Michigan Protects Five Reptiles and Amphibians

Michigan has added five reptiles and amphibians — Fowler’s toad, pickerel frog, mudpuppy, Butler’s garter snake and smooth green snake — to its animals of special concern list. The listing makes it illegal to kill or collect those species. That the Butler’s garter snake is included is significant: their lack of protection in Michigan meant that most specimens in captivity were originally collected there. (Mine certainly were.)