Dodging students in crosswalks shouldn’t seem like such a hassle after what the SIUC zoology club has been through.

Forest Service Road 345 in Shawnee National Forest is one of the few roads in the country that closes in order to let snakes cross the road. The road, which is overseen by the U.S. Forest Service in Shawnee, has been closed every March 15 to May 15 and Sept. 1 to Oct. 31 since 1972 to accommodate seasonal reptile and amphibian migrations.

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SIUC’s zoology club loaded into cars Sept. 29 on an expedition in the Shawnee National Forest. They parked on the side of the road at the La Rue Pine Hills Ecological area, about 30 miles southeast of Carbondale, which contains some of the most diverse ecology in the state.

Road 345 sits inbetween bluffs where many reptiles and amphibians will hibernate and near swamps where they spend most of their time looking for food and basking in the sun. Julius “Tony” Frazier, a senior from Cincinnati, Ohio studying zoology, said it is one of the few places in the country where a road closes for the convenience of reptiles and amphibians.

As the amount of daylight decreases, reptiles and amphibians are seen more frequently during seasonal migrations because their food becomes harder to find and the photoperiod, which warms the cold-blooded animals, is not as long in the fall as it is in the summer, queuing many animals to move at one time.

Frazier guided a group of about 25 students as they climbed, crouched and dodged through hills, leaves and thorns in search of cold-blooded animals during the club’s biannual snake migration trek at La Rue.

“Historically, I’ve been a member of the zoology club for a couple of years and I’ve always loved the trip,” Frazier said. “Of the group, I guess I’m more knowledgeable of reptiles and amphibians, so they always ask me to go.”

As a zoology student focused on herpetology, or the study of reptiles and amphibians, Frazier said he considered himself a “herp-oriented person.”

In the winter of 2005, Frazier traveled to Honduras to do research under SIUC Associate Professor of Zoology Karen Lips. Frazier studied how much light absorption boa constrictors can handle before getting too hot, and gathered data. The research will be used to help determine if climate changes due to global warming make the living situation of reptiles in Honduras inhospitable.

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The zoology club invited students in lower-level zoology classes and those who have never been to the area to come along. Amanda Romack, a junior from Vail, Colo. studying zoology, is one student who, despite her fear of snakes, went along for the trip.

Romack said she went to study for upcoming herpetology-related exams.

“Reading them in a textbook is one thing but when you’re out there in the field seeing it is a lot different,” Romack said. “It taught me quite a bit.”

Frazier, a former president of the zoology club, said the club gives students an opportunity to work hands on with what they’ve learned in class.

“They get a chance to volunteer and actually work alongside grad students and professors and get a chance to see what kind of fields they’re interested in so they know what direction to go,” Frazier said.

The group spotted a rare timber rattlesnake, which was the first of four snakes found by the group. The rattler is one of four pit vipers found in Illinois. Pit vipers have a heat-sensing pit between their nostrils that is used to sense infrared waves coming off warm-blooded animals. Laura Barid, a junior from Hiawassee, Ga. studying zoology, said this sighting was the highlight of her trip.

“I’m thrilled about getting to see a timber rattler… it’s so special. You just don’t see them around here,” Barid said. “Being able to see animals in their natural environment – I always consider that to be a privilege.”

The forest service enforces strict rules on La Rue, more so than in other places in Shawnee Forest because it has a wide variety of plants and animals.

As wildlife habitat steadily decreases worldwide, Frazier said a need for conservation still exists. Southern Illinois has had success conserving threatened species like the timber rattlesnake.

“Places like La Rue Pine Hills that are more protected than usual are definitely a necessity and key to having the biodiversity that we have and continue to have in the future,” Frazier said.

Daily Egyptian photographer DuVale Riley can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 270 or [email protected].