Snakes living in temperate climates must hibernate to survive the winters, so many migrate from where they hunt to hibernating places called hibernacula. Snakes in temperate zones eat and reproduce in the summer, migrate to hibernacula in the fall, hibernate in the winter, and migrate to feeding grounds in the spring. Often they are killed by vehicles if their spring and fall migrations cause them to cross roads.

To conduct my research, I drove 33 miles of roads in the KPWA twice a week, from August to November in 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003, and from March to June in 2001 and 2002, each season having about 20 collection dates. I carried a permit issued by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources' Division of Wildlife at all times. Time of arrival, odometer, and weather conditions were recorded. If a snake was found, a picture was taken of it next to a ruler; the species and its latitude and longitude, determined by the global positioning system (GPS), were recorded. If a dead endangered snake was found, it would be placed in a plastic bag and the bag numbered to keep track of the snake. If the dead snake was not endangered, it would be taken off the road to prevent recounting. If a live snake was found, the snake would be helped off the road. In the beginning, all dead snakes were collected and preserved to check species and were added to a collection at Ohio State University. Dead endangered snakes were transferred to Doug Wynn. Wynn verified my identifications and checked for Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tags that would show whether the snakes had been collected previously. This entire process, from beginning to end, came to be known around my house as "snaking." Serious concerns exist regarding the decline in numbers of threatened and endangered snakes in the KPWA. Snakes in the KPWA include the eastern garter (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis), the eastern plains garter (Thamnophis radix radix), the brown snake (Storeria dekayi), the eastern massasauga (Sisturus catenatus catenatus), Kirtland's snake (Clonophis kirtiandii), the smooth green snake (Liochorophis vernalis), the eastern milk snake (Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum), the northern water snake (Nerodia sipedon sipedon), the redbelly snake (Storeria occipitomaculata), and the black rat snake (Elaphe obsoleta).

In my first year of "snaking," the fall of 2000, I collected each dead snake for identification purposes; they were put in jars with formalin, which is a chemical similar to formaldehyde. This procedure was fine until I found 60 snakes in one day, which was way too many to put in jars right away. I placed the snakes in bags, in a downstairs, out-of-the-way freezer that no one would have to know about. A few days later that freezer died, so the snakes had to be transferred to the upstairs kitchen freezer. For about three months, I had close to 80 dead snakes in the freezer. I'm glad my parents are supportive of my science project. After that year, I only had to collect the dead endangered snakes I found, so since then the total number of snakes in my freezer has not exceeded seven. It is now safe to come to dinner at the Yaussy household.

Also in the first year, I had my first encounter with a live, wild, venomous snake. The eastern massasauga rattlesnake is one of the endangered snakes for which I was told to watch. I was not ready for it when it came. My dad and I came upon it cautiously, knowing from the car that this was a big snake. When it started rattling at us, there was no mistaking what it was, and seeing the head shaped specifically for holding venom glands aided in the identification. Only one rattlesnake lived in this area. We recorded the necessary data, but there was one problem: I also had to move any live snakes off the road to save them from cars. The ODNR had given me a snake hook, which I did not have with me. It would not have helped anyway; it was only four feet long; I needed the proverbial 10-foot pole. We stood there thinking, "Hmmma" for quite some time, until Dad had the bright idea of throwing roadside litter toward the rattlesnake to coax it off the road. A few Gatorade bottles and beer cans later, the snake decided to give us one final glare and slink off the road.

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