Re: San Francisco Garter Snake in captivity?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
infernalis
Sorry if it seemed like I skipped out....
This has been a great conversation and educational.
One of my "wet dream" herping trips is to photograph some San frans on the ground... One day I hope to fulfill that.
One of the things about SF garters is that F&W doesn't seem to survey private lands in what they consider the historical range.
The lands between Highway 1 and Highway 35 and through the 84 and 92 corridors are mostly private, as are the lands that the Crystal Springs Pipeline runs across. A lot of this land is has not been adapted for agrarian use and is off limits to the general public.
I'm wondering what the change to the status of the SF garter would be if the USFWS surveyed the habitat in these areas.
Re: San Francisco Garter Snake in captivity?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
infernalis
I was once told that there is money to be made by keeping them endangered.
Government grants for snake fencing, culverts under roadways and signage.
I think there is that.
I also think that the government hasn't surveyed land owned by SF Water and private property owners between Waddell Creek and Pacifica.
Two months ago we did this little job near Point Reyes.
http://www.sparselysageandtimely.com/blog/?p=8739
Many governmental agencies held up our permits for so many years that the creek and culvert in question became so socked in with silt and DG that a salmonid and steelhead (both endangered) supposedly became red legged frog habitat. A froggy paradise in which the little red legged fiends came from far and wide to frolic and mate.
For over a week we dredged and cleaned the creek. We were forced to hire a team of biologists and frog wranglers to install frog fencing and escort the endangered little beasties to safety.
After a week, they tallied up the frogs that were caught/spotted - 2.
A month later, we were dredging another culvert in West Marin. No permits were needed because the feds told us that it was not prime red legged frog habitat.
My workers have to be certified to spot and catch frogs in order for us to do our construction work. After one day in this supposedly frog free area, where we were told no frogs would dare live, we lost count of how many we caught. Locals knew about this because every year they spawn in the road side ditches. I find it amazing that a bunch of West Marin dairymen and cattle ranchers know better than government biologists on where red-legged frogs live.
Yes they mate and thrive in an area where the g-men say they shouldn't be.
So after spending many years working in the Bay Area, and working on projects for Caltrans, the County of San Mateo and SF Water, it's my personal belief that the USFWS has overlooked areas where SF garters are living because they have not looked up from the coastal marshes in Pescadero and Half Moon Bay to the land between the ocean and Highway 280. Hell, Wayne, I've seen them at Crystal Springs Reservoir within sight distance of Highway 280.
Oh, don't get me wrong, Sharp Park was habitat - and Ano Nuevo has them, but they exist in areas on the Peninsula where the pinched-faced and hairy-armpitted female F&G biologists never tread.
