Snakes Alive! Volunteers are sought for count
By The Emporia Gazette (Contact)
Thursday, April 16, 2009
The public will have a chance to help count, collect and learn about Kansas reptiles this month during a count by the Kansas Herpetological Society.
The public is invited to the event, where they will be able to help find and count snakes, turtles, lizards, salamanders, toads and frogs in Chase County on April 25 and 26.
“Lest the actual seeking out these animals sound daunting, consider this: these folks are the ‘herpetofauna’ of Kansas and they’re willing to guide and educate curious but cautious fellow citizens in the appreciation of this much-maligned group of wildlife,” a press release stated.
Dan Fogell, longtime KHS member and chairperson of the awards committee, said the field trips serve a dual-purpose.
“One is scientific, in that finding and counting these animals helps us see how they’re doing in their habitat, along with gauging the health of that particular environment,” Fogell said. “Our other purpose is educational. Members of the public can tag along with people who know about this stuff. We’ll show them how to approach these animals, including which ones they might want to avoid and we’ll help them understand the important role the animals play in our shared environment.”
The field trips are free and open to anyone. Children must have an adult with them. Participants need to meet at Bloody Creek Ranch before the 9 a.m. departure time. Directions and a map to the ranch are located online at www.cnah.org/khs/FieldTripSpringInfo.html.
Items to bring to the field trip include: leather gloves, drinking water, snacks and a sack lunch. Optional items include a camera, two-way radios or a cell phone, a hat, sunscreen and an old pillowcase and gallon zip-lock bags for captured critters. KHS snake bags will be available for $10 each. Free copies of the second edition of “A Pocket Guide of Kansas Snakes” by Joseph T. Collins and Suzanne L. Collins will be given out to those in attendance. The new KHS field trip T-shirts will be on sale at the camp site for $15 for short sleeves and $18 for long sleeves.
Restrooms and showers are available at Bloody Creek Ranch. The field trip will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 25 and from 9 a.m. to noon April 26. A catered meal for Saturday night may be available if ordered on-site Friday evening.
Information from the field trip is published in the Journal of Kansas Herpetology and made available to agencies such as the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks and other conservation groups.
For more information on the Kansas Herpetological Society, go to www.chah.org/khs or call M.K. Baldsin, KHS secretary, at (785) 272-1076.