Feds to decide if 2 Mississippi turtles need protection

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The federal government says it will decide whether protection is needed for a map turtle found only in Mississippi and a related species found in Mississippi and Louisiana. The agreement settles a lawsuit filed in January over the status of Pearl River map turtles and Pascagoula map turtles. One is found in the Pearl River watershed in Louisiana and Mississippi, and the other only in part of Mississippi’s Pascagoula River system. The lawsuit was filed by two ecolog