THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 14, 1994 TAG: 9409140512
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANCIE LATOUR, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
The agency responsible for studying the state-endangered canebrake rattlesnake announced Tuesday it was pulling funding from the five-year endeavor by scientists to chart the reptiles' movements and habitats.
The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries official announced the decision to the City Council Tuesday after a wave of protest in recent weeks by farmers groups and landowners with property bordering the Northwest River Park, where the study was being conducted.
Even as he tried to dispel damaging rumors surrounding the study, Department of Game and Inland Fisheries assistant chief Fred Leckie said the state had decided to prematurely end the research.
``It's unfortunate that this has become such a controversy,'' Leckie said. ``But we met with the council, and based on that meeting our intention is to phase out the study unless the council says the study should continue.''
Though the council's vote to end the study was unanimous, Councilman John M. de Triquet described the situation as one that ``appears to pit good science against good citizens, because of the specter, the fear that somewhere down the line the federal government will tell you what to do with your land.''
More than 50 landowners and farmers stood in unison before the council to attest to fears that restrictions on their property loomed on the horizon if the species of venomous snake moved from the state to the federal endangered species list.
Though the abundance of the rattlers in other states made that threat improbable, De Triquet pointed out that fear among farmers was still real.
The study will effectively come to an end in May, once the snakes emerge from winter hibernation.
The $49,500 study was initiated by Drs. Alan and Barbara Savitzky, two area biologists. They began in July 1992, six months after Virginia declared the rattlesnake endangered.
``We're severely disappointed by the outcome,'' Savitzky said after the meeting. ``We didn't believe it was in the best interest of the study, but they (state game officials) were afraid that the city would kick them out before they got a chance to get out.''
The Northwest River Park is city owned. The city Parks and Recreation Department had originally given permission to study the snakes there.
Ironically, Baraba Savitzky said in an interview, terminating the study might accelerate the movement of the animal from the state to the federal list.
``The whole point was to understand the habitat of the animal, which is threatened right now. If we don't understand it, then eventually it could become a critical issue,'' she said.
As the discussion moved to a close, Councilman Robert T. Nance asked the city attorney to research a potential law that would require anyone studying wildlife to obtain a permit and present their study before a public hearing before pursuing research. by CNB