Herper of the Month |
| September
2007 |
| John
Reinsch |
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"Ever
since I was a young boy I’ve had a love for herps, so much so
that my mother would have to check my pockets before she’d let
me in the house. Once she found I’d started the water in the washer
machine and stopped it about half full. When she came in to do
the laundry I had several toads that I’d turned loose in it swimming
around. She says that I told her “Dats fer dem frogs, cause dem
need a place to live." |
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"Over
time my folks eventually let me keep a few different species
of herps that were found locally. One of my favorites has always
been horned lizards, or "Horny Toads" as many of us
called them as kids. I’d find many Coastal Horned lizards in
the valley and foothills, and Desert Horned Lizards out on the
Mojave Desert of Kern County. Their dinosaur like appearance
has made them perhaps America’s favorite lizard.Sadly, it has
been their popularity along with habitat loss, feral cats, agricultural
pesticides, and the widespread appearance of non-native species
of ants throughout our southwestern states that has lead to
their decline. FieldHerpForum has been and will continue to
be an invaluable tool to promote conservation efforts and ideas
to help save species like horned lizards." |
|
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"It was this professional
attitude towards education and conservation that first sparked
my interest here on this forum. Not soon after I found myself
accepting the term of Conservation Officer for the southern
California
Chapter of NAFHA. As a kid I wanted to catch and keep everything
I found, but with age also comes responsibility and a better
understanding of what it truly means to be a conservationist.
Today it is only on rare occasion that I'll keep anything.
I've learned to have as much fun locating each herp and collecting
data on it; and I like to take as many photos as possible
to remember my experiences in all the wonderful locations
where field herping has taken me whether it is by myself,
with the wife, or with the many friends that I've had the
pleasure to meet here on the forum. Going out after new species
to add to my life list has given me the chance to travel further
than before, experiencing many different habitats and the
herps that live there. To date there have been some truly
beautiful and unique locations that I may never have thought
about visiting before; and I look forward to traveling more
when I have the time."
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"I’ve been a member
of the Al Robbins Herpetological Society and other herp societies
in Bakersfield, CAsince the early 80’s along with others, including
Jeff Lemm. Back then I was still in high school and just got my
driver’s license. What an exciting time in my young life! The
freedom to be able to road cruise many of Kern County’s back roads
in our mountains and desert is still a childhood dream that I
continue to enjoy. Throughout the mid 80’s and early 90’s much
of what I’d find was from road cruising and even though many of
the places I herped had target species I always wanted to find,
like Mountain Kingsnakes and Rosy Boas, it wasn’t until I really
spent more time reading and talking to others that I began to
understand that it wasn’t always a matter of where to look, but
you needed to know when and how, too. Many places I've been field
herping just aren't accessible by vehicle. Often this meant having
to get out and flip both natural and artificial cover, and hike
around. There is something about herping in areas that are off
the beaten path and have been untouched by others that I find
rewarding." |
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"Today
what used to be the Al Robbins Herpetological Society is now a chapter
of the Southwestern Herpetologist’s Society. I’ve held many different
positions in a number of herp societies over the years, including
president, master of arms, treasurer, newsletter editor, and member
at large. Sharing many of my field herping experiences from over
the years at monthly meetings with local SWHS chapter members and
giving slide presentations of my trips has been enjoyable. I’ve
seen many different trends and membership fluctuate over the years.
Lately it's been nice to see a rising interest in field herping
and photography, and eventually I’d like to see more of our SWHS
members focus more on conservation and education too. One of the
things lately that I’m proud of, are the sets of snake hooks I’ve
gotten my chapter to agree to make for Wind Wolves Preserve and
Camp K.E.E.P. It dawned on me one day while taking my students to
Wind Wolves that the naturalists had no hooks to safely move a rattlesnake
out of harms way of the many Kern County students that visit the
preserve each year. Having spent a couple years at Camp K.E.E.P.
with my 5th graders for the week and seeing rattlesnakes on the
trails I knew that they too would appreciate hooks." |
|
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"I've
always been amazed with the diversity of California’s herps. Even
though I've had exotics species of herps in years past, I've grown
to have a better appreciation for our native herps. I consider myself
extremely lucky in a way to have grown up here at the southern end
of the San Joaquin Valley. From my home I'm but a couple of hours
from the Sierra Nevada Mountains…" |
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"....or
the Mojave Desert where I’ve spent countless hours chasing snakes
and noosing lizards over the years." |
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Scott Waters Productions
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