The natural areas at Urban Ecology Center’s three branches are home to three species of snakes, including the State-threatened Butler’s gartersnake. Because very little is known about the Butler’s gartersnake, our research can help determine population size, demographics, and habitat preferences. This information will inform future conservation plans. Our volunteers survey snakes with plywood boards, capturing, measuring, marking and releasing them. We also try to determine where the snakes overwinter, using implanted radio diodes to track the movement of the snakes.
The Urban Ecology Center’s snake research has received valuable funding from:
- Milwaukee County Zoological Society
- Citizen-based Monitoring Network of Wisconsin
- EPA Great Lakes Research Initiative
- Prairie Biotic Research
