Well, NC is a "different bag of snakes"!! First step might be to identify what you have. According to: North Carolina's Coop Extension (http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/gaston/Pests/reptiles/watersnakes.htm) Of the 37 species of snakes throughout North Carolina, only six are venomous: Copperhead (found throughout NC) Canebrake Rattlesnake (found throughout NC) Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake (found in southeastern NC) Pigmy Rattlesnake (found in southeastern NC) Cottonmouth or Water Moccasin (found in wetland areas in the eastern half of NC) Coral Snake (the rarest, found in the south and southeastern areas of NC) Hopefully you are splashing around in the northwestern part of NC - fewer poisonous snakes! The site below, Snakes of North Carolina, has good pictures of the snakes you will find there. Good luck and stay safe! Anne Here is a link that might be useful: Snakes of North Carolina

Your snake looks alot more menacing than the one I posted about in "Snake". You might try the link in that post. It has an interactive identification page. If that doesn't help, try posting your picture in the Florida Gardening forum. There are lots of people who seem to know alot about snakes there.

Thanks, Wayne. County is Hamilton, but less than a mile from the north/south county line with Jefferson and maybe three from Franklin...we are right in the corner there with that particular field. Where does that fall on the range map you are talking about? I am still a bit confused over how this snake is protected-it is not actually listed except through some sort of agreement with Fish And Wildlife? And is this listing as threatened or endangered? Whatever the case, I do hope there's a population of them there but I worry about genetic isolation from fragmented habitat. Many of the waterways around here have been converted to farmland , sometimes right up to the creekbanks despite the push for buffer strips and riparian set-aside. A portion of this field where the snake was found was turned over to revert back to wetland back in the early 90s, , and the sycamores and maples are doing nicely. As I recall, I was the only one in the family (inlaws) who understood why that was a good thing, or why wetlands are better off undrained and unplowed.

Great story