Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program:
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

The eastern massasuauga is a federally threatened rattlesnake species and relatively little is known about their habitat requirements in the northern portion of their geographic range. Understanding their habitat associations will inform future surveys to better understand their distribution and population levels. It will also increase our ability to effectively manage habitat for this species to de-list the species. This is complicated by their secretive nature which makes studying the species challenging. We are using a novel drift fence approach to study the habitat use of the massasauga at 3 northern sites to better inform conservation needs going forward. We are working with the Michigan National Guard and the Fish and Wildlife Service to conduct this research. The results from this study will provide much needed information about the habitat needs of this imperiled species and provide guidance on how to use drift fence approaches to survey for the species.