In Minnesota, the DNR is currently promulgating an administrative
rule change that would afford greater protection to turtles while still
allowing a commercial harvest. The department has also proposed legislation
that would create new licenses and limit nonresidents from taking turtles.
Currently, Minnesota regulations prohibit all trapping of
Minnesota's two threatened turtles, the Blanding's turtle and
wood turtle.
Regulations regarding snapping turtles limit the number
of traps an individual can set and dictate a minimum size for turtles
taken from the wild. Snapping turtles are protected during their egg-laying
season, between May 1 and June 30.
There are no state regulations limiting the season, size,
or number of traps for painted turtles.
Map turtles and softshell turtles can be taken at any time
and with no size limits, though these species are not the primary component
of Minnesota's turtle industry. However, many predict that the market
for softshell turtles will increase because of their popularity, especially
in Asia, as a food source. In neighboring Wisconsin, trappers harvested
500 softshell turtles per day on the lower Wisconsin River during the
two years before the activity was banned, says Hay.
"We've got softshells here in the state, and there's
a strong market for them," observes Ben Hedstrom, a turtle wholesaler
in Alexandria, Minn. Hedstrom is opposed to trapping softshells. "They're
a unique turtle and there aren't that many of them to start with,"
he says.
The primary market in Minnesota is for snapping turtles,
which are sold for meat, and painted turtles, which are sold as pets.
Painted turtle harvesting is concentrated in the lake country of central
Minnesota. Most trappers operate in Stearns, Douglas, Morrison, and Pope
counties.
Sources in the turtle industry and in the DNR indicate that
a group of about a dozen licensed trappers harvest the vast majority of
all turtles taken in Minnesota.
A trapper can sell live snapping turtles for 50 cents to
$1 per pound, while painted turtles fetch from $1 to $1.50 each, says
Campbell.
Not all turtles that are caught in traps are taken from
the lake. Many are thrown back because they are the wrong size or have
damaged shells.
In 2000, Hedstrom purchased 20,000 painted turtles from
trappers, about half the painted turtles harvested in the state that year,
according to his estimate. "We've sold turtles for 50 years,"
Hedstrom says. "My dad did it since the 1920s."
Hedstrom has observed an increasing demand for Minnesota
turtles since the Wisconsin ban on commercial trapping. "Wisconsin
is closed, and it's putting pressure over here," he says.
Statistics reported to the DNR by trappers show a sharp
increase in the number of painted turtles harvested in Minnesota after
1997.
In 1997, the number of painted turtles taken in Minnesota
was 22,578. The following year, after the Wisconsin ban, that number jumped
to 69,887. Though the numbers declined to 43,997 in 1999 (the most recent
year for which statistics are compiled), they were still nearly double
the 1997 harvest.
As demand for turtles grows and trappers face increasing
scrutiny by regulators, the commercial turtle industry is poised to evolve.
Though the outcome of that evolution is yet to be determined, its course
will inevitably be shaped by the health of Minnesota's turtle populations—and
their vitality is now a point of contention.
"I can go out and catch more turtles today than I did
10 years ago," says Campbell. "I don't see that it's
hurting the turtle population."
Other observers offer a different point of view. Brian Mies,
a conservation officer with the DNR in Kimball, Minn., says, "I've
seen a major decrease in snapping turtle populations and a decrease in
painted turtles on lakes that have been trapped."
Johannes reports that, "anecdotally, the DNR has received
information from people over time that turtle populations have been in
decline." But, he adds, "we need to get more information about
turtle populations."
Although he stresses the need to act now to protect turtles,
Johannes says that "we need to put things in place so that we can
better track the effects of wetland loss and the commercial harvest. Any
time you increase your knowledge about a species you increase your ability
to make better decisions." It is to that end that the DNR is supporting Tony Gamble's research,
which will gather objective information about turtle populations. Though
scientists have researched the effects of trapping on turtles in similar
environments, Gamble's is the first study to focus on Minnesota turtles.
His preliminary results indicate that painted turtle populations
are smaller on harvested lakes, but that the demographic makeup of populations
is the same among harvested and non-harvested lakes.
In spring, the turtles will emerge from their hibernation
and return to the lakes, along with Gamble, who will study them for a
second season. His final results will be published in a report that will
be available to the public. "My goal is to bring some objectivity
to the debate over commercial trapping," says Gamble. "I want
the study to be used by anyone who's concerned." |