John Hinderaker at Power Line posted an article yesterday about a wildlife plan in Massachusetts that seems a little unwise. Massachusetts had made some bad decisions in the past concerning wildlife–resulting in a rabies problem in certain areas of the state and an overabundance of raccoons, skunks, coyotes, and fisher cats, but this decision is really a bit over the top.

The article reports:

A plan by the state to establish a colony of venomous timber rattlesnakes on an off-limits island in Massachusetts’ largest body of water has some rattled by visions of dangerous serpents slithering through the surrounding woods, attacking hikers, fishermen and hunters.

…There are only about 200 of the endangered snakes indigenous to Massachusetts left in five scattered pockets from greater Boston to the Berkshires, French (Tom French of the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife) said. Loss of habitat and human-caused deaths means they could disappear altogether, which is why the Quabbin project is so critical.

When Massachusetts built Route 128 around Boston, they discovered nests of rattlesnakes. Those nests are pretty much gone now. I suspect that most residents of the state consider that a good thing.

The article concludes:

The public’s concerns stem from the fact that rattlesnakes can swim and the island is connected to the mainland by a pair of narrow causeways, French said.

I think we can expect property values on the mainland overlooking the island to decrease rapidly. This is simply not smart.