I would hate to get caught up in trying to respond to every inaccuracy that comes along, but I do want to respond to this.



I have not said that taking one female would cause a population to collapse, and my recommendation, along with that of the BTPT, has always been to allow some minimal personal collection (we discourage personal collection, but have never proposed a total ban).



As to your assertion that we relied on "opinion" (like getting our information from the National Enquirer!), I would only suggest that other readers take just a little time and look for themselves, as opposed to jumping on some bandwagon about us being inaccurate fearmongers. The BTPT has not waged a "fear" campaign.



You mention native Americans taking box turtles "and they're still here." My understanding from several sources is that the reason for the absence of eastern box turtles in parts of New York is due to unsustainable use by Native Americans (shells used in ceremonies are found, so they used to be there, but not now).



All of us in BTPT know that there are numerous threats to box turtles, and overcollection is only one. Habitat loss and fragmentation as well as road mortality have got to be major threats. That does not mean that overcollection does not have an impact.



Michael Smith

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