Judge Favors Snakes in Fence Dispute

A judge has ordered a mining company to tear down a fence that officials say is a threat to a den of rare rattlesnakes. The ruling from Dutchess County Supreme Court Justice Judith Hillery requires the Sour Mountain Realty Co. to remove the 4-foot fence in Fishkill, N.Y., by Saturday. Owner Jay Montfort said he will appeal. It was installed in February near a den of timber rattlesnakes on Montfort’s property. The state Department of Environmental Conservation said the fence reduces the snakes’ habitat by about 20% and perhaps causes them “physiological stress.”