NEHS Proposal for Altering Massachusetts
DFW Restricted Herptiles List
At the beginning of 1991, the New England Herpetological Society formed a
committee to investigate the possibility of updating the regulations concerning
reptiles and amphibians in the state of Massachusetts. The committee was formed
in response to a letter from Tom French, an assistant director at the Massachusetts
Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (DFW). He had spoken on Herp Laws in Massachusetts
at the November, 1990 meeting of the NEHS. The Regulations Committee originally
consisted of David Kirkpatrick (chair), Rick Roth, Charles Fisher, Dave McNeill,
and Mary Stafford. A request for new members was made in the January, 1992 issue
of the NEHS newsletter, but no new members were forthcoming. In July of 1992,
Tom French mentioned to David Kirkpatrick that he would welcome input from the
committee. More members were recruited for the Regulations committee, and split
into subgroups based on expertise to evaluate the current regulations and to
make recommendations for changes.
At the end of October, 1992, a final version of the subgroups' recommendations
was compiled and sent to Tom French. The formal process for changing the regulations
took approximately three years, as it had to go through a number of committees
and a formal public hearing on the proposed changes.
The links below comprise the text of the proposed changes. Unfortunately,
the text for half of the 'lizards' section is not available at this time, as
no copies of it have been located. It will be posted if it surfaces.
Initial letter from Tom French to
the Society.
Published in the Society newsletter in response to a query from the editor,
Dave McNeill, (whose editorial comments follow the letter itself), to Tom French
at the Nov. 1990 meeting of NEHS.
Cover letter to the proposal
Preface to the proposal
Recommended changes: Turtles
Recommended changes: Snakes
Recommended changes: Lizards.
Incomplete: see note above.
Recommended changes: Crocodilians
Recommended changes: Amphibians
Concluding remarks
References List
The Proposal also included a table of contents, two tables listing all current
snake and lizard genera, and a copy of the complete Restricted Reptiles and
Amphibians List, as compiled by NEHS. These are not reproduced here.
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