Vermont Timber Rattlesnake Recovery Plan July 2015 Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department Agency of Natural Resources 1 National Life Drive, Davis 2 Montpelier, VT 05620-3702 ___________________________ _________ Commissioner, Vermont Dept. of Fish and Wildlife Date _________________________________________ _____________ Secretary, Vermont Agency of Natural Resources Date Vermont Timber Rattlesnake Recovery Plan TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES/FIGURES ........................................................................................................ 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..........................................................................................................4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................ 5 NATURAL HISTORY AND ECOLOGY Taxonomy , Species Description, and Distinguishing Characteristics ........................................... 7 Movements ...................................................................................................................................... 8 Emergence....................................................................................................................................... 9 Egress ............................................................................................................................................ 10 Foraging/Home Range .................................................................................................................. 11 Birthing ......................................................................................................................................... 11 Ingress and Submergence ............................................................................................................. 11 Food Habits ................................................................................................................................... 12 Mating, Birthing, and Fecundity ................................................................................................... 12 Longevity ...................................................................................................................................... 14 Human Fears ................................................................................................................................. 14 HABITAT REQUIREMENTS ..................................................................................................... 16 Denning ......................................................................................................................................... 16 Basking ......................................................................................................................................... 16 Foraging ........................................................................................................................................ 17 Birthing ......................................................................................................................................... 17 Connections and Corridors between Habitats ............................................................................... 17 HISTORICAL AND CURRENT DISTRIBUTION ................................................................... 17 Regionally ..................................................................................................................................... 17 Vermont ........................................................................................................................................ 17 Denning Areas in Vermont ........................................................................................................... 19 LEGAL STATUS AND PROTECTION ...................................................................................... 19 THREATS AND LIMITING FACTORS .................................................................................. 20 Habitat Losses and Degradation ................................................................................................... 20 Roads and Road Mortality ............................................................................................................ 21 Disease .......................................................................................................................................... 22 Human Persecution/Mortality ....................................................................................................... 23 Other Human Disturbances and Direct Mortality ......................................................................... 23 Commercial Collecting ................................................................................................................. 23 Human Disturbance ...................................................................................................................... 24 Predation ....................................................................................................................................... 24 1 Vermont Timber Rattlesnake Recovery Plan CURRENT MONITORING AND MANAGEMENT IN VERMONT........................................ 25 Monitoring .....................................................................................................................................25 Effective Population Size ..............................................................................................................27 Genetic Diversity ...........................................................................................................................27 Population Size Indices ..................................................................................................................28 Definition of Terms .......................................................................................................................29 Past and Future Land Protection Efforts....................................................................................... 29 Active Forest Management ............................................................................................................30 Law Enforcement and Permitting ..................................................................................................30 Outreach and Education .................................................................................................................30 GOALS, OBJECTIVES AND ACTIONS FOR RECOVERY .....................................................31 Recovery Goals ..............................................................................................................................31 Recovery Objectives..................................................................................................................... 32 Justification for Objectives ............................................................................................................33 RECOVERY ACTIONS............................................................................................................... 34 Monitoring and Management.........................................................................................................35 Monitor Populations and Determine Population Characteristics ...................................................35 LAND CONSERVATION/CONNECTIVITY/HABITAT MANAGEMENT............................ 36 Land Conservation/Connectivity.................................................................................................. 36 Habitat Management..................................................................................................................... 37 OUTREACH/EDUCATION AND ENFORCEMENT .................................................................38 Increase Awareness and Appreciation ...........................................................................................38 PARTNERSHIPS ..........................................................................................................................40 FUNDING .....................................................................................................................................41 LITERATURE CITED ..................................................................................................................42 APPENDIX…………………………………………………………………………………….. 50 2 Vermont Timber Rattlesnake Recovery Plan LIST OF TABLES/FIGURES Table 1: Earliest dates that timber rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus) were found at Denning Area A (DA) and Denning Area B (DB) (1992 – 2010) by Alcott Smith. Only DA was surveyed in 1992 and 1993. (page 10) Table 2. Annual home range sizes for 22 telemetered timber rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus) monitored with radio telemetry in 2011 and 2012 in west-central Vermont. (Appendix) Table 3: A summary of timber rattlesnakes turned in for bounties from Vermont from 1890 through 1971. (Andrews and Cillo, unpublished data). (page 19) Table 4: Status of the timber rattlesnake in New England and surrounding areas. (page 20) Table 5. Genetic summary statistics for a Vermont population (n = 77) of timber rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus). (page 27) Table 6. Outbound migration movement statistics for 22 telemetered timber rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus) monitored with radio telemetry in 2011 and 2012 in west-central Vermont. (Appendix) Table 7. Annual movement statistics for 22 telemetered timber rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus) monitored with radio telemetry in 2011 and