san francisco garters

[ConcinusMan]

You'd have a better chance of getting congress to change the law.

[infernalis]

From what I have heard, even the specimens for sale in Canada originated from the same snakes that the European specimens originated from.

Sadly due to MANY generations of inbreeding, the gene pool is not very healthy anymore.

[Jeff B]

Believe me it was a compliment, I definately was NOT implying ignorance, just that it sounded like you haven't been in the work force long enough to have a jaded view of the processes, you still believe all things can be made right and accomplished, which is a good thing, and in some ways with your positive additude they still can, and more power to you, sincerely. All the best wishes for you and your future career.

Quote "You sound a little naive yet unjaded"

This could be taken in a couple different ways lol but you say its a complement so ill take your word for it.
I have studied laws, read papers, wrote papers....and though many laws are well implemented some still lack a view of the big picture. Many of the laws we abide by were put in place at the time to "save" what was left of something until a better plan could be put into place in the future, the problem is the better plans are sometimes forgotten and it takes some reminding to get the ball rolling again.
Sure it may be "naive" to talk as though a phone call can change things; but everything has to start somewhere.

As for a letter for the President....Ill see what I can do. lol


Thanks for reading
Tyrel

[Tyrel26]

Thanks for the kind words Jeff, I appreciate it

[mtolypetsupply]

Thought you might like to read this:

USFWS Sacramento Field Office 2006 Review of the San Francisco Garter Snake

I was especially interested in the recommendation on Page 32, last bulleted paragraph:

"Additionally, a captive breeding population comprised of the offspring of wild-born SFGS should be implemented....However absent additional funds, it is unknown whether this project will be able to continue."

Seems like the perfect opportunity to work with them on propagation of the species.

Sometime back (circa 1970's), however, there was input from some of the scientific community to no longer recognize tetrataenia as a subspecies, and make it a pattern morph of infernalis. I'll look for the link to that gov't doc. Anyway, doing that would now remove the endangered tag from that snake, and then remove the need for the preserved habitat, resulting in a mess politically.

Here's a link to the 1985 report, from which the info from Bury, Barry, and Fox allude to integrades at the least and morphs.

As urbanization has progressed, the SFGS, whether actually having been an infernalis or not, has become an increasingly isolated population, so the SFGS actually having been an infernalis may be a moot point, if not invalid.

Lastly, here's a link for the USFWS Species Profile

[Stefan-A]

Sometime back (circa 1970's), however, there was input from some of the scientific community to no longer recognize tetrataenia as a subspecies, and make it a pattern morph of infernalis. I'll look for the link to that gov't doc. Anyway, doing that would now remove the endangered tag from that snake, and then remove the need for the preserved habitat, resulting in a mess politically.

Here's a link to the 1985 report, from which the info from Bury, Barry, and Fox allude to integrades at the least and morphs.

http://www.cnah.org/comments.asp?id=398

The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (2000 Opinion 1961, Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 57(3): 191-192) has voted to retain the historical taxonomic arrangement of subspecies within this evolutionary lineage, rejecting the arrangement proposed by Boundy and Rossman (1995 Copeia 1995(1): 236-240). Accordingly, the subspecies tetrataenia is reinstated (see below) and the races concinnus and infernalis retain their historical definition.

[mtolypetsupply]

http://www.cnah.org/comments.asp?id=398

Good work finding that link, Stefan. Funny, it only took them what, 20+ years to get that reclassification denied?

[Stefan-A]

4 years, if I'm not mistaken. From the petition to suppress it, to the decision being made. 5 years from the proposal by Rossman & Boundy.

Naturally, there's no reason to hurry with these decisions. People make poorly justified proposals all the time and they need to be reviewed.

[ConcinusMan]

Yeah, and it has since been proven with genetic testing that infernalis, tetrataenia, and concinnus are more closely related to garters in other parts of the country, than they are to each other!

As reasonable as they hypothesis is, tetrataenia is definitely NOT a pattern morph of infernalis.

[Stefan-A]

Yeah, and it has since been proven with genetic testing that infernalis, tetrataenia, and concinnus are more closely related to garters in other parts of the country, than they are to each other!

As reasonable as they hypothesis is, tetrataenia is definitely NOT a pattern morph of infernalis.

Do you have a source for that? I can't remember the title of the article that dealt with that issue and I think there might be a wee bit of a misunderstanding there.