Trout spawning underway
MassWildlife stocked over 63,000 trout into Massachusetts waterbodies this fall. (Go to mass.gov/trout to see where fish were stocked.) While fall stocking has concluded, hatchery staff are hard at work preparing fish for the years ahead!
MassWildlife operates five fish hatcheries in the state, located in Sandwich, Belchertown, Montague, Sunderland, and Palmer. Each fall, hatchery staff manually spawn trout at Palmer and Sandwich hatcheries to produce more than 1.5 million fertile brook trout, brown trout, and tiger trout eggs.
Eggs from the female and milt from the male are combined, then water is added to activate the sperm.
Spawning happens when hatchery staff carefully mix trout eggs and milt together. The process begins when eggs are gently squeezed from a female and collected in a bowl. Milt from a male is then squeezed into the same bowl and a small amount of water is added to activate the sperm. Male and female fish are quickly returned to the water to minimize stress.
The mixture is gently stirred to encourage fertilization. The eggs are placed in a bath containing a mixture of water and a special buffered iodine-based disinfectant. This process reduces the risk of disease and allows the eggs to absorb water and become fully formed and firm, a process called water hardening. The water-hardened eggs are then counted and placed in incubation troughs where they remain until they hatch. These million and a half eggs, coupled with rainbow trout eggs obtained through a cooperative program with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, will be reared at MassWildlife's five hatcheries.
After incubating for about two months, the eggs hatch into fry (pictured above). When they are about two inches long, the fry are moved from the indoor “hatch house” to outdoor rearing pools. The fish grow in these pools for 1.5–2.5 years until they reach stocking size. Depending on the species, trout are stocked when they are between 12–14 inches long.
Trout are stocked in hundreds of rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds throughout the Commonwealth every spring and fall. Learn how to identify and catch the different types of trout that MassWildlife stocks.
Outdoor users, let your voice be heard
If you love the outdoors and value open space and public parks, please complete this survey. Hunters, anglers, hikers, birdwatchers, and other outdoor users are encouraged to complete the survey, which should take about 10 minutes.
The federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grant program funds a variety of conservation projects in Massachusetts. To remain eligible for these grants, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs must submit a Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP) every five years. Input from the survey will be included in the next SCORP and will help determine how LWCF funding will be distributed over the next five years.
Since the program was established in 1965, more than $100,000,000 has been awarded to projects in every county in the state for the acquisition of conservation and park land, development of new parks, or renovation of existing parks. If you have questions or comments related to the survey, please email SCORP.2022@mass.gov.
Attention municipalities and land trusts
In addition to outdoor users, input from municipal officials and land trusts will also be incorporated in the SCORP. Separate surveys are available below:
Snakes are preparing for winter
Snakes become less active as temperatures drop because they are cold-blooded. In fall, you may observe more snakes, as they search more actively for food sources such as mice, frogs, toads, and insects.
When they can no longer maintain adequate body temperature by basking, snakes become dormant and wait for warmer weather to return. Among reptiles, this dormant period is called brumation. Snakes seek winter shelters in “hibernacula” such as rocky debris, mammal burrows, holes, tree stumps, rocks, or logs. Multiple species of snake may use the same hibernaculum.
Shorter winters can lead to shorter periods of dormancy. On warmer days, snakes may exit the “den” to sun themselves to raise their body temperatures. They may also emerge briefly to seek out water.
Which snake species live in Massachusetts?
Massachusetts is home to 14 native snake species. Common (and nonvenomous) snake species of the Commonwealth include gartersnakes, milksnakes, and northern watersnakes. All snakes tend to avoid predators, including people, unless they are cornered or otherwise threatened.
Only two Bay State snake species are venomous: timber rattlesnakes and copperheads. Both are state-listed as endangered, and both live in very few areas of the state. Three non-venomous species are also state-listed: eastern ratsnakes (endangered), eastern wormsnakes (threatened), and eastern hog-nosed snakes (special concern).
By learning to identify our more common snake species, you can deepen your appreciation for nature, give yourself more peace of mind, avoid confusing common species with rarer ones, and support snake populations of all stripes.
Learn more about the snakes of Massachusetts.
How can people help snakes in Massachusetts?
If you see a snake that is listed as threatened, endangered, or of special concern in MA, we'd like to hear from you! Please share your observation on the MassWildlife Heritage Hub. Sharing requires creating an account, but you will receive confirmation and thanks from our biologists, once your observation has been reviewed and confirmed. Your reports provide critical information that informs future habitat management and wildlife conservation for future generations. For a single sighting, as an alternative to setting up a Heritage Hub account, you can also use our Rare Animal Observation Form.
If you see a snake that is not “listed” you can still help by sharing your observations on our Massachusetts Reptile Survey, hosted on iNaturalist.
To support conservation efforts across more than 400 populations of plant and animal species protected under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act, you can donate to MassWildlife’s Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program.
Help the animals and plants of Massachusetts thrive
Giving Tuesday
Giving Tuesday is the international day that celebrates generosity. It signifies the beginning of the charitable season as people, just like you, focus on the holidays and how they can give back to their communities. Giving Tuesday occurs annually on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving; this year it falls on November 29.
You can get into the spirit of the season by supporting wildlife and nature in Massachusetts!
MassWildlife's Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program needs your help on Giving Tuesday and throughout the year. NHESP works to conserve species protected by the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act. This happens through field surveys and research, regulations, habitat management, land protection, and education. This important work is funded by grants and donations from supporters like you. Show your support by making a donation that is meaningful to you or reporting rare species sightings.
MassWildlife is grateful for your passion for wildlife and nature. Thank you for making a difference and inspiring others to do the same.
Donate for conservation
All money donated to MassWildlife's Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program goes towards conserving the rare animals and plants that call Massachusetts home. Your donation goes toward equipment and services needed to give these species a fighting chance.
There are a few ways you can donate:
- Online with a credit card or electronic check*
- Through your MassFishHunt account
- By check made payable to "Comm. of MA—NHESP" and mailed to:
MassWildlife
1 Rabbit Hill Road
Westborough, MA 01581
*You will be redirected to our payment portal with nCourt, LLC.
Report rare species
You can learn where rare species are found by visiting our Rare Species Viewer. If you have information on the location of a rare species or vernal pool and would like to help NHESP keep its database current, submit your observations through the Heritage Hub.
Thank you for your support
Without your support, we would not be able to continue conservation work for the animals and plants—like the bald eagle, northern red-bellied cooter, and showy lady’s-slipper orchid—that need our help. Thank you. You can learn more about our work here: mass.gov/nhesp.
Meet the muskrat
Muskrats are common in Massachusetts and can be found in most lakes, ponds, open swamps, marshes (including salt marshes), and slow-moving sections of rivers and lowland streams. But, unless you take the time to look for them, you could probably go a lifetime without ever knowing that muskrats exist! Take a moment to get acquainted with these furry marsh-dwelling mammals.
Description
Contrary to their name (and despite their naked tails), muskrats aren’t actually rats. Muskrats are rodents, but and are more closely related to voles than to true rats.
Muskrats are about 5 inches tall and 10–14 inches long and only weigh about 2–3 pounds. They have sharp claws on both their front and back feet used primarily for digging. The muskrat’s reddish to dark brown or black fur coat is warm, soft, and dense. It is composed of long, glossy guard hairs that overlay a much denser layer of underfur that traps air and provides insulation and buoyancy while swimming.
The muskrat’s long, vertically compressed tail is one of its most unique and distinguishing features.
Their distinctive 8–10-inch hairless tail is flattened vertically and provides balance on land and steering while swimming. Because the tail tends to drag when the animal is on land, a muskrat track is distinctive and easy to identify in mud, slush, or snow. Like beavers, muskrats slap their tails when alarmed before diving under water.
Aquatic adaptations
Like many other aquatic mammals, the muskrat’s ears and nostrils close automatically when under water. And like the beaver, the muskrat has a lip structure that allows it to bite and chew while submerged without getting a mouthful of water. The physiology of muskrats and many other aquatic mammals enable them to be less sensitive to the buildup of carbon dioxide in their blood. This allows them to remain submerged for 15 minutes or more. Muskrats also possess a circulatory adaptation called regional heterothermia that reduces heat loss from the feet and tail while still protecting those extremities from frostbite.
Home sweet home
Muskrats are highly adaptable and capable of thriving in a wide range of climates and wetland habitats. If there are wetlands near your home, or if your commute takes you past any wetlands, you are somewhere in the vicinity of muskrats on a daily basis.
Muskrats make their homes by tunneling into banks. Burrows, which can be quite elaborate and reach up to 45 feet in length, may be used for many generations. Burrow openings start underwater then rise above the water table and open into multiple chambers.
Marsh-dwelling muskrats that have no banks to burrow into construct their own houses that rise like mounds from the marsh. These are often built on submerged stumps or similar sturdy foundations. Muskrats pile mud and vegetation roughly 4–6 feet in diameter and 2–3 feet above the water’s surface. As the pile settles, the muskrat tunnels into it and eventually creates a hollowed area with one or two chambers. In addition to providing shelter, these houses offer an added benefit of being edible if food supplies become limited during the winter.
Life history
Basic muskrat social structure consists of a monogamous pair of adults and their young of the year. The pair mark the borders of their territory with musk and conspicuous piles of droppings, and they defend it vigorously from other muskrats that are not part of the immediate family.
Breeding season begins in late March or April. Depending on habitat quality and population density, females give birth to 1–3 litters of 5–10 young from late spring into early fall. The responsibility of rearing the young falls entirely to the female. The babies are weaned in less than a month and typically remain within their mother’s territory until the following spring.
Muskrats are omnivores feeding mostly on a wide variety of succulent aquatic and terrestrial vegetation. They also eat freshwater mussels, snails, crayfish, frogs, and insects. The muskrat’s predators include mink, raccoons, coyotes, and foxes. The typical lifespan of an adult in the wild is about 3- 4 years.
If you’d like to try to observe a muskrat, grab a pair of binoculars and head to a nearby wetland area. Look along dirt banks or on raised mounds of mud and vegetation. Muskrats are most active around dawn and dusk but are known to enjoy feeding in sun on calm fall and winter afternoons. Don't forget to check muddy or snowy areas for muskrat tracks. Click here to see the tracks of muskrats and other common Massachusetts animals.