Biologist retrieves an eastern coachwhip snake from a snake trap

Field Biologist Tara Pruett, Center for the Environmental Management of Military Lands, retrieves an eastern coachwhip snake from a snake trap near Fort Polk, Louisiana, May 26, 2022. Snake traps are used to catch live snakes for important data collection purposes, especially for the threatened Louisiana pine snake. The snakes are promptly released unharmed. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service works closely with its partners in the Department of Defense, U.S. Forest Service and CEMML to protect threatened and endangered plants and animals that occur on military lands.