The eastern massasauga at Carlyle Lake, Illinois

At the time of European settlement, the massasauga was found throughout the northern two-thirds of Illinois. Within a few years, however, habitat destruction and outright persecution reduced the Illinois range of the massasauga to a few widely scattered populations. As early as 1890 it was noted that the massasauga was in decline. Today there are only three or four populations remaining in Illinois. Only the population at Carlyle Lake in Clinton County is thought to be large enough to have any hope of surviving the next 20 years.

In 1994, the massasauga was listed as endangered in Illinois and this resulted in increased interest in the welfare of the species. More recently plans for commercial development at Carlyle have been presented by various government agencies and private groups that have caused the IDNR to step up its investigations into the status of the massasauga at Carlyle. In response to this need, we started studying the massasauga at Carlyle Lake in Autumn of 1998. The initial purpose of the study was to conduct a systematic survey for massasaugas at one of the two IDNR owned or managed properties at the lake, South Shore State Park. The initial results indicated that as many as 100 massasaugas might exist at the main study site at South Shore State Park. An in-depth analysis of the specific locations where massasaugas were found suggests that during egress massasaugas select locations closer to retreats (crayfish holes or logs) and shrubs compared to random locations. This proximity to cover may allow massasaugas to escape predation, especially from aerial predators, such as hawks.

Then next phase of the research at Carlyle focused on radio-tracking adult massasaugas to investigate their movement patterns, habitat preferences and home range size. This phase has been very successful with over 40 snakes involved to date. Most of our telemetered snakes did not move more than a few hundred meters from their hibernation point during the entire activity season (March through October) and most occupied less than 4 acres during this period. Our telemetered massasaugas occupied a variety of habitats, ranging from old field to autumn olive thickets.

The final product of these efforts will be a better picture of how many massasaugas live at Carlyle and how they utilize the various habitat types at the lake. This information will be used to direct commercial development away from the areas that are used by massasaugas. Hopefully, it will also be part of a larger management plan that includes purchase of additional habitat and educational programs that counter the "bad press" already in existence.