Garter Snakes at risk because of last years wildfires

[Catherine]

Last year fires did a lot of damage to the North West territories, Canada. The area around Fort Smith was badly burned. No this spring there is a sharp decline in the numbers of red sided Garter Snakes. Habitat loss because of the fires could be an explanation. Also actual snake losses because of the fires could be an explanation. They also might have moved to a different area. 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/red...-1.7198513

This is concerning. Red Sided Garten Snakes are the only reptiles that live in the NWT.
Any decline in their numbers is alarming. There were never that many of them in the first place.
I am glad they are watching the situation and keeping track of the snake numbers. There may need to be some strong conservation efforts to ensure the snakes survival.