ASP changes how people view and treat snakes
ASP changes how people view and treat snakes
For more than 20 years, travel management rules have provided a common-sense approach: local land managers work with communities and forest users to identify which roads, trails, and areas are open to motorized vehicles. The result is a clearly mapped system that provides dependable motorized access while protecting wildlife, water, and plants on our public
Don’t Gut Motor Vehicle Rules Read More »
The Roadless Rule, enacted in 2001, sets aside wild areas in our national forests from road-building and industrial logging for wildlife, watershed conservation, and outdoor recreation. In the decades since these forests have enjoyed roadless protections, their trees have matured, safe from the clutches of chainsaws or the crush of bulldozers. Snakes and other wild
Save Roadless Forests Read More »
A new 520-mile gas pipeline could tear through some of the most important riparian areas in the Southwest: the Muleshoe Ranch Preserve and Cooperative Management Area and the Middle and Lower San Pedro River Valley. This isn’t a minor detour. The proposed route runs along I-10 almost the whole way, but veers off to cut
Tell FERC to Reroute the Desert Southwest Pipeline Read More »
– Dr Christina Zdenek, Australian Reptile Academy (find her on Instagram @Chris.and.Christina) There is a long-standing myth that snakes are deaf. Presumably this comes from two places: But neither of these things prove that snakes are deaf. For example, dolphins and moths can hear exceptionally well, yet neither of them have external ears. Regarding point #2,
Snakes are NOT Deaf! Read More »
– Gordon M. Burghardt, PhD, Board of Directors, ASP Three recent books have added to our knowledge and appreciation of snakes. The most general, inexpensive, and accessible is Slither: How Nature’s Most Maligned Creatures Illuminate our World, by Stephen S. Hall (2025, Grand Central Publishing, New York). Comprised of eight chapters and a historical epilogue,
Books for Buzz Readers Read More »
– Bryan D. Hughes, Rattlesnake Solutions. Is relocating a snake always a death sentence? No, but it’s complicated, and it certainly can be. Here I’ll discuss some misunderstandings of the practice, what is working, and where there’s room for future study and improvement. This is within the scope of Arizona-native reptiles, specifically rattlesnakes, so relevance
Snake Relocation is Complex, Problematic, but Misunderstood Read More »
An Invasive Irritation We first met Willie, a Black-tailed Rattlesnake, in June 2012, hunting on a massive downed Cottonwood Tree. We didn’t handle or mark him, but Jeff got excellent photographs. Black-tailed Rattlesnakes have unique head patterns that can be used to identify individuals and Willie also has two blotches on his back that are
This article was written by Emily Taylor, PhD, a member of the ASP Board of Directors. Research should be fun! If it isn’t, you’re not doing it right. That’s what I tell my students, at least. As field biologists, we are privileged to conduct research in the great outdoors on the wild animals that we
Thirsty Snakes? Give ‘em a Drink! Read More »
The Reptilist – Written and photographed by Robin Hall Johnson On November 20, 2024, we lost a great defender of wildlife and wild places in Terry A. Johnson, known as The Reptilist. For over 40 years Terry enlightened and endeared people of all ages to the beauty and importance of reptiles and amphibians – especially
Terry Arthur Johnson Read More »
July 16 is World Snake Day: an opportunity to celebrate snakes and raise awareness about their preservation. While snakes are threatened by many of the same issues that affect all wildlife (habitat loss, climate change, and disease), negative attitudes toward snakes may be the biggest barrier to their preservation because it often impedes efforts to address
World Snake Day 2025 Read More »
Want to help snakes? Discover 11 simple tips to create a wildlife-friendly yard and help snakes and your other wild neighbors thrive. You’ll also be the first to hear new snake stories and opportunities to take action in ASP’s fortnightly newsletter.