California recognizes the giant garter as state snake

[Snake, from Bt] Wildlife Service.

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However, those artificial habitats are shifting too, as the area moves away from rice production and toward orchards and dry farmland.

The hope is the snake’s new, higher profile in California can give it a fighting chance at avoiding extinction.

“With other conservation initiatives around the world, when people learn about the wildlife in their backyard, they'll be more inspired to take action to conserve it,” said Michael Starkey, founder of the Sacramento nonprofit Save the Snakes. “California’s K-12 curriculum teaches hundreds of thousands of students about state symbols in California, and as students learn about the species in their neighborhood, it will hopefully inspire future generations of people to care about it.”