>Date:    Sat, 12 Sep 1998 08:48:47 -0400
>From:    G Thomas Watters <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Re: Clinch River spill
>
>>This incident underscores the danger that freshwater molluscan populations
>>are in. Many species were originally restricted to one river system, and
>>are now restricted only to the most pristine part of that river system. A
>>single untoward event, such as an accidental spill on a highway, can have
>>devastating and long-lasting consequences for endangered species. They have
>>nowhere else to go.
>>
>>Tom, Doug, others: What is the proper role of the conchologist in
>>freshwater mollusk conservation?
>>
>
>"Amateur" conchologists (who have contributed more to the science than all
>of the "professionals") presently are not highly regarded by state and
>federal agencies. They are viewed as part of the problem - stalking those
>rare shells for personal greed and driving them to extinction - rather than
>the valuable resource they actually are. In some US states, like Ohio, their
>hands are tied by regulations that make it illegal to gather this
>information, in the form of specimens, regardless of the importance of the
>information. Unlike marine collectors, freshwater collectors usually must
>get on someone else's property, which also gives them a bad name. But it is
>the conchologist that usually finds that long-lost species, makes that range
>extension, and donates material to the institutional collection.
>
I totally agree with Tom.  Anyone that has visited any of the larger
collections in the U.S. knows that "amateurs" have made significant
contributions to our knowledge of freshwater mollusk distribution.  The
person that immediately comes to mind was Anson A. Hinkley who probably
collected more freshwater mollusks in Alabama than anyone and whose
collections can be found in every major collection in the U.S.  Without his
specimens we wouldn't have the verifiable vouchers that can be used to
document former distribution and current declines.
 
I also agree that the bureaucrats are unecessarily harsh and misinformed
when it comes to obtaining collecting permits, especially for shells.  I
can understand some of their heartburn over collecting live material, but
shells are another story.  Having said that, one can usually obtain the
permits needed to collect shells, especially if you have an agreement or
arrangement to deposit vouchers in a museum collection.
 
Kevin
 
Kevin S. Cummings
Illinois Natural History Survey
607 E. Peabody Drive
Champaign, IL 61820
[log in to unmask]
http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/cbd/collections/mollusk.html