Biologists alarmed over Nevada's commercial reptile collecting

Licensed collectors gathered 130,127 wild lizards and snakes in Nevada from 1993 to 1997 for sale to pet wholesalers, according to state statistics.

"To just go blithely in and wipe out a resource or impact it seriously so it becomes ecologically ineffective is not smart," said Peter Brussard, a biology professor at the University of Nevada, Reno.

"I'm not categorically against commercial collecting, I'm against unlimited collecting. We don't do that with ducks or deer or any other wildlife."

Collectors defend their livelihood, insisting they haven't begun to put a dent in huge lizard populations.

"This is my living. I don't want to rape the land to make a fortune," said collector Terry Ziegler of Wadsworth, who caught more than 8,740 lizards between 1986 and 1997. "I have to have another lizard next year."

But Dick Tracy, another UNR biology professor, said history is replete with examples of animals harvested to the brink of extinction.

He expressed concern over state statistics that show a 40 percent decline in the number of reptiles collected in Nevada since 1994.

"It may be because it's harder and harder to find them," Tracy told the Reno Gazette-Journal.

Nevada Division of Wildlife staff members said they're unsure whether commercial collecting is harming reptiles.

They're analyzing data and considering asking the Board of Wildlife Commissioners in November to set bag limits on reptiles most vulnerable to commercial collecting.

"We want to elevate the wildlife commissioners' understanding of our concerns, which would ultimately lead to restrictions on some species," said division Administrator Willie Molini.

Among the most popular lizards collected in Nevada are the Great Basin collared lizard, northern desert horned lizard, Great Basin fence lizard, desert iguana and Western chuckwalla.

Nevada has allowed commercial reptile collecting since at least 1986. Nineteen reptile collectors are licensed statewide this year to catch 44 species of Nevada's wild lizards and snakes.

Collectors, who pay $100 a year for a permit, can earn from $10,000 to $30,000 annually. They insist the state's rapid growth is to blame for any decline in reptile numbers.

"This is what's causing the animals to retreat and die out," Ziegler said, pointing to an area that soon will be covered with houses. "They're destroying habitat."

Richard Montanucci, a biology professor at Clemson University, said loss of habitat, commercial collecting, drought and disease all take a toll on reptiles.

"Often when species disappear, it's for a variety of reasons," he said.

Scott Henke, a wildlife scientist at Texas A&M University, Kingsville, said he hopes Nevada can learn a lesson from his state's experience with the Texas horned lizard.

The lizards, also known as horny toads, were placed on the state's threatened list in 1977 after excessive collecting of them. They're now off limits to collectors.

"One thing I would say to Nevada is to be careful," Henke said. "Maybe we are a precursor of what you will see."

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