I thought it was great too. My good friend in Illinois (Scott Ballard) did verify the same things wolfpackh mentioned regarding the venomous snakes in that precise area too. So there was indeed some extremely useful information shared here regarding what does and what doesn't seem to be in that immediate area.

I don't think he would mind if I posted his email to me clarifying all of this either, so here is what he had to tell me.

Thanks for the helpful information, Scott!

Quote:

That map looks to be depicting a locality near Vincennes, Indiana in Knox County. From more accurate range maps than the general ones found in the Peterson field guide series, there are no venomous snake species known from Knox County, Indiana. Known copperhead localities are more south one county, east two counties, and northeast 2-3 counties of that locality, and known timber rattlesnake localities are at least two counties east of there. Historically, massasaugas are limited to the northern half of Indiana. But recently I'd bet massasaugas are even LESS abundant than that today as they have seriously declined throughout all of their range.

Across the border in Illinois (which would be Lawrence County), there are also no venomous snakes known in the immediate area. Recent known localities of the copperhead and timber rattlesnake from Illinois are 3-4 and 4-5 counties to the southwest, respectively. Massasaugas now occur only in 2-3 counties in Illinois and are no where near that locality.

Keep in mind that some of the more general maps used in the Peterson field guides incorporate both historic and recent occurrences, and usually are inaccurate in their depiction of the actual current range of the species in any given area. Hope this helps.

end quote


Also, Greg,....I am VERY happy to hear that you are feeling much better. That's just wonderful my friend!..


~Doug
-----
"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

serpentinespecialties.webs.com



"some are just born to troll and roll"

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