AUBURN — A talk about conservation of an endangered snake will be presented at the monthly meeting of the Stanton Bird Club. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 1, at the Auburn Public Library, 49 Spring St. The presentation will be by Wildlife Biologist Jonathan Mays.

The northern black racer, listed as state endangered and a Species of Greatest Conservation Need in Maine, is a large bodied but rarely encountered snake. In an effort to better understand the racer’s movement and habitat ecology, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife conducted a radio-telemetry study for this species.

The research greatly expanded the understanding of northern black racers in Maine, and should provide a significant contribution to racer conservation in the northeastern United States.

Mays is a wildlife biologist for Maine’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife where he is part of the Reptile, Amphibian and Invertebrate Group and serves as the department’s specialist on snakes, turtles, beetles, spiders and snails. He holds a bachelor of science in wildlife and fisheries science from Tennessee Technological University and a master of science from Western Carolina University where he studied cave arthropod assemblages and ecosystems.

The meeting and presentation are free and open to the public.

The Stanton Bird Club is a conservation organization offering monthly free natural history programs and field trips throughout the state. The organization welcomes new members whose dues help to provide land stewardship at three sanctuaries, owned and managed by the club, in Lewiston and Monmouth. For more information, call 782-5238, visit the Web site at www.stantonbirdclub.org or e-mail questions to StantonPR@yahoo.com.

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