And now a word from our guest…
Persecution and unregulated forest clearing resulted in the near-extirpation of Ohio’s timber rattlesnakes. Ironically, regulated timber harvests may be the very thing that kept them around. Timber rattlesnakes once occurred in suitable habitat throughout most of Ohio, but populations are now centered on only a handful of State and Federal Forestry lands. These properties are the largest remaining forested lands in the state, but they exist because of timber resource needs. The fate of the timber rattlesnake in Ohio is now intricately linked with forest management practices, a situation that is mirrored in many other states.
During 2016, we began capturing and implanting radio-transmitters into timber rattlesnakes in southeastern Ohio to study their movement patterns and habitat use in a landscape with a long history of varied management practices. We are now in our third field season with movement data collected for 35 snakes (currently tracking 27) and have learned quite a lot! Below, I’ve listed a few of our findings: