Objectives

1. To advocate and promote sound, scientifically based survey and population studies that can identify demographic trends and identify causal factors contributing to changes in population size, growth and structure.
2. To identify factors that threaten terrapin populations and take the necessary steps to remedy those situations.
3. To maintain a database of the known terrapin populations that are or have been studied with specific attention to changes in population growth rate.
4. To provide advice and recommendations for the research direction and effective management and conservation of terrapins throughout their range.
5. To promote and assist educational programs that focus on terrapin conservation or that use the terrapin as a model organism to promote environmental awareness and stewardship.
6. To meet once every three years as the “Workshop on the Ecology, Status and Conservation of Diamondback Terrapins.” The Diamondback Terrapin Working Group will hold an open meeting during the workshop to conduct general business.
7. To serve as a source of information on terrapins and their associated habitats. One aspect of this will be to maintain a bibliography of all known scientific publications concerning diamondback terrapins.

These objectives are preliminary and are open for further comment.
Please send your suggestions to Joe Butler or Willem Roosenburg