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Defenders Magazine

Spring 2003

Defenders in Action: Black-footed Ferrets Get a Helping Hand

Thanks to a generous donation by Earth Friends, Defenders has been able to help support recovery of the rare black-footed ferret, America's most endangered land mammal, on the Northern Plains. Once thought to be extinct, the black-footed ferret is slowly making a comeback.

Conata Basin, on Buffalo Gap National Park, is the one place where reintroduced ferrets are actually thriving, but a few years ago the program's budget was severely cut. Thanks to the dedication of a few individuals, as well as a three-year commitment of funds from Earth Friends to assist in monitoring the population, the program was able to continue.

As a result, the ferrets are doing well and biologists took wild-born ferrets from Conata Basin to start a new ferret population on the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation, where they are also doing remarkably well.