Why Did the Garter Snake Cross the Road?
It Shouldn’t Have To
Living in or visiting the ecological treasure that is the Beaver Hills Biosphere means being part of something greater: a community that values and protects the wildlife that shares the land. To solidify this sentiment, the Biosphere launched the Living With Wildlife Campaign, encouraging people to learn more about the importance of wildlife on the landscape and to pledge to respect and live in harmony with nature.
Living with wildlife applies to all living things, including the small critters who play a vital role in maintaining the intricate balance on the landscape. One of these special creatures is the garter snake and, over recent years, its situation has become more and more precarious. Both plains and red-sided garter snakes live in the Biosphere and recently, attention has been drawn to garter snake casualties along heavily trafficked roads. The people monitoring these numbers are urging others to pay attention.
"It’s been an issue for many years but every year it gets worse," says Strathcona County Councillor Glen Lawrence.
"More people mean more cars and more cars means more roadside collisions with wildlife. Everybody is in such a big hurry these days."
To put numbers into perspective, Margo Pybus, President of Friends of Cooking Lake Blackfoot has been monitoring garter snake roadside mortality every summer since 2023. The findings are staggering.
"In the summers of 2023 and 2024, on a seven kilometer stretch of Range Road 210, I documented over 800 dead snakes,"
says Margo.
"This number only accounts for the snakes we have seen, not the ones we’ve missed or that have been picked up by scavengers."
Over time, the vehicle traffic on that road has increased significantly and there are several garter snake hibernacula within that vicinity. The snakes’ summer habitat is on one side of this road, while their winter hibernacula is on the other, forcing the snakes to move back and forth over the road between the seasons.
To raise awareness of this issue, a local working group was established that includes people from the Biosphere, Alberta Conservation Association, Alberta Parks, Parks Canada (Elk Island National Park), Strathcona County, Alberta Environment and Protected Areas, Friends of Cooking Lake Blackfoot and Friends of Elk Island Society.
This joint effort has resulted in flashing signs and sandwich boards being installed along roads where the most garter snake casualties occur. The signs are put out by Strathcona County in the spring and fall during snake migration periods.
Additionally, informational posters have been displayed in community spaces within the Cooking Lake Blackfoot Provincial Recreation Area. Relocating snakes from stressed hibernacula away from roads, along with constructing fencing and underground roadway culverts in key areas, are potential projects in discussion.
Garter snakes play a vital role in pest control by eating insects, slugs, rodents, and amphibians, reducing the need for chemical pesticides and helping maintain a healthy balance in the ecosystem. As both predators and prey, these snakes are also a food source for birds of prey, foxes, and skunks. Furthermore, garter snakes are an indicator species, meaning that their presence on the landscape is indicative of a healthy ecosystem.
Alyssa Metro, Biosphere resident and president of the Alberta Amphibian and Reptile Conservancy (AARC), took things into her own hands by building a garter snake hibernaculum on her property in Beaver County last year with support from her conservation group and funding from the Biosphere’s Rural Residential Stewardship Program (RRSP).
"As a landowner, having the chance to improve garter snake habitat and increase their potential for longevity was an opportunity I had to take," explains Alyssa. "The support from AARC and RRSP made it possible."
Alyssa also mentions that hibernacula are protected under the Wildlife Act and cannot be disturbed once in use.
While Alyssa has gone to great lengths to help protect the garter snakes living near her, there are things that others can do as well. The Living With Wildlife initiative provides information about key species in the Biosphere and the Living With Wildlife Pledge outlines the simple, meaningful steps that people can take to protect wildlife habitats and reduce human-wildlife conflict. Altogether, it is more than just information and a pledge; it becomes a promise to take actionable steps to live with greater care and connection to the natural world.
For garter snakes, healthy coexistence includes people being mindful on roadways by paying attention to signage and driving with caution, leaving the leaf or wood pile in your yard untouched or opting for natural pest control methods rather than chemical pesticides. Their well-being is in our hands.
“Education goes a long way,” says Councillor Lawrence. “We share this planet with a whole lot of other species and we need to be reminded that we aren’t the only ones here and that there is an ecological cost to everything we do.”
Sometimes, all it takes is one conversation to shift perceptions. So, the next time you think of or talk about garter snakes, remember this simple truth: they are harmless to humans, and they play a vital role in keeping our ecosystems in balance.
By being well-informed and taking action as residents, visitors and stewards of the Biosphere, we can foster a deeper respect for all wildlife and help people and nature thrive side by side for generations to come.
Join the movement by taking the Living With Wildlife Pledge.
