‘Snakes of Idaho’ developer speaks about passion project, promoting conservation
POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI)– Dr. Charles Peterson, a former professor of herpetology at Idaho State University and affiliate curator of herpetology at the Idaho Museum of Natural History, has launched an exhibition decades in the making to encourage the appreciation and conservation of Idaho's native snakes.
The 'Snakes of Idaho' exhibition features photographs of each of the state's 12 native species of snake, all taken by Dr. Peterson during his extensive studies and displayed to share the importance of the animals as Idaho's natural exterminators preventing crop loss and the spread of disease.
"There's an inherent interest in them," said Dr. Peterson. "And then if we can use that and then kind of teach about them–and the animals actually play a pretty important role ecologically they're important parts of the food web... it's important for people to realize that these animals actually influence the economy and the health, and that's generally not appreciated."
Dr. Peterson said his passion for reptiles and amphibians runs back to his childhood and carried him through college, with some of the photographs in the exhibit dating back to 1972 during Dr. Peterson's master's degree studies.
But besides being a passion project, Dr. Peterson said Snakes of Idaho also serves to dispel some of the apprehension towards the cold-blooded creatures by providing a chance for people to learn about snakes in a safe environment.
"A lot of times fear of snakes interferes with people's enjoyment of the outdoors," said Dr. Peterson. "And it doesn't need to–it's a small risk to start with, and you can reduce it a lot by just knowing what you're doing."
The Snakes of Idaho exhibition will be displayed at the Idaho Museum of Natural History, housed on ISU's campus, until August. For more information, you can visit the Idaho Museum of Natural History website.
