The Ohio Historical Society and volunteers from the Cedar Bog Association want a grant to help manage habitat for an endangered rattlesnake that lives in two fields along the north and south sides of Woodburn Road in the bog.

The Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake is listed as an endangered species in Ohio, said Robert Glotzhober, senior curator of Natural History for the Ohio Historical Society. The species is more common in the northeast part of the state, but Cedar Bog is one of only three remaining sites where the reptile is found in southwest Ohio.

The Ohio Historical Society, Cedar Bog Association and the Greater Cincinnati Herpetological Society have been maintaining the fields for the rattlesnake since 1978, Glotzhober said. But because of staff and budget cuts, the agencies have fallen behind in recent years, and the area is now reverting back to woodlands, which is not a prime habitat for the reptile.

“It’s getting to a point where we’re going to lose the field to woody growth if we don’t do something very quickly,” Glotzhober said. For the past several weeks, he has been visiting local elected officials and experts to gather support for the grant.

If approved, the grant would be for about $4,200, along with an additional local match which would include volunteer labor equal to about $2,100. The money would be used to rent equipment and help pay for fuel to clear brush, small trees and woody vegetation from the fields. The vegetation would also be treated with herbicides to prevent it from growing back.

Volunteers from both the Cedar Bog Association and the Greater Cincinnati Herpetological Society would also help remove brush by hand.

The deadline to apply for the grant is Oct. 22.

“The more local support we can show, the better chance we have of getting the grant,” Glotzhober said.

The habitat is ideal for the snake, which uses crayfish burrows on the eastern portion of the field for hibernating, then spreads out to the remainder of the fields to hunt for meadow voles, its primary prey, he said.

The rattlesnakes are typically between 20 and 30 inches long and have a think, triangular head, according to information from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.