POST-GAZETTE (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) 06 November 05 Proposed protection for reptiles, amphibians (Ben Moyer)
They're not popular and not at all cute, but the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission says many species of snakes, lizards, frogs and turtles are disappearing from the state and the agency is proposing new regulations to stem the decline.
Besides promoting and enhancing recreational fishing and boating, the Commission is charged by statute with the responsibility to manage and conserve reptiles and amphibians. If approved by the Commission, the new proposals would further restrict the capture, collection, taking, possession or killing of all native reptiles and amphibians in the state.
Some species, such as the timber rattlesnake, are often poorly understood, resulting in unnecessary destruction of the animals and their habitat. Several of the new proposals deal specifically with the timber rattlesnake.
The proposals would raise the cost of a timber rattlesnake permit from $5 to $50. It is illegal to hunt, take, catch, kill or possess a timber rattlesnake without a valid permit. The permit fee for groups that sponsor organized rattlesnake hunts, such as those popular in many northern Pennsylvania communities each summer, would be raised from the current $25 to $100. The proposals would also establish a minimum size limit for timber rattlesnakes. If approved, no timber rattler less than 42 inches in length could be taken, possessed or killed.
Currently, it is unlawful to possess or kill more than one timber rattlesnake in a calendar year. The annual limit would remain at one, but the new proposals would establish a tagging requirement. A rattlesnake hunter/collector would be required to detach and fill out a tag attached to the rattlesnake permit, but would not be required to attach the tag to the snake. Instead, the collector would be required to keep the tag in a safe location and present it to an officer on demand.
Organized rattlesnake hunts would be allowed to keep fewer snakes for exhibition. Currently, organized hunts may possess, for no more than 48 hours, the individual limit of one rattlesnake, multiplied by twice the number of permitted participants. The proposals would reduce the organized hunt possession limit by half -- the individual limit (one) times the number of permitted participants.
Fish Commission biologists have studied rattlesnake populations and believe timber rattlers have declined significantly in the past several decades. Some local populations have been completely destroyed. Habitat destruction, taking snakes for the reptile collector trade, unregulated snake hunts and killing snakes in casual encounters have all diminished this rattlesnake's numbers and range.
The proposals would also establish a new permit for hunting, collection or killing of northern copperheads, with an annual limit of one snake.
After many years of requests by conservation organizations, the Commission also proposes to prohibit the possession of box turtles. Box turtles are declining in Pennsylvania and all across their range. Roads, rights of way and other developments fragment box turtle home ranges so their movements put them at the mercy of speeding cars.
People often collect box turtles and keep them in pens at home, but recent studies show that the turtle's low reproductive potential, coupled with encroachments on its forest habitat, make box turtle collection a serious threat to the species' survival. Dr. William Belzer, recently retired from Clarion University, studied box turtle populations and learned that even moving a box turtle a few hundred yards can disorient the turtle and cause it to wander into danger.
"If you are lucky enough to see a box turtle, please leave it untouched," Belzer said.
If approved, the Fish and Boat Commission's new proposals would grant Belzer's cautions the power of law.
Other reptiles and amphibians that would receive greater protection under the proposals include: bullfrog, common snapping turtle, wood turtle, Blanding's turtle, Northern coal skink, mudpuppy, hellbender, marbled salamander, mountain chorus frog, Eastern hognose snake and others.
"This is an important environmental issue and I'm glad to see the Commission looking out for the whole range of organisms under its jurisdiction, beyond just those important to recreational fishing," said Sue Thompson, executive director of the Pennsylvania Biodiversity Partnership, an public/private organization that promotes the conservation of all native plant and animal species.
The Fish and Boat Commission encourages public comment on the proposals. The proposals can be read on the Commission's Web site at www.fish.state.ps.us. Comments can be made through a link on the site, or can be submitted in writing to: Executive Director, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, P.O. Box 67000, Harrisburg, Pa. 17106-7000. The Commission is requesting that comments be submitted by Jan. 15.
Proposed protection for reptiles, amphibians