The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has completed its preliminary evaluation of a petition seeking to remove the northern red-bellied cooter (found in Massachusetts and formerly known as the Plymouth redbellied turtle) from the federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. The Service determined that substantial biological information exists to warrant a full status review of the species. Once the review is complete, the Service will decide whether to propose removing the species Endangered Species Act protection.
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; "The Service will examine all available scientific and commercial information about threats to the cooter in order to make conservation decisions that ensure the species continued existence in Massachusetts," said Martin Miller, chief of endangered species for the Services Northeast Region.
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; To ensure a comprehensive status review, the Service is soliciting information from state and federal natural resource agencies and all interested parties regarding the northern red-bellied cooter and its natural habitat.
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; The Services decision, known as a 90-day finding, is based on scientific information provided in the petition about the species. The Service's finding is published in todays "Federal Register." This finding is the first step in a long process that triggers a more thorough review of all the biological information available. This process includes a request for public comment and should be completed within 12 months of receiving the petition. Based on the status review, the Service will decide whether to remove the cooter from the Acts protection, reclassify it as threatened or maintain its current endangered status.
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; The cooter, a large freshwater turtle, has been classified as endangered since 1980. At that time, the population was estimated at fewer than 200 adult and sub-adult cooters. Today, biologists estimate the population numbers have risen to between 300 and 400 cooters of breeding age.
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; In 1997, the National Wilderness Institute submitted a petition to remove federal protection for the cooter, citing data error in the original decision to provide protection and questioning the validity of designating the cooter a subspecies of redbelly turtle. Lack of resources precluded the Services ability to process the petition until this year.
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; Biologists have identified habitat loss, nest predation and high mortality of the young as primary causes of the cooters population decline. An active head-start program raises first-year cooters before releasing them into appropriate habitat. From 1985 to 2005, about 2,500 cooter hatchlings were given a head start. In addition, when biologists have been able to locate nests, they have protected the nests with wire exclosures to reduce predation.
; Information that will help the Service make a decision on whether to propose removing the cooter from Endangered Species Act protection must be received by Dec. 4 and may be directed to Michael Amaral, Endangered Species Specialist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 70 Commercial Street, Suite 300, Concord, NH 03301-5087, or by electronic mail to Michael_Amaral@fws.gov.
; For more information about the northern red-bellied cooter, see
