Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just curious if anyone is familiar with snake hunting in south Florida on land that is sovereign Miccosukee land. Don’t want to create an International incident, but how are the laws applied on these herpin areas along Alligator Alley and the Tamiami Trail areas? I was inspired to post this from a thread below about herpin south Florida where someone mentioned getting hassled by Miccosukee police and risking getting your vehicle confiscated? I'd like some clarification- you can't hardly go across from east to west down here without traveling through "their" lands, even if you aren't actually herpin there. But I have field collected many times out there and never been hassled, or even thought about it.

On Indian lands, state wildlife laws do not apply. The applicable laws are the federal and Indian laws. Most tribes have VERY strict laws protecting the natural resources on their land.
You cannot herp on Indian land without specific permission given by the tribe that owns the land. The penalties are VERY serious. Furthermore, it is rather disrespectful of their sovereignty.
-----
Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

A year or two ago, I stopped and spoke with a law enforcement officer and a 2 other tribal members regarding the very question you asked.
The sad response was something like this:
I was told I couldn't even remove a " blade of grass" from the reservation as everything was considered tribal property. I was also told that I would have to speak with the chief of the tribe and the land owners if I wanted to search for reptiles on any property within the tribe.
The law enforcement officer then continued and told me about a 6 Eastern Diamoandback that he had shoot a few weeks earlier on the tribal land. One of the tribal members then chimed in and told me about all the " coral snakes " he had killed over the years. ( I've been throught the area many times and found a lot of scarlet kings, but never a coral snake... so we know what he was killing )
The tribal member then went on to inform me of all the copperheads that he had killed. I asked him if he was certain they were copperheads, and he said certainly. He said copperheads and cottonmouths were the most common snakes out there. He then told me some of the copperheads were over 3 feet. I guess they weren't juve. cottonmouths...
Sad to see this kind of ignorance.

coral snakes are found down there and even further south to flamingo, the copperheads were obviously juvie cottonmouths, as 20 years ago copperheads were only found in a few counties on the georgia florida border, and now I'm sure some of you old guys will agree, you can't find copperheads at all anywhere in the state of fla and especially in south fla where they never occurred at all. JB

Now JB you know there's tons of coppers in n.FL!
In fact they're more common and in spots farther south than in many field guides, right?
Seeing any pines lately?
:Mark
-----
Surrender Dorothy!

www.crimsonking.funtigo.com

I never heard that mark and I have been told by many hunters you can't find copperheads in this state at all anymore...

Very easy Joe. You just have to be in the panhandle.
Here's two:

:Mark
-----
Surrender Dorothy!

www.crimsonking.funtigo.com

never seen a copperhead in the glades,but barrels full of moccasins, 48 y/o Miami native. spring and summer DOR are 90% cottons

I once gave Bill Haast a "weird" cotton I caught out in Fakahatchee that looked somewhat like a copperhead- it was the color of cardboard. I realized many years later that it was a hypomelanistic! We didn't consider those things winning Lottery tickets back then! I have many regrets I didn't take a camera with me all those times...

That would be more like 80% Nerodia, 10% Agkistrodon, & 10% misc. colubrid's. Hunting Indian Land is worse in Fla. than hunting Sugar Cane land. The chances of getting permission from the Tribe are less than winning the Lottery if you're not of Native American ancestry. At least with big sugar, you have a chance, and they only have Security personnel. Unlike Indian Land which have they're own police backed by the State. The Fla. Game Commision won't bust you as long as you have the proper permits. But the Tribal Police will, and they will confiscate any animals you have with you, as well as hooks, flashlights etc..., not to mention, will have the County Sheriff place you in jail. Trust me on this. I almost ended up in jail just trying to move a Sistrurus from the road to keep it from getting run over. I was fortunate that a Wildlife Officer stopped and talked them into letting me go.
It's beautiful land and unique in this country, so enjoy that, take pics, but don't touch, even if your intentions are for the best.
Bob ......30+ years herping the SE