An unintended consequence of HB12 which I think should be brought up to the legislators is that it promotes collection of herps in places that have never been collected before. By this, I mean that it supports herp field collecting on private land by individuals that before might have been focused entirely on the roads and road cuts. That's the only thing people can do if they want to be legal. I personally think this is a very bad thing. No, I do not think we are ever going to endanger alternas or many other species, but I personally like the idea that most of west Texas is essentially a big game preserve with only a limited small transects are collected by most herpers. We may well impact some relict species if field collectors become sophisticated enough. TPW should really consider this. --Henry W.
PS: Sorry for posting earlier in the wrong forum!
