Jerry, I have seen a pick up truck with the box full of turtles. Jerry Neff wrote: > Creating a law that protects turtles in Iowa should be something the > next legislative session considers. Jerry > > -------------- Original message from Wallace Taylor > <[log in to unmask]>: -------------- > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > From: Wtaylorlaw > To: WTaylor784 > Sent: 7/20/2009 9:59:10 P.M. Central Daylight Time > Subj: Fwd: USA Today article on turtle trapping > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Jeff Miller <[log in to unmask]> > To: 'Jeff Miller' <[log in to unmask]> > Sent: Mon, Jul 20, 2009 12:57 pm > Subject: USA Today article on turtle trapping > > http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/environment/2009-07-19-turtle-hunt_N.htm > > *States rethink turtle trapping*** > ** > *July 19, 2009* > *By Judy Keen > <http://www.usatoday.com/community/tags/reporter.aspx?id=329>, > USA TODAY* > SHEFFIELD, Iowa — Using a long pole with a hook on one end, > Eric Eckhardt grabs a partially submerged mesh trap and hauls > it out of a farm pond. Inside are a small soft-shell turtle > and a 12-pound snapping turtle. > The live turtles go into tubs in the back of Eckhardt's truck. > Later, after he checks other traps he set the previous > evening, the turtles will be sold. He and his family eat > turtle only occasionally. > Trapping is a hobby for Eckhardt, and the money he earns — 75 > cents to $1.50 per turtle, depending on the type and season — > helps pay for family vacations. He averages four turtles a day > in the summer. > For Eckhardt, 43, who works at a storm-door company, turtle > trapping is a way to spend time outdoors with his son Cooper, > 10, and daughter Georgi, 14. He isn't in it for the money, he > says. Turtles "are fascinating," he says. "People make fun of > that, but I don't care. I like them." > If the Center for Biological Diversity, a non-profit > conservation group based in Tucson, has its way, Eckhardt and > others who trap wild turtles for commercial use will soon be > out of business. > The Center has asked Iowa and other states to end unlimited > commercial harvesting of turtles. As demand for turtle meat > increases in Asia, where it is a delicacy, prices are rising > in the USA, says Jeff Miller, a conservation advocate for the > group. That's leading to the depletion of freshwater wild > turtle populations. > "The demand for turtles in Asia is driving massive > exploitation of wild turtles," says Chris Jones, a Huntsville, > Texas, lawyer who works with the Center. > In Iowa, the turtle population "is not an unlimited resource, > but if harvesting is done20correctly, it is a sustainable > resource," says Scott Gritters, a Department of Natural > Resources fisheries biologist. > In response to the Center for Biological Diversity's petition, > the fisheries staff of the Iowa DNR reported that snapping > turtles and painted turtles are "common, widespread and > abundant" and recommended against a ban. The number of > soft-shell turtles is declining and is "some cause for > long-term concern," it said. > Individual trappers aren't necessarily making more money > because of high demand, Jones says, but buyers who purchase > turtles from people such as Eckhardt and from commercial > turtle farms sell to exporters for up to $15 a pound. > Miller says 250,000 to 1 million turtles are exported each > year and some are contaminated with mercury, pesticides and PCBs. > *Lax rules for turtle harvesting* > The Center for Biological Diversity and other environmental > groups last year petitioned regulators in Florida, Georgia, > Oklahoma and Texas to ban commercial turtle harvests. Oklahoma > put a three-year moratorium in place, and Texas barred > commercial harvests in public waters. > This year, the center petitioned the only states with > unrestricted harvests or rules it considers too loose: > Arkansas, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Ohio, South > Carolina, Tennessee. This spring, South Carolina placed limits > on turtle harvests. > A ban on commercial harvesting of Florida's freshwater turtles > takes effect Monday. Bill Turner, a Fish and Wildlife > Conservation Commission turtle biologist, first heard reports > of large turtle harvests from Florida lakes in March 2008. Up > to 150,000 soft-shell turtles were exported from the state > each year for the past five years, he says. There are 25 > active commercial turtle farms in the state. > Because turtles breed late in their lifespan, Turner says, the > removal of so many of them "destabilizes the population." > Wisconsin reached the same conclusion in 1998, says Adam > Collins of that state's Department of Natural Resources. > Because of declining turtle populations, the state established > a July-November turtle harvesting season and set a daily limit. > "Our standards … are designed to ensure their long-term > sustainability," he says. > *In Iowa, 'the market is there' for turtles* > Iowa's commercial harvesters are licensed and must report > monthly the number of turtles they collect. Last year, > Gritters says, they reported catching about 22,000 turtles, or > 230,000 pounds. In Iowa, only snappers, soft-shell and painted > turtles can be caught, using traps, hooks, or hooks and line. > Recently, Gritters says, "there's been quite an influx of new > trappers because the market i s there." As newcomers join the > hunt — 175 commercial licenses were issued this year, up from > 164 last year — more regulations likely will be needed, he says. > Jake Robertson of Storm Lake, Iowa, who harvests 20,000 to > 30,000 pounds of turtle a year, agrees. In the decade that > he's been trapping turtles, Robertson has seen no population > decline. > Unlike fish, which are stocked in many Iowa lakes and streams, > turtles are self-sustaining, he says. "Turtles are probably > doing better than other aquatic species out there," Robertson > says. > Eckhardt, who has a dozen $50 traps, catches turtles on > private property — with permission and often at the invitation > of landowners who consider them a nuisance. > Talk about the shrinking turtle population worries him, he > says. "We've got to find out first how many are out there," he > says, "and if they do need protecting, by all means protect them." > ******************************************* > ** ** ** ** > ** ** > ** ** > ** ** > **Jeff Miller** > ** ** > **Conservation Advocate** > ** ** > **Center for Biological Diversity** > ** ** > **351 California Street, Suite 600** > ** ** > **San Francisco****, CA 94104** > ** ** > **Phone: (415) 436-9682 x303** > ** ** > **Fax: (415) 436-9683** > ** ** > **Web site: www.biologicaldiversity.org** > ** ** > ** ** > ** ** > **/At the Center for Biological Diversity, we believe that the > welfare of human beings is deeply linked to nature — to the > existence in our world of a vast diversity of wild plants and > animals. Because diversity has intrinsic value, and because > its loss impoverishes society, we work to secure a future for > all species, great and small, hovering on the brink of > extinction. We do so through science, law, and creative media, > with a focus on protecting the lands, waters, and climate that > species need to survive. We want those who come after us to > inherit a world where the wild is still alive./****** > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Get ready to win! You could score awesome prizes > <http://daol.aol.com/sweepstakes?ncid=emlweusdaol00000001> all > summer long on AOL. > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > What's for dinner tonight? 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