African Elephant Conservation and Legal Ivory Possession Act of 2015

To amend the African Elephant Conservation Act of 1988 to conserve elephants while appropriately regulating ivory in the United States. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the African Elephant Conservation and Legal Ivory Possession Act of 2015 2. References Except as otherwise specifically provided, whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to a provision of the African Elephant Conservation Act ( 16 U.S.C. 4201 et seq. 3. Limited exemption for certain African elephant ivory Section 2203 ( 16 U.S.C. 4223 (1) by inserting (a) In general (2) by inserting and subsection (b) of this section 2202(e) (3) by adding at the end the following: (b) Exemption Nothing in this Act or subsection (a) or (d) of section 9 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( 16 U.S.C. 1538 (1) any raw ivory or worked ivory— (A) imported solely for purposes of becoming part of a museum’s permanent collection, return to a lending museum, or display in a museum; or (B) exported solely for purposes of— (i) display in a foreign museum; or (ii) return to a foreign person who lent such ivory to a museum in the United States; (2) any raw ivory or worked ivory that was lawfully importable into the United States on February 24, 2014, regardless of when acquired; or (3) any worked ivory that was previously lawfully possessed in the United States. . 4. Placement of United States Fish and Wildlife Service law enforcement officer in each African elephant range country Part I ( 16 U.S.C. 4211 et seq. 2105. Placement of United States Fish and Wildlife Service law enforcement officer in each African elephant range country The Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of State, may station one United States Fish and Wildlife Service law enforcement officer in the primary United States diplomatic or consular post in each African country that has a significant population of African elephants, who shall assist local wildlife rangers in the protection of African elephants and facilitate the apprehension of individuals who illegally kill, or assist the illegal killing of, African elephants. . 5. Certification for the purposes of the Fishermen’s Protective Act of 1967 Section 2202 of the African Elephant Conservation Act ( 16 U.S.C. 4222 (g) Certification When the Secretary of the Interior finds that a country, directly or indirectly, is a significant transit or destination point for illegal ivory trade, the Secretary shall certify such fact to the President with respect to the country for the purposes of section 8(a) of the Fishermen’s Protective Act of 1967 ( 22 U.S.C. 1978(a) . 6. Treatment of elephant ivory Section 2203 ( 16 U.S.C. 4223 (c) Treatment of elephant ivory Nothing in this Act or the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( 16 U.S.C. 1538 (1) to prohibit, or to authorize prohibiting, the possession, sale, delivery, receipt, shipment, or transportation of African elephant ivory, or any product containing African elephant ivory, that has been lawfully imported or crafted in the United States; or (2) to authorize using any means of determining for purposes of this Act or the Endangered Species Act of 1973 whether African elephant ivory has been lawfully imported, including any presumption or burden of proof applied in such determination, other than such means used by the Secretary as of February 24, 2014. . 7. Sport-hunted elephant trophies Section 2203 ( 16 U.S.C. 4223 (d) Sport-Hunted elephant trophies Nothing in this Act or subsection (a) or (d) of section 9 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( 16 U.S.C. 1538 (e) Relationship to the Convention Nothing in this section shall be construed as modifying or repealing the Secretary’s duties to implement CITES and the appendices thereto, or as modifying or repealing section 8A or 9(c) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1537a and 1538(c)). . 8. African Elephant Conservation Act financial assistance priority and reauthorization (a) Financial assistance priority Section 2101 of the African Elephant Conservation Act ( 16 U.S.C. 4211 (e) Priority In providing financial assistance under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to projects designed to facilitate the acquisition of equipment and training of wildlife officials in ivory producing countries to be used in anti-poaching efforts. . (b) Reauthorization Section 2306(a) of the African Elephant Conservation Act ( 16 U.S.C. 4245(a) 2007 through 2012 2016 through 2020

Summary: African Elephant Conservation and Legal Ivory Possession Act of 2015 This bill reauthorizes the African Elephant Conservation Act (AECA) through FY2020. Ivory may be imported or exported under the AECA and the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) if: (1) the raw ivory or worked ivory is solely for a museum; (2) it was lawfully importable into the United States on February 24, 2014, regardless of when it was acquired; or (3) the worked ivory was previously lawfully possessed in the United States. The Department of the Interior may station one U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service law enforcement officer in the primary U.S. diplomatic or consular post in each African country that has significant population of African elephants to assist local wildlife rangers in protecting the elephants and facilitating the apprehension of individuals who illegally kill them or assist in killing them. Interior must certify a finding that a county is a significant transit or destination point for illegal ivory trade and report the certification to the President for the purposes of the Pelly Amendment to the Fishermen's Protective Act of 1967. The Pelly Amendment authorizes the President to embargo wildlife products when the Interior certifies that a country is engaging in trade or certain actions that diminishes the effectiveness of an international agreement for the conservation of endangered or threatened species. This bill authorizes under the AECA and ESA: (1) the possession, sale, delivery, receipt, shipment, or transportation of African elephant ivory that has been lawfully imported or crafted in the United States, and (2) the importation of a sport-hunted African elephant trophy if the country in which the elephant was taken had elephants that are listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) at the time the trophy was taken.