The popular rattlesnake hunts in three small northern
Pennsylvania communities will go on as planned this year, but their
future beyond that is no sure thing.
That’s because the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is
poised to approve a wide-ranging series of regulations to protect
many species of snakes, lizards, frogs and turtles that are
disappearing from the state. New rules would strictly limit snake
hunts, which have been huge tourist attractions for more than three
decades in Sinnemahoning, Cross Fork and Morris.
The changes, which would go into effect in 2007, are designed to
preserve almost two dozen dwindling species, including
Pennsylvania’s three varieties of poisonous snakes. The eastern
massassaugua rattlesnake is endangered and therefore off-limits to
hunters. At this point, the other two – the timber rattler and the
copperhead – are “candidate species” for endangered status,
according to Fish and Boat Commission spokesman Dan Tredinnick.
Habitat destruction, taking of snakes by collectors, organized
snake hunts and the killing of snakes in casual encounters have all
diminished the reptiles’ numbers and range, according to
Tredinnick. Some local populations have been completely wiped
out.
“The timber rattlesnake is not on the endangered and threatened
list, but because of its declining population, it could become
endangered,” he said.
The agency already limits the harvest of timber rattlers to one
a year. Now, the commission wants to put a 42-inch size minimum on
snakes that are removed from the wild. Snake-hunting fees would go
from $5 to $50 for Pennsylvanians and $100 for out-of-state
hunters.
Hunters would be limited to participating in only one organized
hunt per year. Also, organizations sponsoring snake hunts would
have to pay a $100 permit fee.
Organizers of the Cross Fork and Sinnemahoning snake hunts
oppose all of those regulations, but the one they fear could sound
the death knell is a ban on “snake-sacking contests.” In those
events, teams of two enter a fenced-in stage and race the clock to
place five live rattlesnakes in a pillowcase-sized cloth bag. The
fastest teams earn cash prizes.
“The sacking contests are the real crowd-pleasers,” said Barry
Gipe, a spokesman for Kettle Creek Hose Co., which depends on the
Cross Fork Snake Hunt for much of its operating revenue. “Probably
at least half of the people come to the snake hunt to watch the
sacking contest.”
Gipe pointed out the state already prohibits the use of native
rattlesnakes for sacking competition, so Kettle Creek Hose Co., has
been importing western diamondback rattlers. Under the new
regulations, that species would also be off-limits.
Ray Savel, public relations chairman of the Sinnemahoning
Sportsmen’s Association, believes the new rules could harm, and
potentially eliminate, the Sinnemahoning Snake Hunt.
“The Snake Hunt is one of the main fund-raisers for the club,”
Savel noted. “Our club would be forced to develop some other
fund-raisers to take its place.”
Gipe and Savel both agree that the $50 to $100 fee and the
limiting of snake hunters to one organized event per year would
drive away many participants. The snake length restrictions are
also a major concern, Gipe said.
“Most of the snakes brought in to our hunts are between 38 and
39 inches,” he pointed out.
Tredinnick said the 42-inch minimum is designed to protect
female snakes, which typically are smaller than the males. Female
timber rattlesnakes need at least eight years to reach reproductive
maturity, he added. With the minimum size requirement, hunters
would be taking a larger proportion of mature adult male
snakes.
Some politicians have allied themselves with the Sinnemahoning
Sportsmen and Kettle Creek Hose Co. state Rep. Mike Hanna of Lock
Haven, who sits on the House Game and Fisheries Committee, strongly
opposes the new restrictions. The Clinton County Board of
Commissioners has also taken a stand. The commissioners say the
Cross Fork Snake Hunt’s demise would drastically reduce tourism
income and compromise fire protection.
The Fish and Boat Commission will continue to accept public
comment before acting on the proposals this summer. The measures
are posted on the commission’s Web site at www.fish.state.ps.us.
Comments can be made through a link on the site, or submitted in
writing to: Executive Director, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat
Commission, P.O. Box 67000, Harrisburg PA 17106-7000.
“We’ve had several hundred comments,” Tredinnick said. “We’re
not really surprised. There’s not much interest statewide, but
those folks who are interested are a very active group. We fully
anticipated that.”
The proposals were recommended by a work group formed last year,
including hobbyists, snake hunters, snake hunt sponsors,
conservationists and academics. The commission appointed the panel
after scientific studies showed that, despite harvest limits
imposed in 1993 and 1996, the rattlesnake population is
declining.
Other reptiles and amphibians that would receive greater
protection under the proposals include: bullfrog, common snapping
turtle, wood turtle, Blanding’s turtle, Northern coal skink,
mudpuppy, hellbender, marbled salamander, mountain chorus frog,
Eastern hognose snake and others.
The agency has drawn praise from some organizations. “I’m glad
to see the commission looking out for the whole range of organisms
under its jurisdiction, beyond just those important to recreational
fishing,” said Sue Thompson, director of the Pennsylvania
Biodiversity Partnership, a public/private conservation
organization.
Sinnemahoning Sportsmen’s Association will hold its 2006 Snake
Hunt on June 11-12. Those are also the dates for the Rattlesnake
Roundup in Morris (Tioga County), which observed its 50th
anniversary last summer. Kettle Creek Hose Co.’s event, now in its
34th year at Cross Fork, is June 24-25.
