Notice of Availability of a Draft Recovery Plan for the Bog Turtle, Northern Population, for Review and Comment

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announces the availability for public review of a draft Recovery Plan for the allopatric northern population of the bog turtle (Clemmys muhlenbergii). The bog turtle's northern population was listed as a threatened species on November 4, 1997. Although this population is currently known to occur in a total of 360 sites in the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, it has experienced at least a 50 percent reduction in range and numbers over the past 20 years. The greatest threats to the long-term survival of the northern bog turtle population include the loss, degradation, and fragmentation of its habitat, compounded by the increasing take of long-lived adult animals from wild populations for illegal wildlife trade. The overall objective of the bog turtle recovery program is to protect and maintain the northern allopatric population of this species and its habitat by securing protection for at least 185 populations distributed across the species' range, and ensuring that these populations are stable or increasing. The Service solicits review and comment from the public on this draft Plan.