JACKSON, Miss.— In response to a 2010 petition from the Center for Biological Diversity, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a final rule today protecting the Pearl River map turtle as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The final rule delays designating protections for the places the turtles live for one year.

The Center sued in 2022 after the Service missed its deadline to finalize the protections it had proposed for the turtle in 2021.

“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,” said Lindsay Reeves, a senior attorney at the Center. “The Army Corps of Engineers is considering a plan to dam the Pearl River, which is the only place on Earth where these turtles live.”

Pearl River map turtles are beautifully patterned freshwater turtles that are endemic to the Pearl River in Mississippi and Louisiana. These turtles depend on the river’s flowing freshwater to find food and shelter, and they need its sandy beaches to build their nests. Map turtles get their names from the patterns on their backs that resemble topographical maps.

The project proposed by the Corps would dredge out the sandy banks of the Pearl River and build a dam to create an enormous 2,562-acre lake. The Corps’ proposal is especially worrisome because Pearl River map turtles can’t survive in lakes and construction of the dam would flood their nesting sites.

These dam-building activities aren’t exempted in the turtle’s new protections, meaning the Corps would have to consult with the Service before beginning any construction. Public participation in the rulemaking process was critical to eliminating these harmful exceptions from the final rule.

The final rule also bolsters protection for the turtles from poaching and persecution, including being illegally shot.

Like many freshwater species, Pearl River map turtles are also threatened by climate change. Protecting the places they live will help ensure a healthier future for people, too.

Today’s rule also protects four turtle species that look similar to the Pearl River map turtle: the Alabama map turtle, Barbour’s map turtle, Escambia map turtle and Pascagoula map turtle. All of these turtles are now federally protected and can’t be harmed or killed.