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To mark International Endangered Species Day, Pittsburgh City Council unanimously passed a proclamation calling attention to the plight of endangered species. In the proclamation Council commend the Sierra Club Allegheny Group’s Endangered Species Action Team (ESAT) for the work it does by educating the public and advocating for endangered and threatened plants and animals.

It was the suggestion of ESAT member Mary Ruth Aull to call attention to the fact the earth is in the midst of the greatest mass extinction of species since the demise of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. The proclamation was happily sponsored by Council president Darlene Harris and co-sponsored by every other member of City Council. On hand to accept the proclamation and make brief statements were ESAT chair Gwen Chute, her husband Ed, and ESAT member Mike Pastorkovich.

Most rural Pennsylvania residents are acquainted with the common snakes that populate our landscape: garter snakes, black rat snakes, black racers, milk snakes and others. And anyone who hikes the woodlands, fields and trails of the state knows to watch for copperheads and timber rattlers, our two common venomous varieties. Much less well known is the Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake, Pennsylvania’s only endangered snake species. This small rattlesnake is classified in Pennsylvania as a “critically imperiled endangered species” and is eligible for federal endangered species listing as well.
They currently populate only Mercer, Butler and Venango counties in western Pennsylvania.

Massasaugas are small, rather stout rattlesnakes with large dark brown or black blotches on the back and sides that stand out against a light gray background. The small rattle sounds like the buzz of an insect and is so soft it can barely be heard from more than five feet away. The young are born alive at about nine inches in length with a “button” on a yellow tipped tail instead of a real rattle. Massasaugas are secretive and docile, rarely striking unless disturbed.

Massasaugas emerge from hibernation in April and live in wet lowland meadows and grasslands, where they feed on small rodents. In late spring and summer, they move to drier upland fields and pastures, where they bask and forage for food. Breeding and birth of young take place in August and September. In fall, winter and early spring they hibernate in crayfish burrows or fissures where they have access to water.

Habitat destruction is the main reason for the alarming decline of this important endangered species. Currently, forest succession, the growth of trees in previously grassy areas, accounts for 75% of their habitat loss. Surface mining and urban development also contribute to habitat destruction. The Massasauga is considered an umbrella species, that is, one whose habitat, if protected, also benefits other species that share similar environment. Deer, turkey, grouse, woodcocks and rabbits can often be found in the grass and underbrush of Massasauga habitat. Because of their sensitivity to environmental degradation, these snakes serve as indicators of environmental quality. They also help to control the
rodent population and rodent-carried disease.

The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy conducts research on Massasauga populations by tagging and tracking individual snakes. And, because Massasauga habitat is often on private land, this organization also offers a program of land management and protection. Technical and financial assistance may be available through various conservation programs and organizations. Interested landowners can contact the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy at waterlandlife.org or the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission at fishandboat.com/habitat.htm for more information.

Gwen Chute
Member Allegheny Group Sierra Club
Endangered Species Action Team

Global Warming remains the biggest threat to the survival of polar bears.  Seals are the primary source of food for polar bears, and the bears hunt the seals on ice.  When the ice melts in summer, the bears come ashore, but are unable to hunt the seals until the ice forms again in the autumn.   Due to climate change, the ice is melting earlier and the re-freezing is occurring later, which means that the polar bears have to go longer without food.  According to David Majewski, a naturalist for the National Wildlife Federation, this time period has increased from 120 days in the 1970s to 160 days in 2010, more than a month longer.  Especially affected are female polar bears of cub-bearing age.  To watch an excellent video on this topic go to the National Wildlife Federation website and key “no good news for polar bears” in the “search” window.
In another area of concern, Shell Alaska’s hopes to begin drilling in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas this summer received a giant boost when the Obama Administration’s Interior Department approved the firm’s “emergency plan” for dealing with oil spills in that isolated region of the Arctic.  The area in question is 1000 miles from the nearest Coast Guard station and any urban or industrial infrastructure.  According to the L.A. Times, Shell’s oil spill response plan promises “beefed up well-drilling standards; the permanent presence of a full-time federal inspector on board; standards and inspections on blowout preventers; and the existence of a second drilling rig nearby to drill a relief well in the event of a blowout” in addition to a “fleet of oil-spill response vessels to be on hand at all times” and a U.S. Coast Guard vessel as well.  Approval of an emergency response plan was the biggest hurdle Shell had to face in its quest for an OK for its Arctic drilling plans.  It appears as if overall approval is near.  The firm expects to begin drilling in June.  As to the company’s claims regarding the efficacy of its emergency spill plan, let us not forget that BP also asserted that it could deal with massive oil spills before the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe last spring.

Photo courtesy of
Tom MacKenzie, USFWS

Included in the not-yet-voted-on Interior Appropriations  bill (H.R. 2584) was a rider to prevent additional species to be added to the Endangered Species List.  On Wednesday Democratic Representatives Dicks (WA), Hanabusa (HI) and Thompson (CA), along with Republican Fitzpatrick (PA), introduced an amendment to strip the obnoxious measure from the appropriations bill. To their credit, local Democrats Altmire, Critz, and Doyle helped the amendment pass 224-202. Unfortunately Rep. Tim Murphy was not among the thirty-seven moderate Republicans who supported the Endangered Species Act, nor were Reps. Kelly, Shuster, and Thompson.

Constituents in the 18th District can let Mr. Murphy know what they think. Others may chastise or thank their own Congressman as they see fit.

Photo by Tina Phillips

In 1972, the US Fish and Wildlife Service placed the bald eagle on the list of Endangered Species, largely as a result of the widespread use of DDT. With the ban on that pesticide in place, the eagle population began to recover, and in 2007 it was removed from the list.

That decision was justified a few days ago with the announcement that the count of 404 bald eagles migrating past the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Berks County far surpassed the previous record of 245 in 2008. This good news from Hawk Mountain reminds us of Rachel Carson’s fight against the chemical industry. After the publication of her book ‘Silent Spring’ in 1962, the chemical industry viciously attacked Carson. The history of those attacks will strike familiar chords for today’s environmentalists, although today corporations are much sophisticated in their lobbying and public relations campaigns.

In case you missed it, good news was reported recently by the Allegheny Group’s Endangered Species Action Team (ESA). Last month, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission listed the Salamander Mussel, a species found in the Allegheny River, as an endangered species. Last April, two other mussels native to the Allegheny River were added to the endangered list: the Snuffbox Sheepnose and Rabbitsfoot. According to the Commission’s website, endangered means “species in imminent danger of extinction or extirpation throughout their range in Pennsylvania”. The fate of the remaining mussel species, the Rayed Bean Mussel, could be decided by the Commissioners’ vote in December.

The listing of the Salamander Mussel was due in part to the active campaign conducted by our Endangered Species Action Team. As reported on the ESA section of this website, members of the Team traveled to Harrisburg in October to testify before the Commission.

At present the ESA is focusing on an issue much further north than the Allegheny River – protection of polar bears in the Arctic. Although conservationists are lauding the Dept. of Interior’s proposal to set aside 200,000 square miles of Alaskan coastal areas for polar bear critical habitat, much more widespread protection of the polar bear’s habitat will be gained by passage of a strong Climate Change bill.