San francisco garter Snake

It's not every day you meet a snake charmer. For eight years, USGS researcher Patrick Lien has walked the coastal plain south of Half Moon Bay, tracking one of the most endangered snakes in North America. Every known population of the San Francisco garter snake lives in San Mateo County, and some of them have held on in the restored ponds of Cloverdale Coastal Ranches. I spent a spring day with Patrick hoping to catch a glimpse of one. We found more than either of us expected.

Story, photos, and video made for Peninsula Open Space Trust.