Help Us Find Snakes!
Common Sharp-tailed Snake (Contia tenuis)
Kwiaht is looking for volunteer homeowners to host cover boards and to help us monitor them for rare snakes! Cover boards, or “Artificial Cover Objects (ACOs),” are plywood boards measuring 2 feet by 3 feet that attract snakes, making it easier to locate otherwise hard-to-find species, like rare Sharp-tailed Snakes. These boards are placed flat along the ground in locations to be surveyed/monitored. On a periodic basis, boards are lifted to determine whether or not Sharp-tailed Snakes are present. Sharp-tailed Snakes appear to prefer relatively undisturbed forest-edge environments that provide them with a slug-heavy diet. These cryptic snakes are also known for their association with habitats characterized by South facing slopes, Garry Oak grasslands, and rocky areas.
If you are interested in volunteering to host boards on your property, please send us an email! Our biologists will arrange a site visit to assess potential board placement and to provide you with any additional information. We request that homeowners be able to check under boards twice weekly and to send photographs of any observed snakes to the project coordinator. If Sharp-tailed Snakes are identified, our team will work with homeowners to determine next steps with monitoring. Board monitoring is expected to continue through early summer of 2025 and to resume spring through early summer of 2026 (other/adjusted monitoring schedules may be arranged case-by-case).
Common Sharp-tailed Snakes, which occur along the West Coast and British Columbia, are state-listed as one of Washington’s “Species of Greatest Conservation Need,” as well as a “Priority Species” under the state’s Wildlife Priority Habitat and Species Program. This species is small (usually less than a foot long) and spends much of the year underground, making them a rare find and a challenge to study. As such, there are numerous gaps in our knowledge of the species – gaps that Kwiaht researchers are hoping to address by studying our island populations. San Juan Island and Orcas Island are home to two of the most actively-studied populations in Washington. Kwiaht herpetologist Christian Oldham is documenting the seasonal activities of both populations, and both prey and snake DNA samples are being analyzed at Kwiaht’s Lopez Island laboratory. The main goals of this research are to investigate the ecology of our island populations, including prey identification and the degree of “relatedness” between island populations and mainland snakes.
This project is made possible by generous funding from The Sierra Club's Washington State Chapter and Mount Baker Group.