For Immediate Release
Contacts: Rosemary Forrest, (803) 725-9724, [email protected]
Marie Hamilton (803) 725-2473, [email protected]
Sold-out snake book re-released
Furby may have been the hottest toy of 1998, but the book, Snakes of Georgia and South Carolina, published by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL) was such a hit when it came out last summer that nearly all 20,000 copies published were sold within weeks. Public clamor and support among sponsors for the full-color, 32-page booklet, which provides information on both the venomous and nonvenomous species of snakes in Georgia and South Carolina, persuaded SREL to reprint the best-seller.
The book was prepared by herpetologists (scientists who study reptiles and amphibians) at SREL. It has been provided to libraries and hospitals in Georgia and South Carolina free of charge and copies are also available to teachers and scout troupe leaders at no cost. As an identification guide, it has been praised for its full-color photos of all 40 species of snakes. It also includes the habitat where each snake can be found, complete with maps and descriptions. A chart provides comparison with look-alike species and details of each.
Herpetologist and author Whit Gibbons says, "We are all extremely pleased with the public's response to our efforts to educate everyone about the ecology of snakes of this region."
The Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL) is a research unit of the University of Georgia working under a cooperative agreement with the U. S. Department of Energy on the Savannah River Site (SRS) in Aiken, S.C. SRS provides a perfect place for herpetologists to study because the 310 square-mile site is also a designated National Environmental Research Park, or NERP. This means that industrial and protected areas exist side-by-side within the confines of the restricted site. Such protection has preserved areas from not only industrial, but agricultural and residential impacts as well.
Funding for the booklet was provided by cooperation among area agencies with an interest in science and nature. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the South Carolina State Museum, the South Carolina Parks and Recreation Department, the Georgia Forestry Commission, U.S. Department of Agriculture (Forest Service at SRS), South Carolina Extension Office at Clemson, ORA, Elachee Nature Center, Georgia Southern-The Center for Wildlife Education and the Lamar Q Ball, Jr. Raptor Center,Spring Island Trust,SCE&G - SCANNA, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, South Carolina Wildlife magazine and Fort Discovery all contributed to the printing costs of the document and will help distribute it. Copies will be available through these agencies as well as through SREL's outreach office. Orders may be called in to (803) 725-5987 (voice mail) or faxed to (803) 725-3309.
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