Legality of purchasing Orangethroats

A question out of curiousity...

Orangethroat Darters (Etheostoma spectabile) are restricted to a few streams in southeast Iowa, and as a result are considered endangered here. However, I understand that they are widespread in other states, and that the ones found here are at an extreme of their much wider range, over which they are considered relatively secure. Anyways, it is illegal to collect Orangethroat Darters here in Iowa, but would it be considered illegal to buy one from Zimmerman's or Sach's or any native fish retailers? What about any of the newly seperated species such as the Brooks Darter (Etheostoma brooksi) (or any that are common enough to warrant ethical collection)? Wouldn't that be like living in China where White Cloud Mountain Minnows are endangered but are a popular aquarium fish and deciding to buy one from an online tropical fish retailer?

If possible, it would certainly be necessary to keep the receipt...

I apologize for double posting, but I asked a fellow DNR fisheries helper (who has been working there much longer than myself) and he said that he wasn't sure, but that they were having a similar legal deal with transporting more paddlefish into the state, since they are common to invasive in other places but are listed as threatened in Iowa. Just some food for thought.

I know this is an old post but in case anyone else might have the same question the answer is no. According to the DNR I spoke with you cannot purchase Orangethroats even from out of state, receipt or not. I know it is frustrating because the are so common out of state but that is how the law is at this time.

Thanks for your reply, it's still nice to clear that up. I kind of predicted that's how it would work, oh well. The good thing is Rainbow Darters are reasonable representatives. I'm still curious as to whether the Brooks Darter and others would fall under the ban however.

On another note, I'm guessing you spoke with someone from the Lake Macbride outpost? Their guys hauled in some coolio fishes to the state fair last year!

that makes me wonder... do they sell any bait fish that is listed as a protected species? i ask because in north carolina, american eel is listed as protected and is illegal to possess without a permit, and yet, they are sold as bait in gander mountain.

when i asked head biologist for my region, mr ashly or something, he told me that it was completely illegal to have one without a permit. after informing him that they were being sold at gander mountain as bait, he then told me that he wasnt sure. he couldnt imagine a large company like that breaking the law, and they would be doing so if it were illegal to buy a bait eel from them...

he suggested that if i keep one i need to keep my receipt. regardless, acquiring a permit would be a good idea. of course, that would be problematic if i already had the eels, since permits are not given to people to legally keep the fish that they already have.

in such cases, the law gets a little too blurry for my comfort...