Massasauga Project
A book in development.
Massasaugas are cryptic wetland rattlesnakes that once were common across the upper Midwest, particularly in Michigan, my home state. Because of colonial agriculture and intentional persecution, the species was decimated; it has lost over 90% of its habitat and population since European colonization. Extant populations are small and fragmented, teetering towards oblivion. The Fish and Wildlife Service listed massasaugas as a threatened species in 2016 due to the risk of extinction.
I untangle Michigan's deep history and how massasaugas arrived, how they coexisted with Indigenous people for thousands of years, the radical transformation of the land by European colonists, and their detrimental effect on massasaugas. Once this picture is in view, I discuss modern conservation efforts and their pitfalls. Along the way, I interrogate the idea of what conservation is and should be, using massasaugas as an example of larger trends in conservation.