A nonpoisonous Lake Erie water snake is no longer listed as a federally endangered species.
The snake’s numbers plunged as more people settled Lake Erie’s western islands, according to the Toledo Blade.
Populations rebounded after federal and state agencies protected inland and shoreline hibernation and breeding grounds.
Earning federal protection in 1999, the water snake is the 23rd species to be delisted, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.