At Long Last Imperiled Sonoyta Mud Turtle Receives Endangered Species Act Protections

Legal protections will help rare turtle species escape extinction

Washington, DC—The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announced today that it is listing the Sonoyta mud turtle (Kinosternon sonoriense longifemorale) as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). 

“After two decades of waiting, the Sonoyta mud turtle finally has the legal protections it deserves,” said Taylor Jones, endangered species advocate for WildEarth Guardians. “Protecting the turtles means protecting the springs and streams on which they depend, which in turn helps ensures a healthy ecosystem for all species sharing its habitat, including humans.” 

Sonoyta mud turtles can live up to 25 years, and inhabit spring-fed ponds and streams. In the U.S., the turtle lives only within the spectacular Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Arizona. It also lives along the Rio Sonoyta and in Quitovac Spring across the border in Sonora, Mexico. Threats to the turtles include groundwater depletion, water diversion, and drought. 

The Service acknowledged the Sonoyta mud turtle warranted the protections of the ESA in 1997, but declined to provide safeguards, instead placing the turtle on the “candidate” list. In 2004, a star-studded list of conservationists, including Dr. E. O. Wilson, Dr. Jane Goodall, Dr. Paul Erlich, Barbara Kingsolver, Martin Sheen, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Xerces Society, and the Biodiversity Conservation Alliance, among others, petitioned the species for protections. In response, the Service again found the turtle warranted the protections of the ESA, but declined to actually list it, instead placing it back on the “candidate” list in 2005. 

As part of two landmark settlements entered into with WildEarth Guardians and the Center for Biological Diversity in 2011, the Service made “yes” or “no” decisions on all 252 species on the candidate list by Sept. 2016, including the Sonoyta mud turtle. Today’s decision finalizes the Sept. 2016 proposal to list the turtle as “endangered” and puts the long-awaited protections in place. 

Protection under the ESA is an effective safety net for imperiled species: more than 99 percent of plants and animals protected by the law exist today. The law is especially important as a defense against the current extinction crisis; species are disappearing at a rate much higher than the natural rate of extinction due to human activities. Scientists estimate that 227 species would have gone extinct by 2006 if not for ESA protections.


 

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