In Missouri, the Department of Conservation has encouraged and 

 supported ecological studies, especially on movements and distribution, 

 within the state and presently administers a contract from the U.S. Fish 

 and Wildlife Service on the species. They have provided technical assis- 

 tance to individual landowners and are pursuing the opportunity to 

 purchase part of Rose Pond, the area with the largest number of turtles. 

 Like Missouri, the Iowa Conservation Commission is monitoring the status 

 of the turtle and has published an article that includes information on 

 it (Roosa, 1978). 



PROPOSED FEDERAL ENDANGERED STATUS 



The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (PL. 93-205; Stat. 884) was signed 

 into law December 28, 1973, to "provide a means whereby the ecosystem 

 upon which endangered species and threatened species depend may be 

 conserved, to provide a program for the conservation of such endangered 

 and threatened species, and to take such steps as may be appropriate to 

 achieve the purposes of the treaties and conventions set forth in subsec- 

 tion (a) of this section;" such conventions include, for instance, the 

 Convention on Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. In 

 making determinations, the Secretary of the Interior is to use "the best 

 scientific and commercial data available...." There are two protective 

 categories, endangered and threatened. An endangered species is one "in 

 danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range" 

 while a threatened species is one that "is likely to become an endangered 

 species within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant 

 portion of its range." Species, subspecies, and individual populations, 

 except for plants and invertebrates, may be listed. 



In making a determination of status, five criteria are to be used. 

 These are: 1) the present or threatened destruction, modification, or 

 curtailment of the species' habitat or range; ?.) overutilization for com- 

 mercial, sporting, scientific, or educational purposes; 3) disease or 

 predation; 4) the inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms; or 

 5) other natural or manmade factors affecting the species' continued exis- 

 tence. If a species is affected by any one of these factors so as to be 

 endangered or threatened as defined by the Act, it is a candidate for 

 listing. Dodd (1976) has provided a general review of the Act. 



In 1978, Congress passed amendments to the Endangered Species Act 

 which substantially modified the procedures the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

 Service (which administers the Act in the Department of the Interior) 

 must follow when designating "critical habitat." Section 4(f) (c) of the 

 Act requires, to the maximum extent practicable, that any rule which 

 determines critical habitat be accompanied by a brief description and 

 evaluation of those activities which, in the opinion of the Director of 

 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, may adversely modify such habitat if 

 undertaken, or may be impacted by such designation. Such activities 

 were identified for the Illinois mud turtle as follows: 



