In the past few weeks, I've been helping turtles across the roads here in Northeast South Dakota, knowing that at least we hadn't have to worry about commercial turtle harvests diminishing their populations as well.
As Bluestem Prairie has reported in the past, the reptiles' reproductive cycle is even slower than their pace, although I have seen snapping turtles gain some speed by running on their tiptoes.
A friend of Bluestem texted this update about what's going into law once Governor Walz signs HF2130:
Below is a summary of the turtle provisions in HF 2310 (Art. 4, Sec. 54, 72-75, 102 & related repealers in Sec. 112):
The turtle seller’s license fees and turtle seller’s apprentice license fees are eliminated and the DNR is prohibited from renewing or transferring turtle seller’s licenses. A recreational turtle license will be required to take turtles (in addition to a resident angling license which is required under current law). A person will be prohibited from selling turtles taken from the wild. The use of traps and commercial equipment when taking turtles is also prohibited. Certain exemptions from the licensing requirements were added for a person buying turtles for resale at a retail outlet or restaurant, a person under the age of 16, and a person with an aquatic farm license with a turtle endorsement or private fish hatchery license with a turtle endorsement. It would prohibit turtles possessed under the licensing exemptions from being released back into the wild. Existing rules pertaining to licensed turtle sellers and the use of traps are repealed. All the changes become effective January 1, 2024
Kudoes to Representative Samantha Vang, DFL-Brooklyn Center for her persistence across sessions for legislation to protect turtles, and to herpetologist Christopher E. Smith for his advocacy for our cold-blooded relatives.
Sometimes, as Bob Marley said, the race is not to the swift but to those who can endure.
Related posts
- After years of sponsors' efforts, turtle harvest legislation advancing in MN House and Senate
- Can legislation protecting MN turtles from commercial harvest pass under DFL control?
- Bill to ban commercial turtle harvest to be heard in MN House Environment committee on Feb. 9
- Updated commercial turtle harvest numbers from DNR underscore need for HF387
- Rep. Vang renews effort to ban Minnesota's unsustainable commercial turtle harvest
- Months after hearings, Star Tribune reports on commercial turtle harvesting concerns
Photo: In written testimony submitted to the Minnesota House Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee in 2021, a family living on Stingy Lake Stingy Lake north of Nashwauk told the tale of the turtle Baby T that they caught and returned to the lake.
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