It wasn't clear in your posts that you meant each state's ESA list. It did look as if you were referring to the fed ESA (which is the one called the ESA).

I don't have any personal experience with those three species of snake in the wild but perhaps we should be pushing for bag limits (or even a tagged take (ala deer or turkey hunting in a number of states) as some populations may not be able to sustain a yearly take on them. For example, due to changes in predation levels (raccoons), removal of any adult female blanding's turtles from a local population can reduce the recruitment rate to the point that the population is non-viable in the long run. This is one of the problems with some of the herp populations, is that unless there is some method of monitoring the population, you can have what looks to be a thriving population but is really a declining population. The average longevity can hide this for many years (this is common with box turtles in areas that have been fragmented by development).

Some comments,

Ed

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