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ERIE TIMES-NEWS (Pennsylvania) 16 September 03 Snake hunter unrattled by failure (John Bartlett)
Meadville: Ben Jellen worked his way carefully through nearly nose-high golden rod, his head bowed to keep a close watch on the ground and the sweat out of his eyes.
Jellen was intent on his task and he needed to see clearly.
He was searching the low-lying field near Hartstown in southwestern Crawford County for the elusive and rare massasauga rattlesnake, an endangered species in Pennsylvania.
"Right here in his field is probably the best remaining habitat in Crawford County. If they are here, this is where they would be," Jellen said. "I'm not pessimistic, but I would say I'd be pleasantly surprised if we find one."
Historically, Crawford County is one of only six counties in Pennsylvania where the massasauga has been found.
The others were Mercer, Venango, Butler, Lawrence and Allegheny.
Today, the snake's range is likely much more limited, perhaps only to specific locations in Venango and Butler counties and possibly Lawrence County.
The last confirmed record from Crawford County is about 30 years old, said Jellen, who heads a Western Pennsylvania Conservancy effort to determine the status and distribution of massasauga rattlers in Pennsylvania.
In more than four months of searching, Jellen and his team of Beth Brokaw and Bill Huffman have found just 11 specimens.
Two were found near Tippery in Venango County and the other nine from locations in Butler County.
This hot, humid day spent searching near Hartstown would not add to the count.
"It's kind of depressing," Jellen said.
Searching for the snake involves plodding through fields, eyes glued to the ground in hopes of basically stumbling across a specimen. The other technique involves putting out "cover boards," sheets of plywood or metal that provide a place for the snakes to hide beneath and bask upon. They also serve as dining halls, attracting the mice and voles the snakes hunt.
Jellen's team returns repeatedly to the same sites to check cover boards and comb the fields.
Jellen said everyone thought the cover boards would produce the most sightings, but every specimen the team found was a result of carefully searching through fields.
"It comes down to just wandering around, being alert and putting in the time," he said.
The massasauga, one of the world's smallest venomous snakes at only 20 to 30 inches long in adulthood, occupies a range from central New York and Ontario west to Iowa and Missouri.
The snake is very habitat specific, preferring marshy areas and flood-plain fields adjacent to drier old-field uplands. Its local nicknames include black snapper for its coloration and swamp rattler for its preferred habitat.
Loss of natural habitat to agriculture and development is probably the most significant cause in the snake's decline, Jellen said.
In every state where the massasauga is found it is now considered rare, and most, like Pennsylvania, list it as a state endangered species. It is a candidate for the federal endangered and threatened species lists.
The conservancy's massasauga study received $157,725 in federal grants and support from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.
"A lot of these species have been under managed for years," said Dan Tredinnick, spokesman for the Fish and Boat Commission, which is responsible for managing and protecting Pennsylvania's reptiles and amphibians. "We have tried to protect them, but you can't protect them if you don't know where they are. It's important to have up-to-date data."
Tredinnick said there is concern because of the very limited number of locations where specimens have been found and the very few actual specimens since the research project began in May.
"It really emphasizes the need to protect them," he said. "Often, when you say something is an endangered species, it becomes just a label until you do a survey and put some figures to it, which brings recognition."
Jellen said he's often asked why we should be concerned over the potential loss of a venomous snake.
"I tell them there are a lot of reasons. For one thing, they belong here; they are a part of our natural heritage. There's also the possibility their venom could have important medical uses," Jellen said as he ever so carefully slipped his fingers beneath a cover board to lift it.
He then quoted famed conservationist Aldo Leopold: "The first rule of intelligent tinkering is to keep all the pieces."
Snake hunter unrattled by failure

It is unfortunate that Bartlett interpreted what B. Jellen said about not finding massasaugas as being a failure. Just because there aren't any found in certain areas doesn't mean the project was a failure. This is important data that may help upgrade their status as a federally endanger species. Furthermore, this will also lead to active conservation via management efforts.
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