After 14 years, feds designate Pearl River map turtle a threatened species

The Pearl River map turtle has been designated a threatened species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (Cris Hagen, University of Georgia, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory/Courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey)

The Pearl River map turtle had its day in court – and won big.

After 14 years and multiple lawsuits, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has granted federal protection as a threatened species to the turtle that, as its name indicates, inhabits the river that spans Mississippi and Louisiana.

Other similar species of turtle were also designated as threatened under the Endangered Species Act according to an agency ruling announced Tuesday. Efforts to federally protect the turtles began in 2010, when a petition began to protect them from habitat loss, pollution and poaching threats. Only about 22,000 Pearl River map turtles and the similar looking Alabama, Barbour’s, Escambia and Pascagoula map turtles currently exist in the wild, and studies suggest that threats will continue to impact their numbers.

The Center for Biological Diversity and Healthy Gulf, an independent nonprofit environmental group, sued the Fish and Wildlife Service in January 2020 to make a timely decision on Pearl River map turtle protection. The agency agreed to make a ruling by October 2021. When the deadline passed with no decision, the center sued again in December 2022.

“These federal delays have real and devastating consequences for animals like the alligator snapping turtle that are struggling to survive,” Center staff attorney Camila Cossío said in a news release. “The Fish and Wildlife Service’s listing program is badly broken. The agency needs more funding and less bureaucracy to effectively protect species that are sliding towards extinction.”

While the turtles are now protected, the latest ruling delays a decision to designate the Pearl River as critical habitat for the turtles. Critical habitats are determined by assessing whether there are physical and biological characteristics of an environment that will help ensure the survival of a protected species. If it does, the land is awarded protections as well as the species.

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In the case of the Pearl River, the Fish and Wildlife Service has one year to determine if features such as the river itself, plant life, shoreline or other factors play a role in the preservation of the map turtle and therefore earn federal protection.

“We’re disappointed that the Service didn’t designate critical habitat for the Pearl River map turtles, but these protections couldn’t have come at a more important time,” Center senior attorney Lindsay Reeves said.

Named for the intricate, topographic-like designs on its shell, the Pearl River map turtle makes its home on the banks of the Pearl River in Mississippi and Louisiana. Found nowhere else in the world, it depends on fresh-flowing water and sandy shores of the river for survival and nesting habitat.

The turtle’s threatened designation comes amid controversy over the proposed U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ “One Lake” project meant to reduce flood risks for Jackson, Mississippi. The plans include building a dam in the Pearl River to create a 2.5-acre lake, creating more riverfront space for economic development, housing and flood control.

The One Lake project is a subject of scrutiny for environmental groups who are concerned for species such as the Pearl River map turtle and potential pollution downriver.

Recent reports also bring into question the economic viability of the One Lake project as the preferred flood-control solution, with the Corps’ documents stating the cost of the project is “ not justified” under its cost-benefit analysis.

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