C26—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 2,1981
Road closed for snake crossing in Illinois park
WASHINGTON, D.C. - You’ve
seen road signs that read “Deer
Crossing,” “Moose Crossing” and
the like. But what about “Snake
Crossing’”
You probably won’t find such a
sign on the highways today, said
district ranger Joe Newcomb of
the U.S. Department of
Agriculture’s Forest Service, but
maybe there ought to be one, for
snakes do have at least one official
“crossing.”
That crossing is on a road in the
Laßue Pine Hills Ecological Area
of Shawnee National Forest in
southern Illinois, where snakes
have the legal right-of-way on two
occasions each year.
The area is an isolated com
munity of plant and animal species
whose uniqueness dates back over
400 million years. It’s ad
ministered by the Forest Service
as one of many areas in the 190
million acres of national forests
managed for their special
historical, archeological,
geological, or as in this case,
ecological interests.
Hundreds of plant and animal
species, many of which are rare,
make their homes in this
ecological area. Among them are
35 species of snakes. In the spring,
the snakes migrate from then
winter homes dens to then
summer homes in the swamp. In
the fall, they go back to their dens.
They cross the road each time they
v
Makes good
silage better.
See your Pioneer salesman today
The Limitation of Warranty and remedy appearing on the label is part
of the terms of the sale.
• Registered trademark of Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., Das
Moines, lowa, U.S.A. _
make the trip.
Due to the increasing popularity
of the Laßue Pine Hills Ecological
Area, Forest Service officials
became worried aoout the unpact
increased visitor use may have on
the ecological area as well as on
the snakes. In 1972, they decided to
do something about it.
“The seasonal migration caused
a major problem for our snake
population,” said district ranger
Joe Newcomb.
“Some people would drive or
walk along the road and shoot the
snakes as they tried to cross. We
saw this human activity as being
inconsistent with the idea of an
ecological area. We decided that
the easiest solution was simply to
eliminate vehicle use of that
stretch of road temporarily while
the snakes were migrating,” he
said.
So a three-mile stretch of road at
the base of 350-foot-high bluffs is
closed during the last three weeks
in April for the spring migration
and the last three weeks in October
for the fall migration.
“Even this three-week road
closing assures the safety of only
80 percent of the snakes,” said
Newcomb. “The others don’t come
straggling home until later, but we
simply can’t close the road that
long.”
During the peak migration,
which occurs between the 15th and
the 25th of both months, the snakes
/ j
> :^ESSSH
J y±i g
SILA-BAC.
BRAND
SILAGE INOCULANT
move in waves.
“No matter how warm or cool it
is, they start migrating in mass the
second week in April and the
second week in October,”
Newcomb said
It normally takes about a day for
one snake to migrate from den to
swamp.
With several thousand snakes
participating in the three-week
migration, there is a constant
stream of 10 to 15 individual snakes
migrating at a given time. They
are partial to good weather,
migrating in greater numbers on
nice days.
What causes the snakes to
migrate? It’s the reptilian instinct
for hibernation, said Newcomb.
“They all hibernate in the winter
♦
Attention
Beef & Pork Reisers
CUSTOM BUTCHERING
HESS’ BUTCHER SHOP
2635 Willow Street Pike
Willow Street, PA
717-464-3374
We Process the Old Fashioned Way
• Pudding • Hams • Bologna
• Scrapple • Bacons • Dry Beef
We also Specialize in Beef
For Your Freezer, Sides of Pork,
♦ Sides of Beef. ♦
Staniiei
CR
FEE
Includes:
• Large opei
feed pan
simulate,
feeding.
• Sturdy aluminum bracket for quick
feeder in-and-out
• Generous VA gallon hopper capacity.
Not just another creep feeder! A farm
tested natural way to start two and three
day-old pigs on solid feed. Pigs learn to
eat creep feed before weaning. So you
wean faster and pigs do better under less
stress.
HEAT PADS
For Farrowing Crates And Nursery
With Stanfield Surface, Draft Barrier
Cleats, Twin Cords.
Swine Systems
FARMER BOY AG
457 E MAIN AVE , MYERSTOWN, PA 17067
Vi Mile East of Myerstown
717-866.7565
and re-enter the world in the
spring,” Newcomb said. “They
find small caves in the rocky
ground to use as dens because the
temperature of the ground doesn’t
change much.”
The snakes take refuge from
winter by entering an inactive
state in the fall and remaining that
way in the den until a natural
alarm clock awakens them in the
spring. Then they embark on a
journey from den to swamp.
Although there has been some
minor dissent by the public over
the temporary road closing, most
public comment has been
favorable, said Newcomb. En
vironmental groups praise the
action and user groups accept it
without much comment, he said.
*
:
♦
♦
♦
♦
“The road closing has caused
more of a raised eyebrow than
hostility on the part of the public,”
said Newcomb. “People simply
aren’t used to snakes having
priority over humans.”
JOIN
41-1
111
OLD OR NEW
lancastertwckbodles
lanooter automobile spring eo., inc.
310 RICHARDSON DRIVE
LANCASTER-HEMPFIELD INDUSTRIAL PARK
PO BOX 4626
LANCASTER. PA 17604
• U-JOINTS • CROSSES
• HEX • YOKES
• SLIP-YOKES
• SQUARE SHAFTS
• KEY-WAY CUTTER SERVICE
ALL IN STOCK - IMMEDIATE SERVICE
I THRUFRI I
I BA_MJiI43O_PM I
PHONE: 717-394-2647 800-732-0004
AIR COMPRESSOR
SALES & SERVICE
DeVilbiss
CURTIS AND
CAMPBELL(@)HAUSFELD
AUTHORIZED DEALERS FOR THE
ORIGINAL STAUFFER
PNEUMATIC WATER SYSTEM
• E&R Plumbing (717) 354-5554
• Scenic Road Farm Supply
• Benj Beiler & Ben Beiler Jr.
• Beiler Hydra-Matics
• David S. King
ATTENTION DAIRYMEN:
★ Zurn Air Drying Equipment For
Moisture Free Air
★ Air Compressor Units Built To
Your Specifications
★ We Service Pneumatic Milking
Systems
★ Spray Welding
★ Machine Shop Service
SCHRADER AIR
LINE EQUIPMENT
NATIONAL DETROIT SANDERS
Belts & Pulleys, Roller Chain, Coleman
Lantern Service, hardware
STAUFFER’S MACHINE SHOP
RD3.Ephrata.Pa. Phone (717)738-1516
South CTRL 3220 n
Pleasant Vafcyßd,£phntaEx* New Rt 222