Montgomery Parks Drops Python Challenge Due to Budget Cuts
Yesterday officials from Montgomery Parks abruptly withdrew the county's participation in this year's Maryland Python Challenge. Citing looming budget cuts and anticipated staffing reductions, officials say the hunt cannot be managed safely or effectively.
Maryland's third annual Python Challenge starts this weekend and offers $50,000 in prizes to the hunters who capture the most, and largest, specimens. Maryland's latest effort to eliminate the invasive species before it’s too late runs through June 21 and is timed to coincide with breeding season, when female Burmese python lay dozens of eggs at a time.
Eric and Lyle Reeder from Rockville won last year’s challenge with this 17-foot whopper culled from Pine Lake in Wheaton
"Counties foot the bill for managing The Python Challenge locally," explained Montgomery Parks spokesperson Bernice Bivittatus. "We have to keep check stations open seven days a week, increase patrols, and fulfill state reporting requirements."
Montgomery County's latest budget proposal for the parks department is $1 million short of covering staff compensation and $3.1 million below what’s needed to maintain the existing level of services, an official told Bethesda Magazine. "And those figures don't even include Python Challenge expenses," Bivittatus added.
City of Rockville manages its own parks and says it will participate in The Maryland Python Challenge.
The Maryland Department of Herpetological Resources oversees the state-wide Python Challenge and says Montgomery County's participation is essential. "The Potomac and Anacostia rivers are primary python migration routes into central and western Maryland. One season without stopping them at Seneca and Sligo creeks, and it’s game over," said MDHR conservationist Wallace Gavial.
At this point it is unclear if pythons captured in Montgomery County will be included. Pythons must be turned in dead at the nearest accessible Maryland Python Challenge check station within 24 hours of capture, and officials from neighboring Howard and Prince George’s counties say they don't have the extra check station capacity to handle the catch from Montgomery.
Cathy and Winslow Schmitt from Tallahassee, Florida prefer Maryland’s annual python hunt because “the prizes are better and there’s less competition.”
Florida’s Everglades were overrun by Burmese python in the 1990s and snakes quickly decimated the ecosystem before moving north. "This year may be our last chance before they reach the Susquehanna River, eating everything in their path. But that takes money," warns Bivittatus.
Parks department officials say if the budget doesn't change, they may also have to close some facilities, lay off staff members, reduce athletic field lighting, scale back maintenance, close bathroom facilities, cut trash removal, and suspend alligator warning sign eradication activities.
Python captured on private property like this monster from the lake at Rio in Gaithersburg are eligible for Maryland’s Python Challenge.
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Editor's Notes: (1) This is a satire website. Please don't kill snakes. It is illegal to disturb or remove any wild animal from Montgomery County parks, including pythons. (2) The part about the Parks Department budget is true. To request the County Council fully fund Montgomery Parks in the budget, write to the County Council.
