DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa Department of Natural Resources commission has advanced restrictions on the state’s turtle trapping. The rules approved Thursday by the Natural Resource Commission would limit trappers to catching six or fewer turtles a day and bar trapping during a six-week period in late spring. The Des Moines Register reports that the rules now will go through a series of public hearings and administrative steps. If approved along the way, they are expected to be in place by early February.

Lawmakers passed a measure during the last legislative session that requires the department to set a trapping season and daily catch limit. Iowa is one of a small number of states that allows trappers to take unlimited numbers of certain turtles throughout the year.