Posted: 2/13/07
Brownsville effort to rescue bluff depends on timber rattlesnake
by Tom van der Linden
Special to the Caledonia Argus
The river bluff that shelters Brownsville on the north is being stripped of its cedar trees, and thatís a good thing.
For the steep hillside once was home to fields of wildflowers.
But those sun-loving wildflowers canít grow now, as they are shaded by invading trees.
Brownsville old-timers tell stories of children gathering armloads of these ephemeral beauties, and delivering them about town on May Day.
In those days, a trail beyond the old quarry offered spectacular river views, but once humans prevented wildfire, the trees crept in, obscuring the view.
Many Brownsville folks want to see "their" bluff restored, and they are being helped by a willing landowner, a federal grant program, and one more unusual partner, the timber rattlesnake.
Tiny flowers may be pretty, but they donít send a chill down your spine as a rattlesnake will.
Minnesota DNR biologist Jaime Edwards has respect for the rattlesnake. But she no longer feels the chill of fear when she discovers them sunning in their bluff-top homes. Edwards has learned to appreciate their unique role in nature, and their curious ways.
Once common in southeastern Minnesota, rattlesnakes were hunted for decades and are now "of special concern" ñ at risk of dying off. That means rattlesnakes arenít yet endangered in Houston County, and biologists want to keep it that way.
The Fish and Wildlife Service has awarded grants to states, including Minnesota, so that willing private landowners may get help preserving, or repairing, habitat essential for species of special concern. Land that provides habitat for rattlesnakes is a high priority.
Edwards, through this landowner incentive program, has helped restore about 50 bluff prairies, often called "goat prairies." Many goat prairies near Rushford and Peterson have qualified, but Houston and Winona County bluffs qualify, too.
Last Thursday night, about two dozen Brownsville folks learned about the effort to preserve this bluff, conserve the timber rattlesnake, and bring back the wildflowers and other native plants.
The tiny prairies provide homes to a fascinating variety of creatures: insects of dazzling form and color, tiny lizards who do "push-ups" to attract their mates, and frightening, harmless, snakes. Edwards showed slides of them all, and then reached into her cloth bag of tricks.
Out came two striking, but harmless, snakes. A speckled "fox" snake, about two feet long and as big around as a Sharpie marking pen, allowed himself to be handled by members of the audience. A larger "bull" snake, a more common creature in rural areas, also curled up in the arms of two or three willing people. (You shouldnít try this with a wild snake. Scared of humans, your captive would bite, urinate, or otherwise defend itself.) These two, raised in a nature center, are used to human touch.
Edwardsí next prize was pulled not from a bag, but from a special wooden box with a slatted top. Using a golf club-sized tool, she removed and held high a timber rattlesnake roughly three feet long.
People either recoiled, or pushed forward hesitantly for a better view. Edwards placed the docile, slow-moving rattlesnake on the floor and explained how to identify one, how to move one carefully with a rake or golf club, how to chase them away by sprinkling them with cold water, and why bluff prairies are essential habitat for a variety of snakes.
Within ten minutes, a few brave people were willing to take Edwards up on her offer to lift the snake with a tool, watch it balance itself, and then put it down.
The biologist enjoyed a receptive audience. Some people have a deadly fear of snakes. She said humans are rarely bitten, but dogs, cows or horses are sometimes bitten. The most dangerous bites occur around an animalís face, and that requires prompt veterinary treatment, or an animal might suffocate from a swollen throat.
To keep the snakes at home on their preferred rocky slopes, work crews cut the cedar trees and other invasive trees such as sumac, buckthorn, honeysuckle and Japanese barberry, and then burn them, usually in winter.
Planned prairie fires, monitored by trained crews, come next. Fire prompts long-dormant prairie seeds to sprout, often within two weeks of a burn.
Landowners lucky enough to have the right habitat can use the incentive program to help hire workers to clear the trees, or cover other restoration costs.
The Brownsville project will help return the townís bluff to a sunny slope, where people can gather wildflowers while carefully watching for tiny lizards doing pushups, and snakes lolling in the sun.
If this scene appeals to you, and you think your bluff may qualify for this unusual habitat program, call Edwards at (507) 280-5070.
Caledonia Argus
314 West Lincoln St.
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507/724-3475
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