In order to resolve questions (1) and (2) above, research efforts 

 were proposed in the report and later funded by Monsanto. The objectives 

 of the research were to: 



1) Determine the taxonomic status of the Illinois mud turtle; 



2) Delineate areas of potential habitat within Iowa, Illinois 

 and Missouri based upon the presence of suitable sandy 

 soil; 



3) Further define the current distribution of the turtle based 

 upon systematic searches; 



4) Determine the population levels of Illinois mud turtles at 

 Big Sand Mound and any other localities at which the 

 turtles appeared well represented; 



5) Through ecological studies at Big Sand Mound, delineate key 

 processes necessary for the continued existence and well 

 being of the turtle; and 



6) Based upon the above, recommend a management plan for Big 

 Sand Mound and define additional research needs. 



Objective 1) grew out of the statement in the Brown and Moll (1979) 

 status report, that the Illinois mud turtle might represent a distinct 

 species. When we reviewed the available taxonomic data, we did not 

 believe that it had been clearly established that the form was 

 sufficiently differentiated even to be called a subspecies (sample sizes 

 were small and results of quantitative analyses were not definitive). 

 Whereas we were knowledgeable that even a population could be designated 

 as an endangered species, we believed that from a resource evaluation 

 standpoint, the question of the genetic uniqueness of the resource should 

 be addressed. 



Objectives 2) and 3) were directed towards determining the accuracy 

 of the statements in the Brown and Moll (1979) status report that the 

 number of localities at which the turtle was extant presently numbered not 

 more than two or three sites. Brown and Moll (1979) had noted that since 

 its discovery the turtle had never been considered common except at a few 

 localities. The turtle was considered in the status report to have 

 disappeared from most sites- based mainly on subjective opinion and 

 results of only a few superficial surveys. Whether the turtle had indeed 

 disappeared from a significant part of its range was considered crucial to 

 the endangered species classification process. 



Objective U) is self-explanatory, mainly addressing the question 

 whether population levels had declined at sites where the turtle had once 

 been considered common. The Big Sand Mound site offered the opportunity 

 to compare abundance in 1979 to that which had been measured in 197^* 

 (Cooper. 1975). The latter data were not mentioned in the Brown and Moll 



