Teacher helps with Bergen Swamp snake research

Teacher helps with Bergen Swamp snake research

Steven Locke, science instructor at Byron-Bergen High School and trustee of the Bergen Swamp Preservation Society, spent several days in the Bergen Swamp conducting research with Kevin Shoemaker, a graduate student at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry at Syracuse University who is studying the conservation of the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake.

The Massasauga Rattlesnake is indigenous to the Bergen Swamp and the Cicero Swamp Wildlife Management Area in Onondaga County. These two locations are the only two known remaining New York state habitats for this wetland rattlesnake. Thanks to Locke's assistance and knowledge of the Bergen Swamp, Shoemaker was able to attain information and study and evaluate the Massasauga Rattlesnake. Locke has been instrumental over many years hosting schools and colleges in the study and conservation of the Bergen Swamp.