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The Recovery Plan for the federally threatened Lake Erie Watersnake (LEWS) was signed by the Regional Director Sept. 19. The recovery plan identifies actions and goals that must be achieved prior to removing the snake from the threatened species list.
The primary strategy for the recovery of the LEWS in the U.S. is to sustain multiple subpopulations of the snake, including a stable, persistent subpopulation of snakes on each of four U.S. islands in Lake Erie, by significantly reducing deliberate and accidental human-induced mortality, and by maintaining enough essential habitat to support these subpopulations in perpetuity. This strategy will be accomplished by working with government agencies to develop management plans for public lands on the islands, continuing a vigorous outreach campaign targeting residents and visitors to the islands, encouraging private land actions that benefit snake habitat and conducting additional research to assess other potential threats to the continuing existence of the LEWS population.
Recovery of the snake will be accomplished when a minimum of 5,555 adult snakes exists on nine U.S. islands combined for six or more consecutive years, including at least 900 snakes on Kelleys Island, 850 snakes on South Bass Island, 620 snakes on Middle Bass Island and 410 snakes on North Bass Island, with the remaining snakes occurring on any of the nine islands. Additionally, a total of 7.4 km of shoreline habitat and 51 hectares of hibernation habitat distributed proportionately among the four largest U.S. islands must be protected in perpetuity by a written agreement approved by USFWS.
Finally, objective analysis of public attitude must indicate that human persecution is no longer a threat to the continued existence of the snake, and accidental human-induced mortality should no longer pose a significant threat to the population. The plan was developed with input from partners including: Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife; Northern Illinois University; Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources; and island residents. Copies of the plan are available on the Service's Recovery Plan webpage: http://endangered.fws.gov/recovery/Index.html#plans. Printed copies can be obtained by contacting the Reynoldsburg Ohio Field Office, (614) 469-6923.
> learn about the Lake Erie Water Snake
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