Conservation Officer Wrangles Slithery, Venomous Backyard Surprise

NEW PALTZ, NY — A venomous snake got a helping hand from a conservation officer after the copperhead strayed a little too close to an Ulster County home.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation says that an Environmental Conservation Police Officer (ECO) responded to a call earlier this month, on May 3, about a snake under an outdoor stairway at a home in New Paltz.

ECO Chomicki was able to identify the snake as a copperhead, a venomous pit viper native to eastern North America.

He carefully removed the snake from the stairway, with help from the homeowner, and relocated it further out on the property, away from high traffic areas.

While there are 17 species of snakes that are native to New York, the copperhead is mainly found along the lower Hudson Valley, south of Kingston and throughout the Catskills, according to the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. It is one of three venomous snakes in the state, with the others being the timber rattlesnake and the massasauga.