DELMARVA - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is set to launch a formal review to determine whether the diamondback terrapin, a turtle found throughout Delmarva’s coastal marshes and estuaries, should receive protection under the Endangered Species Act.
The action is outlined in the Federal Registry and is slated for official publication on July 14. The Fish and Wildlife Service says the review comes in response to a petition submitted in 2024 presenting enough scientific information to suggest listing the diamondback terrapin as threatened or endangered may be warranted.
The announcement marks the beginning of a status review and is not a final decision to list the turtle under the Endangered Species Act.
The diamondback terrapin is the only turtle species in North America that lives exclusively in brackish water, inhabiting tidal marshes, bays, and estuaries along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, including throughout the Chesapeake Bay.
According to the Fish and Wildlife Service, the petition cites several threats facing the species and that information regarding terrapins drowning in crab pots provided enough evidence to justify a closer review. The petition also points to habitat loss, invasive phragmites, pollution, oil spills, road mortality, poaching, predation, and climate change as potential threats.
The Service will also evaluate a request to consider four regional groups of diamondback terrapins as distinct populations that could potentially qualify for separate protections.
Over the next year, officials say federal biologists will conduct a comprehensive review using the best available scientific and commercial information before issuing a 12-month finding. At that point, the agency will determine whether listing the species is warranted, not warranted, or warranted but delayed because of higher-priority listing actions.
The Fish and Wildlife Service is encouraging researchers, state agencies and members of the public to submit scientific data and other information about the diamondback terrapin and the threats it faces to help inform the review. Along with the diamondback terrapin, the Fish and Wildlife Service is also considering new protections for the Cascade red fox, Goose Lake lamprey, Goose Lake sucker, Goose Lake tui chub, loopy five firefly, and the plains spotted skunk.
