News

Bring us your new and gently used critter supplies! Bring your Herp themed artwork and knickknacks! Clothes! Toys! Books! We are happy to accept your donations. And then…come shop the sale! Bid on items, have fun! We will be accepting Cash, Check or Credit Card at the sale. Current membership is required to bid as your membership number is your bidding number. If you are interested in donating to the sale, or have any additional questions, please contact Rae at WSS@mnherpsoc.org. We can arrange for prior drop off or have you bring your items the night of the sale. Please…

Start taking or gathering your photos and/or artwork of reptiles and amphibians for the 2025 MHS Herp Photo & Art Contest, which will take place at the meeting on April 4 thMembers can vote for winners in three categories: Herps in the Wild, Herps at Home*and Herp Artwork. You can enter multiple submissions and compete in each category.Entries must be brought to the meeting, where they will be displayed so members cansee and vote for them in person. Each MHS member will receive one ballot to vote for theirfavorites.Ribbons will be awarded for first and second place in the three…

The Reptile and Amphibian Discovery Zoo (RAD Zoo) will be closing its public facility at the Medford Outlet mall on January 1, 2025. As part of this process, they are looking for good homes for many of their animals! On Sunday, December 1 from 1 to 5pm, they will be having an animal adoption day, along with a zoo exhibit and infrastructure sale at the zoo. Not all of the zoo’s animals will be available for adoption. They are going to be continuing their traveling reptile programs, so they are saving many animals, but will have a large number of…

Starting on December 6, 2024, and running through all of 2025, MHS meetings will now be held at the Harriet Alexander Nature Center (HANC) in Roseville, just a few miles from our current meeting site. The building is nestled on the edge of 52 acres of marsh, prairie and forest habitat. A brief walk on a paved path leads through beautiful woods from the parking lot to the front door. (People with mobility issues or large items can be driven to the door and dropped off before parking.) Members may enjoy walking on the extensive boardwalk that winds through the…

As of November 2025 General Meeting Election, on an unopposed ballot, the following have been elected: President: Renee Valois,Vice President: April Homich,Recording Secretary: Christopher Rueber,Membership Secretary: Sophie Faacks,Newsletter Editor: Nancy Haig,Treasurer: Rae Rueber,Member at Large: Dan Snorek,Member at Large: Crystal Welle,Member at Large: TJ Carlson,Member at Large: Unfilled

Erica Hoaglund has worked for over 15 years with herps and other animals through the Nongame Wildlife Program of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. She covers Region 3/Central, which includes about 26 counties.               On May 6th, she spoke to the MHS about a new joint project with HerpMapper, aimed at putting community science to work documenting Minnesota’s only endangered amphibian, the Blanchard’s cricket frog. Her talk covered the frog’s status and history, phenology, habitat and ecology, distribution, how to identify the species, and a new citizen science survey seeking help from MHS…

Gaea Crozier of the MN DNR is a nongame wildlife biologist out of Grand Rapids who works with wood turtles (Glyptemys insculpta) and other creatures. She spoke for the MHS General Meeting on April 1st about the results of a recently completed project on wood turtles in northeastern Minnesota through MN DNR’s Nongame Wildlife Program. The project examined threats to the turtles and the effectiveness of management aimed at addressing those threats. Crozier also spoke about current efforts related to wood turtles in northeastern Minnesota.               Wood turtles are a threatened species in Minnesota, ranging over the eastern portion of…

Beth has been an active member of the Minnesota Herpetological Society since 1999. This year, she served as the 2017 State Fair Coordinator and continues her role as the current Adoption Chair.  She joined MHS with her four children when we moved to the Twin Cities from Orlando, Florida.  It was her love of everything herp and work as an informal science educator that fuels her passion for squamates. Now that her kids have grown up and moved on, there are still plenty of animals at her house!  Last year she was asked to do a 2-hour lizards and dragons…