There's an awful lot we can learn from the native herp-keeper community, mostly what NOT to do. Given the high levels of illegal take of many protected (and unprotected) herps, it's understandable that many states are hyper-vigilant regarding some species - bog and spotted turtles, indigo snakes, and several spp. of western rattlesnakes come to mind, as does the massive export of turtles from the US to Asia for food. Just hope that the Chinese don't find out that darters taste good!!
The protection can get a little illogical at times. The snakes in my example are in the backyards of people who have pledged to kill any that come into their yards. Yards that were built with the full knowledge of the rare species and the agreement of the state. An illegal off road motor bike trail crosses about 50 feet from the den but has never been bothered by the state. My friend who got accosted and threatened by the game warden is a law abiding ardent conservationist.
My point here is that what seems like innocent and harmless behavoir can be enough to bring down the heat in certain context.
As far as knuckleheads shooting off their mouths about taking protected species by accident, it happens. No good can come from trying to pretend otherwise. The obvious point of the original thread was to encourage collectors to educate themselves so that it would happen less often. I chimed in to give a real life example.
For what it's worth, I did make an official rare species report to the state.