Clik here to view.
Tonight on 22News
Tonight on 22News. We have an in-depth 22News I-Team investigation of the state’s plan for rattlesnakes on an island in the Quabbin Reservoir. and 22News is working for you with an update on road and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Rattlesnake Island opponents delivered petition to State House
BOSTON (WWLP) – Western Massachusetts residents are fighting back against a proposal to make a home for venomous rattlesnakes in the Quabbin Reservoir. People that live near the Quabbin told 22News...
View ArticleClik here to view.
InFocus: Timber rattlesnake colony at the Quabbin Reservoir
CHICOPEE- Mass. (WWLP - Earlier this year it became public that the Massachusetts Department of Fisheries and Wildlife was planning to create a colony of endangered Timber Rattlesnakes on Mount Zion...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Public hearing regarding Rattlesnake Island to be held on Tuesday
ATHOL, Mass. (AP) — Area residents will have an opportunity to sound off on the state’s plan to create a refuge for endangered rattlesnakes on an uninhabited Quabbin Reservoir island. A legislative...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Legislative Committee to host hearing on Rattlesnakes plan
ATHOL, Mass. (WWLP) – Massachusetts Lawmakers will meet in Athol, Tuesday morning, to discuss the state’s plan to colonize timber rattlesnakes at the Quabbin Reservoir. The hearing is scheduled for...
View ArticleClik here to view.
AM News Headlines 5-10-16
CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) – Did you miss 22News this morning? Check out the top stories today! Friendly’s ice cream is selling its manufacturing and retail ice cream business. State Lawmakers to discuss...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tonight on 22News
Tonight on 22News. We’ll have the latest on the state’s plan to colonize timber rattlesnakes on an island on the Quabbin Reservoir. and find out how the sale of Friendly’s Ice Cream will affect that...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Timber Rattlesnakes at the Quabbin Reservoir hearing
ATHOL, Mass. (WWLP) – 22News live streamed the hearing in Athol with state lawmakers that was open to the public. The almost 5 hour hearing included rattlesnake experts and state officials discussing...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Top state leaders share their thoughts on “Rattlesnake Island” proposal
BOSTON (WWLP) – The state wants more public input on the plan to put venomous rattlesnakes on an island in the Quabbin Reservoir. The proposal has been met with strong resistance from residents who...
View ArticleClik here to view.
State tapping the brakes on “Rattlesnake Island” proposal
ATHOL, Mass. (WWLP) – The state didn’t suspend their plan to put Timber Rattlesnakes on an island in the Quabbin Reservoir, but did say they would restart the process of listening to the people. At a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Environment committee to release final report on “Rattlesnake Island”
BOSTON (WWLP) – The state legislature’s Environment Committee plans to let the Baker administration know whether they believe the rattlesnake proposal should move forward. The Baker administration is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Legislators asking to put “Rattlesnake Island” proposal on hold
BOSTON (WWLP) – A letter from state lawmakers is urging Governor Charlie Baker to suspend a project to breed timber rattlesnakes at Mount Zion in the Quabbin Reservoir. Members of the Legislature’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Citizens’ advisory board backs plan for rattlesnake island
BELCHERTOWN, Mass. (AP) — A citizens’ advisory board that makes recommendations to Massachusetts officials has voted in favor of establishing a timber rattlesnake colony on an uninhabited island. The...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Quabbin advisory board endorses “Rattlesnake Island” plan
BELCHERTOWN, Mass. (WWLP-AP) — A citizens’ advisory board that makes recommendations to Massachusetts officials has voted in favor of establishing a timber rattlesnake colony on an uninhabited island....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mass. Senate passes 1 year moratorium on “Rattlesnake Island” plan
BOSTON (WWLP) – The Massachusetts Senate passed a 1 year moratorium on the Baker Administration’s controversial plan to raise Timber Rattlesnakes in the Quabbin Reservoir. According to State Senator...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Plan to put rattlesnakes at the Quabbin may be delayed
BELCHERTOWN, Mass. (WWLP)– Earlier this year, the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife first announced their plan to put a colony of the now endangered timber rattlesnakes on a part of the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Citing “bad practice”, Baker holds dim view of budget policy riders
STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, MAY 27, 2016…..A plastic bag ban. Restrictions on pipeline siting. A moratorium on a proposed rattlesnake habitat on an island in the Quabbin Reservoir. All of these policy ideas...
View ArticleClik here to view.
House, Senate to meet to draft final state budget proposal
BOSTON (AP) — House and Senate negotiators will likely begin meeting next week to draft a final state budget proposal after the Senate gave final approval to a $39.5 billion spending plan for the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Not everyone opposes the “Rattlesnake Island” proposal
BOSTON (WWLP) – Many western Massachusetts residents are actively against the proposal to bring venomous rattlesnakes to the Quabbin Reservoir, but scientists believe that opposition is based on fear...
View ArticleClik here to view.
State budget proposal’s effects on WMass
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – The State House and Senate negotiators have reached an agreement on the state’s budget. The six-member committee said they plan to file the budget in time for House and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Rattlesnake plan suspension left out of budget
ATHOL, Mass. (WWLP) – A proposal to stop the clock on the controversial plan to raise rattlesnakes on the Quabbin Reservoir was quietly left out of the state budget. The state’s plan is to put...
View ArticleClik here to view.
State environmental leaders discuss concerns in Sunderland
SUNDERLAND, Mass. (WWLP)- State Wildlife leaders met in Western Massachusetts Tuesday to address a range of concerns, from rattlesnakes to climate. Board members from the Massachusetts Division of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
No working group to discuss Quabbin Reservoir rattlesnakes
BELCHERTOWN, Mass. (WWLP) – Five months have gone by and still no working group has been created to study the plan to bring venomous rattlesnakes to the Quabbin Reservoir. After residents called for...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Quabbin Reservoir now a “No Drone Zone”
CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) – Listen up drone owners! Don’t bring your quadcopters to The Quabbin Reservoir. 22News was there covering the rattlesnake controversy, when we saw these signs posted, warning...
View ArticleClik here to view.
No progress with Rattlesnake Island working group
BOSTON (WWLP) – Almost seven months have passed since the state promised that a working group would be created to study the so-called “Rattlesnake Island” proposal. The chairman of the legislature’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
State fulfills a rattlesnake promise, but is it sincere?
WARE, Mass. (WWLP) – It took seven months, but the state has finally fulfilled a promise it made about its plan to put venomous snakes in the Quabbin. For seven months, the state has dragged its feet...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Rattlesnake Island” working group holds first meeting in Athol
BOSTON, Mass. (WWLP) – After several months of delay, a working group finally met for the first time Monday night about the “Rattlesnake Island” proposal. The state is trying to strike a balance...
View ArticleClik here to view.
State looking at alternative sites for timber rattlesnakes
NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (WWLP) – The state is reviewing other areas to place a colony of timber rattlesnakes, which were originally proposed to live on an island in the Quabbin Reservoir. 22News spoke over...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Where could the state put endangered rattlesnakes?
HOLYOKE, Mass. (WWLP) – The plan to put rattlesnakes at the Quabbin Reservoir has caused a lot of controversy over the past year. The state announced they’re now reviewing other areas, including Mount...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Rattlesnake conservation plan panel scheduled to meet
BELCHERTOWN, Mass. (AP) — A panel reviewing the state’s plan to establish a colony of timber rattlesnakes on a Quabbin Reservoir island is scheduled to meet. The Rattlesnake Review Working Group has a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Some oppose placing timber rattlesnakes on Mount Tom
BELCHERTOWN, Mass. (WWLP) – Nearly 50 people attended Tuesday night’s public meeting of the rattlesnake review group in Belchertown. After Belchertown residents expressed strong opposition to creating...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mount Tom a possible site for rattlesnake breeding program
HOLYOKE, Mass. (WWLP) – Rattlesnakes could be coming to a popular hiking spot near you. Take Our PollThe rocky and rugged mountain terrain at Mount Tom is already the natural habitat of poisonous...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Some WMass lawmakers oppose breeding rattlesnakes on Mount Tom
BOSTON (WWLP) – Poisonous reptiles could be placed on a popular Holyoke hiking spot. After strong pushback from residents in the Quabbin, a working group is now considering Mount Tom as a possible...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Possible breeding grounds for endangered timber rattle snakes
BOSTON, Mass (WWLP) – A working group is exploring places to breed the endangered timber rattlesnake, including spots right here in Western Massachusetts. The Rattlesnake Review Group is eyeing Mount...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Rattlesnake Review Working Group website created
WARE, Mass. (WWLP) – MassWildlife has created a public website for the Rattlesnake Review Working Group. The Rattlesnake Review Working Group has held two meetings so far in 2017 to get input from the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Debate over where to breed rattlesnakes in Massachusetts continues
WARE, Mass. (WWLP) – Dozens of people gathered at the Knights of Columbus in Ware, Wednesday night, to hear from the Rattlesnake Review Group. The Group’s considering several locations in western...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Plan for rattlesnakes at Quabbin Reservoir suspended
BOSTON (WWLP) – A proposal to breed rattlesnakes at the Quabbin Reservoir has been suspended, following a vote of the Massachusetts Fisheries and Wildlife Board. The plan, announced in early 2016,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
‘Rattlesnake Island’ proposal suspended indefinitely
BELCHERTOWN, Mass. (WWLP) – Timber rattlesnakes are endangered in Massachusetts. The Division of Fisheries and Wildlife wanted to save the species by breeding them on an island in the Quabbin...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mt. Zion out, Mt. Tom still in for venomous snake colony
HOLYOKE, Mass. (WWLP) – The proposed island of poisonous snakes at the Quabbin Reservoir will not be happening. Senator Anne Gobi announced that the Massachusetts Fisheries and Wildlife Board voted to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Timber rattlesnake captured in downtown Springfield
FOLLOW-UP: Rattlesnake found on Springfield doorstep released on Mount Tom SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – From the Massachusetts Environmental Police, confirmation that a timber rattlesnake has been...
View Article
