Betty 
“I remove rattlesnakes from my property myself,” a neighbor told us. “In two pieces!” Recently we purchased a small home on two acres in a rural area near Tucson, Arizona. Because we chose the property for its native vegetation and wildlife that it attracted, we assumed others who live here share our values. For the …
Letters and emails from teachers and students please us immensely. We have received posters created as thank yous by students we’ve visited. We have received picture books produced by teachers and students of our programs at school or field trips to a refuge. We have even received a Power Point program put together after a …
Reports show that kids these days don’t get outdoors enough and explore nature. So when we were asked recently to take two boys on a hike in the remote desert, we were glad to oblige. Terry and Diane Moilanen, whom we met through our Wednesday interpretive hikes at Imperial National Wildlife Refuge, host their …
Most people don’t go looking for snakes, particularly venomous snakes. Most people especially don’t want to encounter one. On the other hand, we seek them out – but not always successfully. Recently, our friend Bryon Shipley, long-time rattlesnake researcher and Denver Zookeeper, visited us at Imperial National Wildlife Refuge for his annual trek to the …
“I can’t stand to even look at a snake!” a visitor to the Plains Conservation Center in Aurora, Colorado, once assured me. But within 15 minutes, after I had convinced her to actually hold the kingsnake I carried, she changed her mind as the snake glided within her fingers. “It feels so soothing!” she said. …
Since we don’t subscribe to cable, we rarely see Animal Planet. However, we have been under the impression that this channel promotes educational and factual information regarding the natural world. Recently, however, we watched a program called “Rattlesnake Republic” on Animal Planet while visiting friends. The program portrayed several so-called snake handlers wrestling snakes in …
Growing up in Maryland, I longed to visit a dude ranch. I expected to ride horses and talk with cowboys and drink in the western experience. I didn’t expect to encounter a rattlesnake. My father instilled in me a fear of snakes that I gradually overcame years later while volunteering as a docent at the …