Supplemental Snake Story

President Clinton has asked Congress to spend $1 million to find a solution to the overpopulation of brown tree snakes in Guam, where 2,000 to 3,000 of the snakes live per acre. Sen. Frank Murkowski of Alaska wants to spread the cash around a bit by offering a bounty for locals to catch snakes one at a time. “If you paid kids $1 a snake, wouldn’t it do some good?” he asked. “No,” insisted Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, saying the money would be better spent on studies. “If I was out there with $1 bills and a 12-year-old kid, I think I’d get some snakes,” Murkowski retorted. “I’ll go out with my pile of dollar bills and you come out with your scientists and we’ll see who gets more snakes.” (AP) ...At a dollar a snake, a million bucks would clear about half a square mile, or about one-four hundredth of the island. Vote for the scientists, Frank.