STAR-GAZETTE (Elmira, New York) 26 July 07 Pa. man recovering from snake bite - Volunteer was struck on hand as he moved rock. (George Osgood)

Asaph, Pa.: A downstate Pennsylvania man bitten by a timber rattlesnake Sunday while he was doing volunteer work for the state is recovering from his injury.

"It's my understanding he's OK," said District Forester Roy A. Siefert. "I believe he's recovering."

Siefert declined to identify the man, after he asked workers not to release his name.

The 42-year-old man is a conservation volunteer and was working on habitat improvement for the Pennsylvania Forestry Bureau on state forest land near Asaph, about 10 miles northwest of Wellsboro in Tioga County. He was working with another conservation volunteer.

The man was moving a large rock when the snake struck, hitting the man on his right hand, Siefert said.

His co-worker helped him out of the woods and drove him to the Ansonia area, several miles south of Asaph. Once there, the co-worker established cell phone service unavailable at Asaph and phoned a 911 dispatcher for help.

A Wellsboro Fireman's Ambulance took the bite victim to Wellsboro and a Life Lion helicopter transferred him to Hershey Medical Center, where he was admitted.

The man is from Manheim, Pa., just northwest of Lancaster in Lancaster County, Siefert said.

Rattlesnake bites are relatively rare in Tioga County. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is investigating the bite incident.

Siefert said forestry workers would place signs along the Pine Creek Rail-Trail this year to alert trail hikers and bikers that they share the Pine Creek Gorge with timber rattlesnakes.
Pa. man recovering from snake bite

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