Threatened and endangered species feature: the cautious copperbelly water snake
By Jillian Farkas, DNR Wildlife Division
With binoculars in tow, I scouted the seemingly calm water in front of me. Slowly, and without a ripple, a sea monster-like head began to emerge from the water. With a duckweed disguise, the snake remained still, repeatedly flicking its tongue in my direction. To confirm identification of the species, I lunged towards the snake with long tongs, but it was just out of reach. Reacting to the threat of capture, the snake swiftly swam into the surrounding vegetation and escaped.
The copperbelly water snake is an exceptionally rare species in Michigan. These snakes are found in two distinct population segments in the United States – the north and south. The northern population remains federally listed as threatened, and its range includes southern Michigan, northwestern Ohio and northeastern Indiana. In Michigan, this species is listed as endangered and has only been documented at 13 sites in seven counties. However, recent surveys have revealed that the number of sites the species currently occupies has dwindled down to only four.
Copperbelly water snakes are harmless, non-poisonous, relatively large, semi-aquatic snakes that are often witnessed basking in the sun where they can effortlessly escape into water if bothered. They tend to live near shrub wetlands, wooded floodplains and slow-moving rivers. A hungry copperbelly will hunt a variety of prey, including tadpoles, frogs, salamanders, insect larvae and crayfish. Adults are dark black or brown on the top, with a vibrant orange-red underside. These snakes also have labial (lip) scales that are tinted slightly orange-red with darkened edges. In Michigan, northern water snakes, Kirtland’s snakes, queen snakes and northern red-bellied snakes look similar to, and might be mistaken for, the copperbelly water snake. Read more
The outstanding trophy also marks a notable achievement for conservation professionals.
The Michigan Duck Stamp Program, established in 1976, has become an icon for waterfowl hunters and wetland conservation enthusiasts. During the past 38 years, the program has gained popularity with collectors and conservation groups throughout the United States.
You would be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t agree with this point…Coyotes are plentiful and their numbers are up almost everywhere. Their boom in population east of the Mississippi in the last 40 years is very impressive. With everyone seeing more coyotes when they are outdoors, they catch the blame for a lot of issues facing small game, especially whitetail fawn recruitment. Like it or not the song dogs are here to stay. You can kill as many as possible on your piece of property and definitely “help the cause” when it comes to protecting fawns, but there will always be coyotes around. The argument has been made that you need a few around to keep the other small predators in check and there is some good research that supports this claim. However no one likes the idea of coyotes managing their deer herd for them. While coyotes may not have a major impact on the overall deer population of a given county or state, they can definitely effect small pockets and that might be your property. Let’s look at a few things that can be done to increase fawn survival rates. 
The Federal Duck Stamp also has been available for purchase online at