:nuts:
Group sees mountain bike plan as threat to rattlesnakes
Associated Press | April 8 | MICHAEL VIRTANEN
ALBANY, N.Y. -- The Adirondack Park Agency has approved a management plan that would permit mountain bikes in a state forest by Lake Champlain, though an environmental group says the cyclists threaten some of the few remaining rattlesnakes in the region.
"It's not easy defending a poisonous reptile," said John Sheehan, spokesman for the Adirondack Council, which wants the bikes kept out. "But there are so few statewide, we feel that losing one or two to a mountain bike would be a tragedy."
The state Department of Environmental Conservation drafted the unit management plan intended to balance ecological issues and public use in the 3,700-acre Split Rock Mountain Wild Forest in the towns of Essex and Westport. It was subject to review by the APA, which regulates development in the 6 million acre Adirondack Park.
The unit management plan designates about 9 miles of existing trails and former logging roads in the forest for hiking and another 5 miles of existing trails for mountain biking.
APA spokesman Keith McKeever said the plan approved Thursday puts bike trails away from areas rattlesnakes are known to congregate. He said the DEC put in another safeguard: monitoring to check if biking harms trails and wildlife.
However, Sheehan said monitoring will be difficult. A dead snake won't last long among scavengers.
The eastern timber rattlesnake is listed as a threatened species in New York. The Adirondack Council said that means by state estimates there are fewer than 100 left in upstate wilderness. Killing or collecting them is illegal.
However, the DEC estimates the rattlesnake population at 3,000 to 6,000 statewide, spokeswoman Maureen Wren said. Most are in the Hudson Highlands area, but there are at least 12 known dens around Lake George and Lake Champlain, each potentially having from a few snakes to more than 100, she said.
The DEC had already considered the council's concerns, but said all-terrain bikers use parts of the Lake George Wild Forest that includes the Tongue Mountain Range, with no reports of biker-rattlesnake incidents. While there's a chance for encounters, the agency said signs informing visitors should minimize the risk.
According to state wildlife officials, the snakes generally measure 3 to 4.5 feet and live 16 to 22 years in rugged terrain in hardwood forests. They are active from late April to mid-October and hibernate in winter dens. The snakes have yellow and black coloration phases with brown or black crossbands that help them hide easily. With horny segments on their tails, they also make the telltale rattle or buzzing sound when disturbed.
The DEC advises keeping a safe distance.
"Contrary to popular opinion, rattlesnakes won't pursue or attack humans unless threatened or provoked," the agency says.
Once found in most of New York's mountainous and hilly areas, they're now in isolated populations in the eastern Adirondacks, the Southern Tier and southeastern part of the state. Bounties were outlawed in 1971.
They have a venomous bite that can kill people if left untreated, but officials say there have been no fatalities in New York for decades.
___
On the Net:
http://www.apa.state.ny.us
http://www.dec.state.ny.us
http://www.adirondackcouncil.org
Group sees mountain bike plan as threat to rattlesnakes
Associated Press | April 8 | MICHAEL VIRTANEN
ALBANY, N.Y. -- The Adirondack Park Agency has approved a management plan that would permit mountain bikes in a state forest by Lake Champlain, though an environmental group says the cyclists threaten some of the few remaining rattlesnakes in the region.
"It's not easy defending a poisonous reptile," said John Sheehan, spokesman for the Adirondack Council, which wants the bikes kept out. "But there are so few statewide, we feel that losing one or two to a mountain bike would be a tragedy."
The state Department of Environmental Conservation drafted the unit management plan intended to balance ecological issues and public use in the 3,700-acre Split Rock Mountain Wild Forest in the towns of Essex and Westport. It was subject to review by the APA, which regulates development in the 6 million acre Adirondack Park.
The unit management plan designates about 9 miles of existing trails and former logging roads in the forest for hiking and another 5 miles of existing trails for mountain biking.
APA spokesman Keith McKeever said the plan approved Thursday puts bike trails away from areas rattlesnakes are known to congregate. He said the DEC put in another safeguard: monitoring to check if biking harms trails and wildlife.
However, Sheehan said monitoring will be difficult. A dead snake won't last long among scavengers.
The eastern timber rattlesnake is listed as a threatened species in New York. The Adirondack Council said that means by state estimates there are fewer than 100 left in upstate wilderness. Killing or collecting them is illegal.
However, the DEC estimates the rattlesnake population at 3,000 to 6,000 statewide, spokeswoman Maureen Wren said. Most are in the Hudson Highlands area, but there are at least 12 known dens around Lake George and Lake Champlain, each potentially having from a few snakes to more than 100, she said.
The DEC had already considered the council's concerns, but said all-terrain bikers use parts of the Lake George Wild Forest that includes the Tongue Mountain Range, with no reports of biker-rattlesnake incidents. While there's a chance for encounters, the agency said signs informing visitors should minimize the risk.
According to state wildlife officials, the snakes generally measure 3 to 4.5 feet and live 16 to 22 years in rugged terrain in hardwood forests. They are active from late April to mid-October and hibernate in winter dens. The snakes have yellow and black coloration phases with brown or black crossbands that help them hide easily. With horny segments on their tails, they also make the telltale rattle or buzzing sound when disturbed.
The DEC advises keeping a safe distance.
"Contrary to popular opinion, rattlesnakes won't pursue or attack humans unless threatened or provoked," the agency says.
Once found in most of New York's mountainous and hilly areas, they're now in isolated populations in the eastern Adirondacks, the Southern Tier and southeastern part of the state. Bounties were outlawed in 1971.
They have a venomous bite that can kill people if left untreated, but officials say there have been no fatalities in New York for decades.
___
On the Net:
http://www.apa.state.ny.us
http://www.dec.state.ny.us
http://www.adirondackcouncil.org
Then i thought it was funny. It wigged me out because i thought it was a funny looking green stick at first, haha.
I hate to call it a whacking day. That usually entails something else. I do hate snakes.
