ATLANTA — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed listing the southern hognose snake as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, highlighting its presence in the Carolinas and other southeastern states.
This proposal includes a tailored rule under Section 4(d) of the ESA, which aims to outline specific protections and exceptions to prohibitions of take resulting from certain land management activities.
The southern hognose snake is threatened by habitat loss, fragmentation, road mortality, and the impact of non-native species, said officials with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The southern hognose snake relies on open-canopy, upland habitats with sandy soils and a grassy understory, conditions that have historically been maintained by fire.
The proposed 4(d) rule seeks to address these threats by allowing exceptions to “take” prohibitions for conservation-oriented land management activities.
These activities include prescribed burns, sustainable forestry practices, invasive plant control, and certain utility maintenance.This secretive snake is native to Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, but its current range is limited to the latter four states.
It is the smallest of the hognose species and plays a vital role in the Southeast’s longleaf pine and sandhills ecosystems.
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