Butler’s Garter Won’t Be De-Listed in Wisconsin

The Butler’s Garter Snake (Thamnophis butleri) is safe again in Wisconsin.

There was speculation (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, AP) that the election results would make it less likely that the snake would be removed from Wisconsin’s endangered species list, since it was while the legislature was under Republican control that the snake faced delisting by a legislative committee, as part of an ongoing conflict between the legislature and Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources (see previous entries: 1, 2), and the state Senate went Democratic in the elections.

But even before the new session was sworn in, the committee voted 7-2 on Tuesday to maintain the Butler’s garter’s threatened status (which it has had since 1997), after the DNR outlined some changes it would make to streamline review times and reduce costs for developers.