COMMUTERS SLITHER HOME.They call it Snake Road, a gravel lane through southern Illinois' Shawnee National Forest The Shawnee National Forest, located in the Ozark and Shawnee hills of Southern Illinois, consists of approximately 270,000 acres (1,100 km²) of federally managed lands. History In August of 1933, the Forest was first designated as the Illini and Shawnee Purchase Units. , where each spring and fall automobile traffic is prohibited to ensure the safe passage of timber rattlers, water moccasins, and copperheads Copperheads, in the American Civil War, a reproachful term for those Northerners sympathetic to the South, mostly Democrats outspoken in their opposition to the Lincoln administration. They were especially strong in Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, where Clement L. . The two-and-a-half mile road in Union County is the only road in the country closed by the Forest Service to protect migrating snakes. Most snakes hibernate See hibernation mode. underground in the winter and live off stored body fat. But the snakes along this road come from limestone bluffs 300 feet above LaRue Swamps, a 700-acre wetland that was created when the Big Muddy River Big Muddy River A river of southwest Illinois flowing about 217 km (135 mi) to the Mississippi River north-northwest of Cairo. cut a new channel about 12,000 years ago. Because snakes cannot go underground here, they head to the bluffs each winter and return each spring, using Snake Road as a migratory path. The bluffs above the swamp are the only known home of the carinate carinate /car·i·nate/ (kar´i-nat) keel-shaped; having a keellike process. car·i·nate adj. Shaped like or having a carina or keel; ridged. pill snail, a species once thought extinct. Local Forest Service experts believe the snail's survival depends on the protection of snakes and other wildlife in the area, which provide greater balance to predators that would otherwise feed heavily on the snails. Forest Service officials first closed Snake Road to traffic in 1972, after they realized some motorists intentionally drove through the area to run over snakes. In 1994 officials placed the timber rattler, one of the road's "commuters," on Illinois' threatened and endangered species endangered species, any plant or animal species whose ability to survive and reproduce has been jeopardized by human activities. In 1999 the U.S. government, in accordance with the U.S. list. And although some consider Illinois law liberal on snake collection, Shawnee National Forest and Snake Road have been designated no-collection areas. Snake Road continues to be a popular destination for both tourists and locals during the spring and fall. The Forest Service permits foot traffic along the corridor, which heads east from Route 3 just south of the Big Muddy River, a designated scenic drive. The best time of day for snake sightings is from noon to about 4 p.m., when the sun passes across the bluffs to the west. Nearly 60 species of reptiles use this road. Remember, snakes can be aggressive in the spring when they are hungry and cranky crank·y 1 adj. crank·i·er, crank·i·est 1. Having a bad disposition; peevish. 2. Having eccentric ways; odd. 3. . You have a better chance of spotting a snake in autumn, when they move more slowly. |
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