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In British Columbia, the Sharp-tailed Snake occurs in low-elevation woodland habitats dominated by Douglas-fir, arbutus and/or Garry oak. All records are from the Coastal Douglas-Fir Biogeoclimatic Zone. The snakes are often found in small openings on rocky outcrops and on warm hillsides (Engelstoft and Ovaska 1999, Wilkinson et al. 2007, COSEWIC 2009). The snakes require suitable cover for shelter, such as rocks or downed wood. Three-dimensional substrate allowing access to underground cracks and crevices is probably important, but few details are available. Patches of stable talus, especially with a southern exposure, provide important habitat for a number of reptiles, including the Sharp-tailed Snake.

The Sharp-tailed Snake occurs from southwestern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to southern Sierra Nevada and to the central coast of California. Its distribution is very patchy throughout the northern portion of the range in Washington and British Columbia. The species exists at the northern limits of its range in British Columbia, where it is known only from a few localities on southern Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. The Gulf Island localities are on North Pender, South Pender, Saltspring, and Galiano Islands (COSEWIC 2009). There are no recent records (since 1981) from Galiano. There is an additional record from the southern interior of British Columbia (near Chase; Tanner 1967), but it is probably in error (Leonard and Ovaska 1998).

The Sharp-tailed Snake in British Columbia is at risk due to its small range, few localities, and threats to its habitats mainly from expanding urbanization and other human activities. Several localities are on federal lands or within parks (regional and national), where the habitat is protected from development; however, most sites are on unprotected private lands. The species is listed as nationally endangered and is on Schedule 1 (highest priority) of the Canada Species At Risk Act. In principle it requires protection on federal lands. On private lands, stewardship by local governments and landowners is required to protect populations of the snake. Options for local governments include incorporating the needs of the species into land use, community, and development area plans, as well as providing incentives for landowners to set aside important areas as conservation covenants. Private land owners can protect snake habitat on their lands, use snake friendly landscaping and gardening practices (Ovaska and Engelstoft 2003), and formalize their commitment with stewardship agreements with conservation organizations or establish conservation covenants, as appropriate for their particular situation.

This species is currently the only representative of the genus Contia. However, genetic (Feldman and Spicer 2002) and morphological (Hoyer 2001) evidence have revealed the presence of two different forms within the nominal species C. Tenuis: a long-tailed form in coastal California and parts of southern Oregon, and a shorter-tailed form in the interior of California, most of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. The second, southern species has not been described formally. The Sharp-tailed Snake was formerly placed in the large cosmopolitan family Colubridae, which recently has been split. Its placement in the family Dipsadidae follows standard nomenclature as listed by Collins and Taggard (2009).

This snake is totally harmless – except for slugs, its main prey – but should not be handled unnecessarily. A photo taken from above usually provides sufficient information to document presence and confirm identification.