New law prohibiting possession of most native reptiles, amphibians now in effect - My Buckhannon

-

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.VA. — New regulations making it unlawful to take or possess most native reptiles and amphibians for any reason are now in effect in West Virginia.

"Reptiles and amphibians are a valuable wildlife resource and unfortunately we've had several large poaching cases involving these animals," said Kevin Oxenrider, amphibian and reptile program leader for the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources.

"When it comes to the illegal wildlife trade, people don't think about turtles, snakes and salamanders. But these animals call West Virginia home, so we want to make sure we're doing everything we can to protect them so they can continue to serve their ecological function in the environment."

Prohibited Native West Virginia Amphibian and Reptile Species – The new regulations prohibit the taking and possessing of 26 salamander species, 13 frog and toad species, six lizard species, 23 snake species and 12 turtle species.

Salamanders
• Streamside salamander
• Jefferson salamander
• Spotted salamander
• Marbled salamander
• Small-mouthed salamander
• Green salamander
• Eastern hellbender
• Cave salamander
• West Virginia spring salamander
• Four-toed salamander
• Common mudpuppy
• Red-spotted newt (eastern newt)
• Red-backed salamander
• White-spotted slimy salamander
• Northern ravine salamander
• Northern slimy salamander
• Valley and ridge salamander
• Cumberland plateau salamander
• Cheat Mountain salamander
• Yellow-spotted woodland salamander
• Cow Knob salamander
• Southern ravine salamander
• Shenandoah Mountain salamander
• Wehrle's salamander
• Midland mud salamander
• Northern red salamander


Frogs and Toads
• Blanchard's cricket frog
• Eastern cricket frog
• American toad
• Fowler's toad
• Cope's gray treefrog
• Gray treefrog
• Pickerel frog
• Northern leopard frog
• Wood frog
• Mountain chorus frog
• Spring peeper
• Upland chorus frog
• Eastern spadefoot


Lizards
• Eastern six-lined racerunner
• Northern coal skink
• Common five-lined skink
• Broad-headed skink
• Eastern fence lizard
• Little brown skink


Snakes
• Eastern copperhead
• Eastern wormsnake
• Northern black racer
• Timber rattlesnake
• Northern ring-necked snake
• Eastern hog-nosed snake
• Eastern kingsnake
• Eastern black kingsnake
• Eastern milksnake
• Common watersnake
• Northern rough greensnake
• Smooth greensnake
• Eastern ratsnake
• Red cornsnake
• Gray ratsnake
• Northern pinesnake
• Queen snake
• Dekay's brownsnake
• Red-bellied snake
• Common ribbonsnake
• Eastern gartersnake
• Eastern smooth earthsnake
• Mountain earthsnake


Turtles
• Midland smooth softshell
• Eastern painted turtle
• Midland painted turtle
• Spotted turtle
• Wood turtle
• Northern map turtle
• Ouachita map turtle
• Eastern river cooter
• Northern red-bellied cooter
• Eastern musk turtle
• Woodland (eastern) box turtle
• Red-eared slider


Exceptions to New Reptile and Amphibian Regulation – While the new regulations make it unlawful to take or possess native reptiles and amphibians, there are exceptions for individuals who have written permission from the WVDNR Wildlife Resources Chief. Individuals may also legally take and possess bullfrogs, green frogs, snapping turtles and eastern spiny softshell turtles.

"We know that these turtles and frogs are commonly collected for consumption, so we wanted to make sure there was an exception that allowed folks to still take them and eat them," Oxenrider said.

Authorization to Possess Lawfully Obtained Reptiles or Amphibians – The new regulations also allow for individuals who came into possession of a prohibited native reptile or amphibian before March 23, 2021 to obtain authorization from the WVDNR to lawfully maintain possession of the animal for the rest of its life. Those who wish to request an authorization letter should contact their local WVDNR district office or complete an online application, available at WVdnr.gov. Authorization requests must be submitted no later than March 31, 2022.

Those with questions about the new regulations should contact their local WVDNR district office or call 304-558-6200. To download an updated copy of West Virginia's reptile and amphibian regulations, visit WVdnr.gov.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

All In The Family: Maine Mother & Son Charged in Massive Drug Bust

-
Image
corso dog :: Article Creator Woman Hospitalized After Attack By 2 Dogs At Same Edmonton Home Where Boy Died: Lawyer UPDATE: On April 15, 2024, the City of Edmonton provided an update on the fatal attack. It said that prior to the deadly incident on April 1, "the city had no lawful basis to remove the dogs from the home." The city added that "all prior complaints about the dogs involved in this incident were investigated thoroughly and appropriate action was taken in accordance with the applicable legislation." The city also said a review found that its staff "acted appropriately in accordance with our standard practices and in compliance with the relevant legal constraints given the nature of past complaints and reports." A woman was hospitalized after being attacked in February by two large Cane Corso dogs at the same home where an 11-year-old boy was killed last week, the woman's lawyer told Global News. "I...
Read more

Rare Frogs And Illegal Drugs - Palisades Hudson Financial Group

-
Image
Colombian conservationist Ivan Lozano has hit on a brilliantly promising strategy to protect his country’s rare and endangered amphibians. His plan: Flood the market with them. Lozano is not hunting rare frogs in Colombia’s Andean forests. He is raising them himself and selling them at prices designed to undercut poachers and smugglers. If he can raise the frogs cheaply enough, and in large enough numbers, he might manage to drive down the market price to the point that poachers no longer find it worthwhile to harvest and smuggle the creatures onto the black markets. Lozano told The Associated Press that his company also encourages collectors to breed their own frogs. Picture yourself as a poacher. If the government toughens the legal penalties and steps up enforcement, you will shrug your shoulders; legal risks are a basic cost of doing business. Since the demand for your product already exists among foreign collectors and other buyers, tougher enforcement merely reduces supply a...
Read more

Burn scars, winter storms threaten rare and endangered species in San Gabriel Mountains - The Bakersfield Californian

-
Image
LOS ANGELES — Up until a few weeks ago, the West Fork of the San Gabriel River was one of the most abundant wildlife habitats in Los Angeles County, a secluded and rugged area defined by its steep peaks, lush canyons and mixture of rare and endangered species. Recently however, a team of federal biologists and forest rangers was aghast when it visited the stream following the Bobcat fire, which has burned more than 115,000 acres in the heart of the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument. Terrain that once resembled a High Sierra granite gorge now looked like ground zero after a nuclear explosion, and the usually clean mountain air was sharp with the stench of smoke. Particularly unsettling were the bare and ashen slopes that were now primed to dissolve under pounding winter storms. A heavy mudslide, experts said, could reverse decades of conservation efforts by inundating the last outposts for such federally protected species as the Santa Ana sucker fish and Southern California m...
Read more