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Introduction

The smooth snake (Coronella austriaca) is Britain’s rarest reptile; in Britain its range is restricted to the southern heathlands of England. The species was only recognised in England in the 1850s, its late discovery perhaps reflecting its secretive nature. Being closely associated with heathlands, the status of the species will have echoed the fortunes of this habitat; only one sixth of the heathland that was present in England in 1800 remains today. With this remaining habitat now being highly fragmented, the survival of the smooth snake and other heathland reptiles depends on management that addresses their ecological needs in the long term.

This guidance was compiled during Snakes in the Heather, a project that took place between August 2019 and February 2024 with support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Love the Forest and the Bannister Trust. ARC worked in partnership with multiple wildlife conservation organisations, site managers, landowners and individuals to improve the prospects of smooth snakes and other heathland reptiles across southern England. Snakes in the Heather’s diverse work-programme included public awareness-raising and education, managing and restoring habitats to improve their suitability for reptiles and a large-scale reptile survey to improve understanding of smooth snake distribution and status. 

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How to use this guidance

The purpose of the guidance is to enable people who look after heathland sites to consider the needs of smooth snakes and other reptiles during heathland management. Reptiles are an essential element of the natural heritage of heathlands, however their specialised requirements make them vulnerable to habitat change. Consequently populations of enigmatic species such as smooth snake, sand lizard and adder have been lost from locations where they occurred historically.

This series of notes and resources has been adapted from training and workshop materials used during the Snakes in the Heather project. The items may be read independently or together, enabling land-managers to select the items that are most relevant to their needs to gain a rapid overview of key topics. Sign-posting to further reading and information sources is included for those who wish to develop their knowledge further. Our intention is that this area will be a living resource, with additional items being added as part of project legacy, as they become available.

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Contents

Identifying reptiles Open PDF	Reptiles on heathland Open PDF	Managing heathland for reptiles Open PDF
The law relating to reptiles Open PDF	Further reading Open PDF

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Read more about the achievements of the Snakes in the Heather project on the project page.