Feds Close Road to Protect Snakes and Lizards

And they mean the natural snakes and lizards, not the human political kind…. Why did the snake cross the road? On one U.S. Forest Service Lane, it had the whole thing to itself.Federal officials say Road No. 345 is the only government-owned road that closes to vehicle traffic — twice a year, during migration season — in order to protect reptiles and amphibians. As one endangered water snake made its way across the road, slowly slithering to its winter den from the swamp where it spent the summer, state herpetologist Scott Ballard extolled the program’s benefits.

The U.S. Forest Service first started closing 345, otherwise known as LaRue Road, for a few weeks in the spring and fall nearly 30 years ago. It’s been closed since Sept. 1 this year, and is scheduled to reopen on Halloween.

from the Boston Globe