him and utilize such programs in furtherance of the purposes of this

Act.” Your agency administers the wildlife import inspection and compliance programs at the nation’s ports of

entry. Through these programs the Secretary of the Interior exercises authority over imports of all live

salamanders. In view of this major new import-related threat to the many ESA-listed Threatened and

Endangered salamander species, we urge you to manage these programs to ensure that Bsal and other diseases

are kept out of the nation.

We recommend that your agency promptly suspend all imports of any salamander or newt. Then, promptly

develop a program of only allowing imports that are certified by the Service as free of Batrachochytrium

salamandrivorans and other deadly salamander pathogens or parasites. Such certification could be based on

verified clean sources, reliable testing, treatment, quarantine or other measures; the precise approach will require

expert design and review. The number of animal import businesses that deal in salamanders is small; they

should be supportive of measures that ensure their shipments are certified to not carry a potentially devastating

disease.

One avenue to achieve a more comprehensive amphibian disease prevention approach could be by the Service

responding positively to the Defenders of Wildlife 2009 Petition: “To List All Live Amphibians in Trade as

Injurious Unless Free of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis,” The Service has already taken public comment on

the Petition, but the Service's response would need to be broader than the scope of that Petition. The Service

The Ask

The focus of the request to USFWS has been the implementation of a clean trade program including an Order-wide moratorium on the importation of salamanders until such time as an effective screening program can be implemented.

Lacey Act

The Lacey Act addresses illegal wildlife trade to protect species at risk and bars importing species found to be injurious to the United States.

Today it regulates the import of any species protected by international or domestic law and prevents the spread of invasive, or non-native, species.

The Pet Trade

Early engagement a key part of any likely success

The Trade •  Salamanders represented 5.5% of the amphibians imported into the USA •  95% of imports belong to Cynops, Paramesotriton, Salamandra, and

Tylototriton. •  All contain at least one species known to be susceptible to Bsal •  Cynops and Paramesotriton comprise >90% of U.S. imported salamanders,

hence these genera may be the greatest threat.

Gray et al. unpublished

Policy Overview -  Concerted attention brought to USFWS officials

-  Agency wants to act but there are challenges

-  Rulemaking soon? Expect delays

-  The Big Question - Will the scope/coverage be broad enough to work?

Advocacy

- Continued pressure on the Administration to act - If no Proposed Rule by 9/15 target date, ramp up the advocacy - Join Bsal Team coordinating email list if you can engage in concerted advocacy: contact: jenkinsbiopolicy@gmail.com

Back Home

National Representative and Senator

Press outreach and making it into the news

Further support

“A moratorium on importation of Bsal- susceptible salamanders should be put into place until such time as effective testing and treatment regimens have been developed,” Robert Likins, the PIJAC’s council’s director of governmental affairs, wrote in an email.

Unusual trade regulation case with Bsal, because strong support from regulated industry: (NY Times, 7/30/15)

Review of Policy Actions

Longer term: -  Whether amphibians, bats, snakes,

birds or other groups, the national wildlife health protections are completely inadequate.

-  We must get new law passed for faster and more comprehensive response to the next wildlife pathogen crisis.

-  We have good model in the USDA health protection laws for farm animals.

-  We are working on it: funding is needed to pass new law

In Canada

The Canadian government is actively working to reduce the risk of Bsal introduction through import control Environment Canada is exploring emergency measures The Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative leading national surveillance and education

In Mexico

Scientists in Mexico and the USA are collaborating with laboratory experiments to test the susceptibility of their native salamander species to Bsal

Final thoughts

Clean trade is our top priority NOT a Ban

Thank You

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Questions?