Eastern Massasauga Research Help

Last year I had the opportunity to experience the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake in the wild, thanks to the gentlemen with the INHS. As you may know, the Eastern Massasauga is in trouble throughout most, if not all of its range; Illinois is certainly no exception. Once populous throughout most of the state, the population of the Eastern Massasauga has been dramatically reduced to surprisingly few relict populations, some of which have very recently completely disappeared. As if the habitat destruction, human encroachment, and human discrimination weren't enough, a new, serious threat has recently come about: the Ophidiomyces fungus. Just this year it has knocked out a serious chunk of one of the larger populations in the state. With such little genetic variation in these small populations, the Ophidiomyces fungus is a hard one to combat. Since that day, I have become very passionate about the conservation of this incredible species; so, I got this crazy idea to start a donation.

Why should I donate MY money to help a rattlesnake?!

As with any other organism, rattlesnakes have their own special, and extremely important, piece in the foundation of the biosphere. They maintain populations of rodents and other critters which could otherwise easily explode without them. Human discrimination has given this animal a terrible reputation which it does not deserve.


Where is my money going?

All proceeds from this donation will be going straight to Dr. Chris Phillips, Further Studies Coordinator and Herpetologist with the Illinois Natural History Survey and his colleagues to be put towards any and all Eastern Massasauga research being conducted in Illinois.


Direct Quote from Chris Phillips regarding the spending specifics:

"Yes, we have been struggling of late to secure adequate funding. Our current funding includes a Competitive SWG Grant to look at Chrysosporium (recently re-assigned to a new genus, Ophidiomyces). That grant includes a small amount for travel to and from *******, but mostly it is to assay swabs from massasaugas for the presence of Ophidiomyces. We could really use more travel money to continue our spring monitoring of the populations, something we have been doing for the last 13 years. We utilize University vehicles, which we get at a reduced mileage rate of between $0.26 and $0.39/ mile, compared to $0.51/mile for using personal vehicles. When we have faced this shortfall of funding in the past, my students and I just pay for travel out of pocket. We are committed to extending this spring monitoring for the foreseeable future."

Here is the INHS' website:
http://www.inhs.illinois.edu/

And here is some information on Chris Phillips:
http://wwx.inhs.illinois.edu/directory/show/chrisp

If you have any questions, email me at:
[email redacted]


Thanks!!