Spotted Turtle Grabbed From Lake Elkhorn; Officials Remind People of Laws

A recent confrontation between a Columbia Association staffer and people who were taking a turtle from a local lake isn’t the only case of the reptiles being removed.

While it isn’t overly common, it does happen, officials say. And while it isn’t always illegal, there are rules regarding what turtles people can own.

In this case, it was three young men at Lake Elkhorn last week with a spotted turtle, which Maryland law prohibits from being taken from the wild.

John McCoy, Columbia Association’s watershed manager, said he told them they needed to put the turtle back. He saw them again at the lake a little bit later. They still had the turtle, and they soon threw a bucket of water at McCoy, he said.

This incident wasn’t the first time people have been confronted about taking turtles, according to Chick Rhodehamel, vice president of Columbia Association and its director of community development and sustainability.

“In some cases they’re young kids who don’t know” the law, Rhodehamel said. “They put them back. Others have been scurrying away with turtles in a bucket. I’ve never been able to figure out what they’re going to do with them. Usually what they’re catching is a little too large to be a pet.”

McCoy said he’s run into someone grabbing a turtle before, and he’s heard of two similar cases at Lake Kittamaqundi. Rhodehamel, who’s worked for Columbia Association for more than three decades, said he’s known of about a dozen incidents in that time.

“It probably happens more frequently,” Rhodehamel said.

The state regulations about what reptiles and amphibians can be captured are available at this link.

“It all depends on what they are harvesting, how they are harvesting and where they are harvesting,” said Sgt. Art Windemuth, spokesman for the state natural resources police.

People can have an eastern box turtle or an eastern painted turtle, for example, though having more than one of each requires a permit. A permit is required to have a turtle that is less than four inches long.

A snapping turtle can be caught with a fishing line or a net, but not with a hook that can pierce their shell. Several turtles, including numerous sea turtles, require a scientific collection permit or an endangered species permit.

Some turtles are not to be taken from the wild whatsoever: wood turtles, diamond-backed terrapins, and what the young men were taking from Lake Elkhorn, a spotted turtle.

“I think what we see is just people that aren’t aware of the regulations,” Windemuth said, “or don’t know what they have in their possession.” 

Maryland's Poaching Hotline phone number is 1-800-635-6124.