No two states handle wildlife management the same way – especially when it comes to herps. In Pennsylvania, centuries went by before any agency took responsibility for reptiles and amphibians. Even after the PA Fish and Boat Commission reluctantly took charge of state herps in 1980, the state’s seventy-six reptile and amphibian species and subspecies remained an unwanted burden and were continually tossed back and forth between PFBC and the PA Game Commission. While most fish and wildlife create millions of dollars of state revenue through hunting and fishing licenses, reptiles and amphibians are not so lucrative to manage. Neither agency has ever wanted to deal with herps, so they have remained largely unregulated in PA, until recently.

With this history in mind, it should come as no surprise that PA is one of the seven states where Rattlesnake Roundups are still legal. Among the states where roundups are legal (TX, OK, NM, KS, AL, GA, and PA), Pennsylvania has always been one of the most notorious. PA is home to no less than nine or ten roundups per year, despite the fact that PA’s rattlesnakes are a candidate-threatened species (Crotalus horridus) and an endangered species (Sitrurus c. catenatus).

Unlike the relatively resilient Western Diamondback collected for most Southwestern roundups, the candidate-threatened Timber Rattlesnake collected in PA is quite vulnerable. Adults only reach sexual maturity after 8-10 years, and only reproduce once every 3-5 years. Research shows Timbers may abandon den sites which have been molested. Survival rates are well under 25% for snakes released outside of their small 1-2 mile home range. During roundups, dens are commonly disturbed or destroyed and snakes that aren’t killed or kept are often released outside their home range. After decades of roundups, these actions have taken their toll. A several-year study by state biologists has shown 71% of Pennsylvania’s South Mountain Timber Rattlesnake population has gone the way of the buffalo.

Currently wildlife advocates are working on a long-term project to completely do away with roundups in the state. In the mean time, the PA Fish and Boat Commission has come up with a short-term solution involving new roundup regulations. To roundup organizers, these new regulations are a major roadblock. To wildlife advocates, these changes are a big step in the right direction.

Under current regulations, a $5 permit allows roundup participants to take up to two Timber Rattlesnakes per year, regardless of sex or age. In fact, “heaviest rattlesnake” prizes are awarded at roundups, encouraging participants to seek out and capture gravid females from the wild. Under the proposed regulations, Timbers will receive much more protection. Hunt permits will cost $50 instead of five, and participants will only be allowed one snake instead of two. Females will be completely off-limits, and males must be a minimum of 42 inches to be taken (average adult length of a male Timber is 41 inches). Although roundups will still be legal, they will be far less harmful to populations under the proposed regulations.

Pennsylvania also leads the union with more roads per square mile than any other state. Consequently, PA herps have really felt the sting of fragmentation and habitat loss. Other changes proposed in the new regulations aim to sustain many other declining herp populations. Northern Copperheads will be given a closed season and collection-permit for the first time. A new permit system for Snapping Turtles will monitor their collection much more closely. Snapping Turtle changes come after a single Philadelphia meat vendor reportedly sold 12,000 pounds of Snapper meat per year. Additionally, every other herp in the state is given extra protection with possession limits being dropped from two to one. Several species which have been impacted by collection from the wild, like the Eastern Box Turtle, will no longer be legal to collect at all. This comes after wildlife groups like the Sierra Club have urged PFBC to ban collection of the Eastern Box Turtle and other turtles from the wild.

These proposed regulations are being met with fierce opposition from Rattlesnake Roundup organizers, who make thousands of dollars from most roundups. In order for the improved regulations to pass, it is essential that wildlife advocates who support these changes make their opinions known to PFBC. Passing these new regulations will be a major step toward protecting herp wildlife in Pennsylvania, and will go a long way toward ending rattlesnake roundups in the state. The proposed regulations are currently up for public comment for sixty days, from October 15th through December 15th. Comments concerning the proposed reptile and amphibian regulations can be mailed to:

Douglas J. Austen, Ph.D., Executive Director
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission
PO Box 67000
Harrisburg, PA 17106

Or emailed through the PFBC’s website: www.fish.state.pa.us

Copies of the new regulations are available at http://sites.state.pa.us/PA_Exec/Fish_Boat/rulemakings/175nprp.htm of by request to Herpdigest.

For further information you can directly contact Jesse Rothacker at info@forgottenfriend.org

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From 10/27/05 HerpDigest Issue. Reprinted by permission of author.
Proposed PA Herp Regs Followup. And New Link To Send PFBC Your Feedback
By Jesse Rothacker

Since my first article about PA's proposed herp regulations ran in the 10/22/05 Issue of HerpDigest, I have been contacted by several concerned individuals. It is encouraging to hear so much concerned feedback, but I was hoping this feedback would be directed to PFBC where it can be most useful (I am just the messenger). Please let me reiterate that the intent of my first article was not to endorse the improved regulations as flawless. Rather, I had hoped the article would make wildlife advocates aware that PFBC is currently seeking public feedback about the proposed regs from October 15th through December 15th.

Like most laws, these proposed regs are far from perfect. I have been approached with valid concerns about the new regs, which are concerns I share myself. Among other areas that have room for improvement, the new regs do not recognize subspecies (nor did the old regs). Nevertheless, most herpetologically minded individuals view the proposed regs as progressive steps forward to protect herp wildlife in a state that affords herps little consideration.

The feeling of our local herp club (Lancaster Herpetology Society) and most wildlife groups is that these regulations need a big vote of support from wildlife advocates because Rattlesnake Roundup organizers (and their political allies) will be trying very hard to see them defeated. If you have a few minor concerns with the new regs, please voice those concerns to PFBC as I have. More importantly though, if you conclude that the minor working points are strongly outweighed by the far greater protection PA herps will receive from the new regs, please let PFBC know you support the proposed regs. Rattlesnake Roundup organizers certainly aren't divided on their side of this issue, so I hope herp wildlife advocates will stand together as well.

Below are several links on the PFBC website where you can learn more about the proposed regs. Most importantly, you can use the last link to send your feedback and concerns to PFBC.

Page containing all of PFBC's Proposed Regulations (Herp Regs are RuleMakings 175)

http://sites.state.pa.us/PA_Exec/Fish_Boat/reg398.htm

To view Proposed Herp Laws Directly

http://sites.state.pa.us/PA_Exec/Fish_Boat/rulemakings/175nprp.htm

To voice your feedback to PFBC through an online web form:

https://www.state.pa.us/papower/cwp/view.asp?a=1093&Q=438140&PM=1

Jesse Rothacker
Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary
www.forgottenfriend.org