Defenders' Experts
Black-footed Ferrets: In the Field
Defenders of Wildlife is:
- working with public land agencies to reintroduce black-footed ferrets on public lands;
- working with Indian tribes to reintroduce black-footed ferrets on tribal lands;
- working with private landowners to reintroduce black-footed ferrets on private lands.
Helping with general black-footed ferret recovery needs
In 2006 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s budget was cut so drastically that the agency could not afford to purchase basic needs for the black-footed ferret program such as vaccinations, transponder chips and cage traps. So Defenders chipped in $10,000 and purchased these items for use in 10 black-footed ferret reintroduction sites across the west.
A
black-footed ferret in a cage trap receives a vaccination at the Cheyenne
Mountain Zoo (Colorado Springs, CO).
Reintroducing black-footed ferrets on public lands
Defenders is helping with black-footed ferret reintroduction efforts on public lands in the following locations.
Conata Basin, South Dakota
The most important of all ferret sites is in Conata Basin, a 73,000 acre portion of the Buffalo Gap National Grassland in South Dakota. Prairie dog colonies have expanded to 30,000 acres in this area due to their recent protection here, as a result, about 300 ferrets now call Conata Basin home.
Some adjacent landowners are not happy with this expansion and fear the spread of prairie dog colonies onto their property. In an attempt to reduce this conflict without poisoning the prairie dogs next to private land year after year (and destroying black-footed ferret habitat), Defenders of Wildlife purchased 5 miles of portable electric fence in 2006 and another 7 ½ miles in 2007 at a cost of over $18,000. This fence is now being used by National Grassland managers in areas where poisoning has been recurrent. The fence keeps livestock out of boundary areas, allowing the grass to grow tall. This in turn reduces or prevents prairie dogs from reoccupying these boundary areas, and ultimately prevents the need to use poison. Our efforts are working; National Grassland biologists recently released a report showing the results.
Defenders of Wildlife is now working with National Grassland officials to use this portable fencing in more boundary areas around the Conata Basin ferret reintroduction site so that the agency’s use of poison in this critical area can be reduced further, or even eliminated completely.
In 2008, Defenders staff helped
install the fencing. It takes only 2-4 people to install miles in a single day;
removing the fence is even faster. The fence is intended to be on the land only
when the livestock are in pasture, then removed so as not to add more permanent
fencing to the landscape.
Defenders of Wildlife purchased portable electric fence to keep livestock out of boundary areas next to private land so that the grass can grow tall and prevent prairie dogs from moving in, thereby reducing poisoning. Photo by Jonathan Proctor.
May 2008 Update: sylvatic plague has struck Conata Basin, threatening the prairie dogs and black-footed ferrets. So far an estimated 4,000 acres of prairie dogs and possibly 30 ferrets have perished. Defenders of Wildlife is helping stop the spread of this exotic disease by purchasing flea powder for the U.S. Forest Service to use in prairie dog burrows in an attempt to kill the fleas that spread plague. Dusting efforts are now underway.
Wolf Creek, Colorado
Wolf Creek is an area of public land in northwestern Colorado managed by the Bureau of Land Management. This black-footed ferret reintroduction site is located on a large white-tailed prairie dog colony. In 2007 several members of Defenders of Wildlife helped the agency biologists with their annual survey for black-footed ferrets.
Reintroducing Black-footed ferrets on Tribal Lands
Tribal lands are home to 4 of the 15 black-footed ferret reintroduction sites. These tribes are doing an incredible job – with few financial resources – of reintroducing black-footed ferrets to tribal lands. Defenders is thrilled to help with these exciting efforts.
The Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota began reintroducing black-footed ferrets in 2000. This is the second most successful ferret site in the Great Plains due to its healthy prairie dog populations. Defenders of Wildlife provided $5,000 in 2008 to assist with this ongoing effort.
The Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota began reintroducing black-footed ferrets in 2004. Defenders of Wildlife provided funds to assist with this effort. Tribal authorities granted protection from all prairie dog shooting and poisoning on 10,000 acres of land, a rare reprieve out West.
February 2008 Update: the tribal government has suspended work on this black-footed ferret effort and laid off 4 employees due to disagreements with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Defenders of Wildlife is working with tribal members to encourage their government to reconsider and renew this successful effort.
The Lower Brule Reservation in South Dakota began reintroducing black-footed ferrets in 2006. Defenders of Wildlife provided $2,000 for necessary equipment for this effort.
The Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Montana began reintroducing black-footed ferrets in 2008. Tribal authorities granted protection from all prairie dog shooting and poisoning on 10,000 acres of land. Defenders of Wildlife donated $10,000 to assist with this initial protective effort.
View images and video from this reintroduction
Reintroducing Black-footed ferrets on Private Lands
Private lands hold tremendous promise for black-footed ferret recovery as more and more private landowners step forward to help. Unfortunately, few private landowners have enough prairie dog colonies for a successful black-footed ferret site, and many states place legal hurdles in the way of allowing prairie dogs to expand or even exist on private lands.
In Kansas, Larry and Bette Haverfield are allowing prairie dogs to thrive despite such hurdles. Their ranch contains about 7,000 acres of prairie dogs, and as of December, 2007, black-footed ferrets as well. Defenders of Wildlife and our members helped the Haverfields clear the way for this exciting reintroduction effort.
Defenders of Wildlife will continue to help. In 2008 we purchased 30 cage traps for use in annual surveys and vaccination efforts on the Haverfield ranch. Our staff will also be on hand this fall to help survey this new black-footed ferret site, the first site solely on private property.
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