Natural Resource office studies base snake population Published April 14, 2014 By Adam Bailey Nucleus staff writer KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- Kirtland's Natural Resource office has been conducting surveys on the base's desert massasauga population. Live traps are used to capture the snakes, which are fitted with radio transmitters or tagged with Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tags. They are then released and the office uses the transponders and tags to gather data on the snakes' reproduction rates, range, lifespan and more. "As part of the base's natural resource plan, we collect data on animals on base to see what we can and can't do on base. It depends on the population of an animal and if what we want to do on base will have any effect on it," said Dustin Akins, natural resource specialist. "The more data we have, the better we can represent the species population found on base." The data collected so far shows that the desert massasauga can be found in grasslands around base. The study will run through late summer or early fall. "We want to learn everything we can about it," Akins said. "Any data we are able to collect is good data." The desert massasauga is one of four rattlesnake species found on base. The others are the black-tailed rattlesnake, Western diamondback rattlesnake and prairie rattlesnake. The natural resource office is also conducting studies on cougars and birds.