Outdoors With Tom Venesky: A Deadly Decision For Rattlesnakes?

I suspect there won’t be many people thrilled to hear this: timber rattlesnake numbers have rebounded to the point where the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission de-listed the species as a candidate for threatened or endangered status. The de-listing, which was done at the PFBC’s board meeting on July 12, didn’t spark the positive reaction when the bald eagle was removed from the federal list of threatened and endangered species in 2007. So far, people aren’t celebrating the return of the rattlesnake in Pennsylvania. I’m not either. Not yet. The de-listing of the timber rattlesnake means the species is no longer up for consideration of the protections offered if it were listed as threatened or endangered in the state. Considering the amount of intrusion into our wild areas from wind turbine construction, new power lines and gas drilling and pipelines, I’m left with an uneasy feeling about removing the timber rattlesnake further from protected status. Our forests are being fragmented at a rapid rate, and the impact to species such as timber rattlesnakes has yet to be determined. But maybe there’s a bright side to all this. The PFBC has numbers that indicate the timber rattlesnake is doing quite well.