COMMERCIAL COLLECTION OF REPTILES · 1986 – commercial collection of reptiles is legalized by changing NAC 503.095 1989 Department expresses concern to the Board of Wildlife Commissioners

For Review and Possible Commission Action

COMMERCIAL COLLECTION OF REPTILES

Jennifer NewmarkAdministrator

Wildlife Diversity Division

Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners

August 11, 2017

NRS 503.380 The Department may permit the commercial taking of unprotected

wildlife in any manner approved by the Commission

The Commission may fix a price to be paid for wildlife so taken

Wildlife taken under this authorization may be sold

NAC 503.095 The Department will issue a permit authorizing a natural person to

collect unprotected wildlife for commercial purposes… if, after an investigation is conducted, it is proved to the Department that the collecting will not be detrimental to the wildlife

Such a permit may be cancelled by the Department for a violation of its conditions or if operation of the permit is found to be detrimental to wildlife

PERTINENT LEGAL AUTHORITIES

1986 – commercial collection of reptiles is legalized by changing NAC 503.095

1989 Department expresses concern to the Board of Wildlife Commissioners

that reptile populations are being harmed by over-collection

Commissioners agree and draft temporary CGR173 “Possession or collection of reptiles for commercial purposes is prohibited”

Collectors initiate legal action against the Commission resulting in an Eighth District Court injunction preventing the enforcement of CGR173.

Commission appeals to the Supreme Court

HISTORY OF COMMERCIAL COLLECTION OF REPTILES AND COMMISSION ACTIONS

1990 – Supreme Court rules in favor of the Commission and reverses the lower court’s decision “Commission did not have a duty to conduct an investigation which

proved that the selling of reptiles would not harm the State’s wildlife”

Under NAC 503.095 “the burden is on the collectors not the Commission” to show no harm to wildlife

The regulation “did not confer protected status on unprotected reptiles”

“the trial court erred in failing to consider that there are economic benefits in preserving, protecting, and managing wildlife for aesthetic, recreational, and scientific reasons.”


During this legal process, temporary CGR 173 expired and the Commission directed the Department to again issue permits for commercial reptile collections.

1998 – Commission considered regulation or prohibition of commercial collecting of reptiles

Two workshops were held

Commission decided to allow the continuation of unlimited commercial collection during all seasons


Permitted activity

Annual, $250 fee

Must be a Nevada resident

90% of reptile species can be collected in unlimited numbers

COMMERCIAL COLLECTION PERMIT

Permit Stipulations

Methods of collections authorized are hand, noose, snake-hook, tongs or nets

Pit, can, or fall type traps or containers are prohibited

The use of crowbars, jackhammers or other methods to break apart rocks and ledges in collecting reptiles is prohibited

Only the permittee named on the permit is authorized to collect


Permit Stipulations continued

Must log daily catch (species, number, sex, age, day, time, and UTM) and submit reports monthly to NDOW

Transaction logs of sales, trades and barters must be maintained for one year after a valid permit

The permit can be canceled if the Department determines that conditions of the permit have been violated or if operation of the permit if found to be detrimental to wildlife

The Commission may revoke a permit and may refuse to issue another such permit



0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000>450,000 reptiles self-reported to have been removed from landscape

Commission & Courts

Commission Review

Select Spp.


Commercial (Regs)

Greatest

Low

Mod-High

Moderate

Only Western State Allowing Commercial Collection


Hotspots for Collecting Chuckwalla: 15,945 (92 in 1 day)

Desert horned lizard: 105,093 (>600

in 1 day)

Great Basin collared lizard: 96,665

Long-nosed leopard lizard: 60,410

Western fence lizard: 40,594

Commonly Collected Species (1986-2016)


1 Collector

40+ page monthly log2,000 reptiles/month

24 days/month83 reptiles/day~20 reptiles/km

(5-6 months of the year)


Ivanpah-Pahrump Valleys

Amargosa Valley


1994 2001 2009 2016

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

31,830

21,262

14.998

7,102


• Herbivore• Annual recruitment 20%• 15y Life Span• 8.2y Generation• 2-3y Maturity

15,945 Collected

Chuckwalla (Sauromalus ater)

92 in 1 day

53 native species of reptiles in Nevada

26 are Species of Conservation Priority in the Nevada Wildlife Action Plan

REPTILE BIOLOGY

Great Basin

Mojave

Habitat specialists with patchy distribution

Home range sizes are relatively small

Ectothermic animals (“cold-blooded”)

Low reproductive rates and long life span

Distribution and abundance of most reptile species is poorly understood

Cryptic

Only seasonally active

Long-lived

Large diversity of species within the state

REPTILE BIOLOGY

Collections are allowed during the breeding season, thereby reducing reproductive and recovery potential

Commercial collection is an additive source of mortality

Habitat loss and degradation

Urbanization and development

Invasive species

Disease

Drought and climate changes

Pitfall traps

Market demand for certain species drives collections rather than population or management objectives

IMPACTS OF COMMERCIAL COLLECTION

Reported data are limited:

Specifics of age class structure is not well defined (adult/juvenile only)

Data are primarily reported along linear features such as roads

No independent verification of data

Data has errors limiting the usefulness of the data

DATA LIMITATIONS

DATA LIMITATIONS

2 Collectors

Strictly nocturnal speciesOnly 2 days in July (6 hours)

5:20 AM – 10:15 AM

56 animals:47 banded geckos

8 shovel-nosed snakes1 long nosed snake

(3.25 animals per meter)

Highly territorial and density dependent species being collected from same site.

DATA LIMITATIONS

Species being reported from out of range

Western Banded Gecko (Coleonyx variegatus) collection locationsWestern Banded Gecko distribution in NV

¯0 50 10025 Miles

PITFALL TRAPS

Illegal Collection Method

700 + exist in So. Nevada

PITFALL TRAPS

197 Reptiles observed - 64% traps contained reptiles96 mammals observed - 31% contained mammals99 Scorpions observed - *69% contained scorpions

368 (307) Traps Checked 2016-17

Applicable history:

53%

47%**

3%

96%

27%

74%

“Live”

Dead

Reptiles Mammals Scorpions

PITFALL TRAPS

Direct the Department to take no further action and continue to allow unlimited commercial reptile collecting

Direct the Department to draft a permanent regulation prohibiting commercial reptile collecting

Direct the Department to cease permitting commercial reptile collecting

Direct the Department to develop recommendations that limit commercial collection based on species, season, year, and/or collection area in the state

POSSIBLE ACTIONS FOR COMMISSION CONSIDERATION

Actions could be taken independently or in combination

Documents

COMMERCIAL COLLECTION OF REPTILES · 1986 – commercial collection of reptiles is legalized by changing NAC 503.095 1989 Department expresses concern to the Board of Wildlife Commissioners