BURLINGTON (AP) - Two southeast Iowa men are facing charges of poaching turtles.

Officers charged 36-year-old Mike Kerr of Mount Pleasant and 38-year-old Jack Schafer of Fairfield with using illegal methods to take turtles, failure to have commercial gear tags and illegally taking and possessing a turtle. They face fines totaling $2,299.

The state Department of Natural Resources says conservation officers acting on a tip staked out traps on July 9. They watched the men run nine traps in the Tama Bottoms area, north of Burlington.

Kerr and Schafer are scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 12.