Maryland Reptile Conservation Center

09/24/2026

Rick Stanley's loss will be felt greatly. Besides all he did for MARS and the Natural Hisotry Society of Maryland, he helped create some of the laws for the conservation of turtles in Maryland.

With great sadness, the Maryland Museum of Natural Sciences announces that Board member Rick Stanley passed away this month. He served as a Trustee since 2013 and chaired the Board until this past July.

Rick’s love of nature, particularly reptiles and amphibians, started early in his life. He was lucky enough to find other h**p enthusiasts who became lifelong friends, many of whom are involved with us to this day. He was also an active member of the Maryland Herpetological Society from the 1970s into the 1990s.

Rick attended the University of Baltimore and then New York University before starting his career as an attorney in 1986. His practice specialized in tax and corporate law, but his heart was always in the conservation of reptiles and the natural world.

Rick founded the Diamondback Terrapin Working Group, formed to stop commercial harvest and promote the conservation of the diamondback terrapin, Maryland’s state reptile. Through the combined efforts of the Working Group, the National Aquarium in Baltimore, and other groups, a bill was passed in 2007 to successfully shut down the unsustainable commercial harvest of the terrapin in Chesapeake Bay.

From 1995 until 2010, Rick was on the Board of the non-profit organization, Mars Preservation Fund, Inc. The group organized the annual Preakness Clean Up and the Mid-Atlantic Reptile Show. To preserve species in the wild, the show limited sales to captive-bred animals and used the proceeds to purchase and preserve rainforest in Costa Rica.

In 2013, Rick joined our Board at a time when people with passion and energy were needed to point the organization in a new direction, and he did just that. He helped with refinancing, worked on financial auditing, and advised on legal issues. He served as Board chair from 2020 to 2026.

This year, during Rick’s tenure as chair, the Maryland Legislature designated us as the State’s official natural sciences museum. Now known as the Maryland Museum of Natural Sciences, our new name reflects our passion to bring the natural sciences to the people of Maryland.

In addition to his countless volunteer hours, Rick gave his time on a personal level, as a resource for those looking to discuss new ideas and get good level-headed advice back.

His friends at the Maryland Museum of Natural Sciences will miss him.

09/08/2026

Help us decide something, y'all. Is this a Cupsnake? A snoufflé? A snaked good? 🧁🐍💕

Whatever this is, we think this bowl of Central Ratsnake is telling us that she needs a larger water dish to soak in. And we are more than happy to oblige!

Like nearly every other snake patient this year, she was another victim of netting entanglement--the SECOND one from the same site this year. ☹️ The rescuer told us that their parents refuse to stop using netting to protect their backyard berry bushes from wildlife eating them, even after their adult child tried to reason with them... Which is very frustrating.

Songbirds, snakes, owls, lizards, hawks, and innumerable other wildlife die to netting entrapment each year. We do our best to educate property owners, and most people are happy to take up the netting after realizing what had happened! However, occasionally, the homeowners--for any number of reasons--refuse to remove the netting, even if they themselves saw the injury the netting caused to the animal. It's legal to keep netting on your property, after all.

It's likely that we will release this patient several hundred feet away from the property. It will still be within the legal release range, and more importantly, it will very likely be in this animal's home territory. But the odds are good that she will return to the property at some point, and her chances of encountering the same netting aren't zero.

We do what we can for them while they are here. After release, the rest is up to them and the humans who live around them. We can only hope they have a change of heart and do right by their wild neighbors in the future.

08/09/2026

Cicadas are a favorite food for copperheads. Yes, we have copperheads in Maryland, part of the natural ecosystem here. This copperhead is in Texas, though.

07/30/2026

07/19/2026

07/13/2026

05/19/2026

Help native reptiles and amphibians by removing invasive non-native plants from waterways.

Join the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and NHSM for a hands-on experience harvesting invasive water chestnuts (Trapa natans) by canoe. These fast-spreading plants threaten native bay grasses, block waterways, and create mosquito breeding grounds, but with your help we can clear them out and keep our waters healthy. Some paddling experience needed. Participants are welcome to bring their own boat. Registration is required for this event, as space is limited.

What will be provided:
Life Jacket/ PFD
Paddle
Canoe

What you need to bring:
Meal/ Snack
Water
Appropriate clothing that can get dirty and/or wet.
Please wear sturdy shoes that will stay on your feet.
Sun protection/ Bug Spray
Binoculars, if you’d like!
Camera (optional)
Coast Guard approved PFD, If you’ve got it
Donations are appreciated. The Natural History Society of Maryland is a volunteer-led non-profit organization, your donation will go directly to support the programs, the nature collections, and the building that make this kind of nature education possible.

For questions, please email Bex at [email protected].
Registration
Levels:
NHSM Members and Non-Members: $0
Bring Your Own Boat: $0 See less

Join us Tue, June 9, 11am - 2pm. Join the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and NHSM for a hands-on experience harvesting invasive water chestnuts (Trapa natans) by canoe. These fast-spreading plants threaten native bay grasses, block waterways, and create mosquito breeding grounds, but with....

04/04/2026

01/16/2026

Ever wonder how the Shenandoah salamander survives winter?

Amphibians like the Shenandoah salamander enter a state of reduced activity called brumation. During this time, they burrow into the ground, hide under logs and rocks, or shelter within leaf litter to escape the cold. Their heart rate and metabolism slow dramatically to conserve energy, and some can even partially freeze.

Don’t worry, these resilient amphibians have natural “antifreeze” chemicals called cryoprotectants in their blood that help prevent their cells from freezing solid. As temperatures warm, we can expect to see them emerge again around April.

Learn more about this amazing amphibian: https://www.nps.gov/shen/learn/nature/shenandoah_salamander.htm