LOWER LAKE, Calif. – On Thursday, March 17, Redbud Audubon will welcome wildlife biologist Mike Cardwell, M.S., a nationally recognized expert on venomous animals and the injuries they produce.

The program will take place at the Lower Lake Methodist Church Social Hall, 16255 Second St. The hall is across the parking lot from the Methodist Church. If you are coming through Lower Lake, turn left on Lake Street and then right on Second St.

Refreshments will be served at 7 p.m. with the program at 7:15 p.m.

Cardwell served on the panel of subject matter experts who revised treatment guidelines for North American pit viper bites in 2015, co-authored the chapter on North American venomous reptile bites for the seventh edition of “Auerbach’s Wilderness Medicine” and is co-editor of “The Biology of Rattlesnakes,” a 600-page compilation of the work of 98 researchers.

He has been invited to speak at multiple annual meetings of organizations like the Wilderness Medical Society and the National Association for Search & Rescue.

Cardwell has authored numerous articles for both scientific and non-technical publications and his long-term radiotelemetry field study of Mohave rattlesnakes was the first for this species and was prominently featured in Animal Planet’s “Venom ER” television series.

This should be a fascinating program and of great interest to those who live in Lake County, where rattlesnakes are quite at home.