Although rattlesnakes may be killed without a license, other approaches may be better. In some cases, conservation status of the species could be an issue (for example, the red diamond rattlesnake is a species of special concern in California).
https://www.noozhawk.com/article/outdoors_qa_what_can_i_do_about_rattlesnakes
The endangered Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog is known to breed on the property, which also provides a potential habitat for rare, at-risk species like the Sierra Nevada red fox, American marten and California wolverine.
https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/environment/article214577880.html
Emerging from the pond, I reflected on our successful haul: California newts, aquatic garter snakes, vulnerable California red-legged frogs, literally hundreds of Pacific chorus frogs/tadpoles, a gorgeous alligator lizard I snatched from the grass at the water’s edge and too many giant water bugs (the common name of Belostomatidae – in the south we call ‘em alligator fleas and they’re even bigger than you’d think).
https://west.stanford.edu/news/blogs/out-west-blog/2018/little-things-run-world-francisco
A new study examines how well the tiny but fierce carnivores will fare as climate change warms their mountain homes. The research shows salamanders are surprisingly able to change their physiology in response to the shifting temperature and humidity. Some salamanders are expected to fare better than others, based on their location and size.
Since the 1900s mountain yellow-legged frogs have disappeared from nearly all of their former range in Southern California. By the 1990s fewer than 100 were thought to remain, in a handful of isolated headwater streams. Predation by introduced fish, primarily rainbow trout, is one of the best-documented causes of the frogs’ decline. Another threat is habitat damage from recreation.
It wasn't just people that fled the massive Carr Fire in Northern California that's burned over 95,000 acres and left six people dead, but also a very large serpent that managed to slither away.
