Florida Has Gone Snake Happy Part 2

Secretary Salazar Announces Renewed Commitment, Expanded Programs to Eliminate Pythons from Everglades

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced today that the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in partnership with the State of Florida and other stakeholders, are renewing their commitment and expanding existing programs to eliminate Burmese pythons from the Everglades.

“Burmese pythons are an invasive species that have no place in the Everglades and threaten its delicate ecosystem,” Salazar said. “We are committed to aggressively combating this threat, including having trained and well-supervised volunteers hunt down and remove snakes.”

The Burmese python (Python molurus), a large exotic snake, is well-established in the Everglades.

Cooperative workshops – FWS has organized and facilitated multi-agency workshops to address the threats posed by pythons and help prioritize and coordinate management efforts.

Unmanned aerial vehicles and thermal imaging – NPS is working with USGS and the University of Florida to test small, remotely operated airplanes and heat-detecting sensors for use in detecting pythons in the Everglades. These technologies may be useful to detect and aid in the capture of pythons in their natural habitats. Reporting mechanisms – NPS established a python hotline for public reporting of python observations.

Education and outreach – NPS and FWS have worked cooperatively with our partners at the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the South Florida Water Management District to develop signs that remind the public that release of snakes and other exotics is a crime. We have implemented the “Don’t Let It Loose” public and school education campaign and endorsed Habitatitude to promote responsible pet ownership. NPS recently printed and distributed over 450,000 copies of “Florida Invaders” to educate the public about the threat of invasive nonnative plants and animals. The FWS and NPS participated in the recent State-sponsored Non-native Pet Amnesty Day event held at the Miami Zoo educating the public about pythons and other non-native invasive wildlife.

Eliminating these exotic pythons in Florida will require a full partnership between federal and state agencies and with the assistance from trained members of the public,” said Pedro Ramos, superintendent, Big Cypress National Preserve. “These joint efforts will provide vital information on the animals’ movement, habitat use, food sources and other information which will aid in future improvements of eradication methods.”

“Addressing the python threat requires a broad partnership with many strategies,” said Paul Souza, South Florida Ecological Services field supervisor for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “There is no one silver bullet. We are committed to continuing our work with our partners in the State of Florida to make headway on this
significant challenge."

Together, the NPS, FWS, and their partners will continue their efforts to implement a variety of python management efforts to control and hopefully eradicate the Burmese python in south Florida.