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Interview with Deputy Director Marshall Jones (continued) Crocodilians are the best example of species for which CITES has balanced conservation and use. I worked on downlisting and eventually delisting the American alligator from the Endangered Species Act in the 1970s and early 1980s. We did that because of CITES. The states, particularly Louisiana, which usually opposed any suggestion of a federal takeover of state wildlife matters, acknowledged that the CITES system gave them confidence that a poached alligator hide lacking a CITES permit would have no value on the international market without a CITES permit. CITES permits guaranteed the value of their hides, making legal hides valuable and illegal hides not, and this was a key to successful delisting under the ESA There are similar examples with crocodiles from Africa and Australia. Although CITES focuses on plants and animals in trade, animals often receive most of the attention. However, after elephants, mahogany will be one of the most important species ever listed under CITES. It will have an influence that we can't even anticipate now. Ginseng, on the other hand, is a different kind of listing. CITES has certainly had some marginal benefits and ginseng is better off than it would have been without its CITES listing. But look at the plant's characteristics. It's like rhino horn-small, valuable, used in the medicinal trade, easily poached. So you can have an invisible trade, which you can't have with mahogany or ivory for any length of time. Then, there are other plants like cacti and orchids, which are impacted by the horticultural trade. CITES has done a lot of good for them. Discussions with orchid and cactus growers may be contentious at times, but they participate actively in CITES. They may not always be happy but they're there, shedding the light on the trade. I also suspect CITES has pushed these groups to expand research into artificial propagation so that collectors do not need to depend on wild resources. Americans support the treaty out of their passion for wildlife. They view themselves as part of a landscape that includes wildlife. But Americans don't stop that landscape at their borders because they also view themselves as part of a global landscape that includes whales, elephants and pandas. So if something bad happens to those species elsewhere they react to it in the same way that they react if it were happening here. As fellow governments with jurisdiction over numerous species listed in CITES Appendix II, states have an important stake in CITES. So in the mid-1990s we took a big step to bring in State representatives as full partners in decisions affecting their species. The results have been tremendous. We may have disagreements, but these are within the family. At the end of the day, we close ranks and go to a CITES meeting with a state representative on our official delegation, as well as representatives who attend under the banners of the four regional wildlife associations. The elephant ivory ban in 1989 was certainly one of the biggest issues that I worked on, since I had the opportunity to prepare the options paper which went to the White House, to prepare the Federal Register notice implementing the President's decision to impose the ban, and now to continue to work on shaping U.S. policy on what comes next. However, in the long run the most satisfying part of my career with CITES has been working with so many dedicated, passionate people who care so much about wildlife conservation. Celebrating Conservation: The Endangered Species Act at 30 *41Tk In the 30 years since the Endangered Species Act was passed, the foresight of its original champions has surprised us all. On December 28,1973, President Richard Nixon signed the Act, noting that "Nothing is more priceless and more worthy of preservation than the rich array of animal life with which our country has been blessed." Since the Endangered Species Act took effect, it has prevented the extinction of more than 99 percent of listed species. At that time, the bald eagle, American alligator, gray whale and peregrine falcon seemed headed for extinction. Today, the falcon, the alligator and the whale no longer need the protection of the Act-and the bald eagle is returning to healthy numbers. The bald eagle, a national symbol and beneficiary of the ESA. WS Photo.