Kevin Shoemaker wants to save the snakes.

The State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry conservation biology doctoral student says immediate action must be taken to protect the local population of the endangered massasauga rattlesnakes.

Shoemaker began researching the local eastern massasauga rattlesnake population in late 2004. His findings suggest that Cicero Swamp, located approximately 10 miles from Syracuse, is host to between 100 and 200 massasauga rattlesnakes.

‘Although the population is doing better than initially expected, I wouldn’t say it’s thriving by any definition,’ Shoemaker said. ‘The population is sustaining, which warrants future research and management of Cicero Swamp.’

Shoemaker hopes his research findings will promote change at Cicero Swamp as well as at the Bergen Swamp, a second host location to between 50 and 150 snakes.

Since pregnant female massasauga snakes hatch eggs from inside their bodies, the snakes must conserve energy and keep their eggs warm by remaining stationary and basking in sunlight. The snakes are endangered in every state besides Michigan and listed as threatened in Canada. Management of the overgrown swamps is crucial to increase basking opportunities, Shoemaker said.

‘This research will help guide future management of the swamp, whether it’s a prescribed fire or manual cutting,’ Shoemaker said. ‘The pregnant female is a very stationary animal, and it needs to be able to more easily find areas to stay still, warm and hidden from predators all day without having to move around.’

Shoemaker said the next step toward protecting Cicero Swamp’s massasauga population is to design experimental management plots where the sunlight-blocking vegetation will be cleared. Next, the increases and decreases of the snake population resulting from specific swamp management technique should be monitored.

‘We would never just burn down the entire swamp; we would monitor small management actions, and once we determine what is successful in protecting the massasauga population, we can apply it at a larger scale,’ Shoemaker said.

Much of the local community does not know that this species of rattlesnake exists in the area or that it is endangered. It’s important for people to be aware that the fear of these snakes is mostly unwarranted, and that they do more good than harm, Shoemaker said. They keep the rodent population in check and perform an ecological role as a top-level predator.

James Gibbs, an associate professor of conservation biology at SUNY ESF, served as Shoemaker’s advisor for the duration of the project. Gibbs helped to design the project, secure funding and permits and analyze the findings of Shoemaker’s research.

‘This project deals with a very rare species of rattlesnake,’ Gibbs said. ‘I think Kevin’s work is very well done, and for the first time, we know many snakes are out there, and it isn’t very many.’

Published on January 22, 2008 at 12:00 pm