Reaching out to "save our snakes"

Endangered Species Bulletin, Dec, 2004 by Megan Seymour

The Lake Erie watersnake is listed federally as threatened, the state of Ohio and the Canadian province of Ontario consider it endangered. Human persecution is the most significant and well-documented cause for the decline of this snake in both the U.S. and Canada.

A common public misconception that the snakes are venomous, coupled with an unfounded fear of snakes in general, led to widespread eradication efforts.

Megan Seymour, a wildlife biologist in the Service's Reynoldsburg, Ohio, Ecological Services Field Office, can be reached at (614) 469-6923, ext. 16.