Wyoming landowners may have the opportunity to aid in black-footed ferrets’ recovery without risk of repercussions if one of the endangered ferrets reintroduced on their property is inadvertently killed or injured.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, with the support of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, has finalized a rule to designate Wyoming as a special area for ferret reintroductions. The new rule will make it easier for willing landowners to host ferrets on their property, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife and Wyoming Game and Fish.

“There are no immediate plans to reintroduce black-footed ferrets in Wyoming, but Game and Fish will work with landowners who want to volunteer to host a reintroduction,” said Ryan Moehring, Fish and Wildlife mountain prairie region public affairs specialist in Denver.

Fish and Wildlife will coordinate with the state to develop site-specific management plans before providing ferrets for reintroduction.

Congress added the provision for “non-essential, experimental” populations under section 10(j) of the Endangered Species Act.

“Under the statewide 10(j) rule for black-footed ferrets in Wyoming, there will be no prohibition for incidental take of ferrets under the ESA (Endangered Species Act),” said Moehring.

Incidental take is unintentional killing, injury, harm or harassment of a species listed as threatened or endangered under the ESA that occurs as a result of otherwise lawful activities, Moehring said. “For example, if while moving cattle from one pasture to another a black-footed ferret is injured or killed, the loss or injury of that animal would be considered incidental to an otherwise lawful activity and not a violation of the ESA under this rule.”

Since poisoning prairie dogs is currently allowed under Wyoming law, it would still be permitted under this rule, Moehring said.

“Private landowners are key to the success of the black-footed ferret recovery effort,” said Noreen Walsh, regional director of the Fish and Wildlife’s mountain-prairie region in Denver. “We are pleased to be working with the state to give Wyoming landowners the comfort level they need to consider establishing ferrets on their property. Black-footed ferrets were originally rediscovered in Wyoming after they were thought to have gone extinct, so it is fitting that this rule will allow more of them to return home.”

“This new rule is a good fit for Wyoming because it builds on voluntary efforts by landowners and recognizes the role they play in species conservation,” said Scott Talbott, Game and Fish director. “The final rule should have positive impacts on black-footed ferrets and Wyoming can continue to play a leading role in the conservation of this species.”

Landowners interested in hosting black-footed ferrets can call Zack Walker, Game and Fish non-game supervisor in Lander at 307-332-2688, extension 239.

Benefits of hosting black-footed ferrets

Black-footed ferrets eat prairie dogs. Ninety percent of a black-footed ferret’s diet is prairie dogs, Moehring said.

Prairie dog burrows provide black-footed ferrets with suitable dens to raise their young as well as escape predators and harsh weather, he said.

“In the past, this dependence was a very good survival strategy because prairie dogs were plentiful. However, in the modern era, as human activities and disease have decimated prairie dog populations, this unique survival strategy proved detrimental to the black-footed ferret’s survival,” Moehring said.

Black-footed ferrets were believed extinct by 1976. However, in 1981, John Hogg’s dog, Shep, brought a ferret home to the Hogg ranch outside Meeteetse. Shep’s find initiated capture efforts by Game and Fish that led to the recovery effort. 

Dennie Hammer, now a retired Cody Game and Fish education specialist and fellow Game and Fish employee, Steve Martin, caught the first black-footed ferret near Meeteetse in 1981.

The black-footed ferret measures 19-24 inches in total length, including a 5-6-inch tail, according to Fish and Wildlife. They typically weigh 1.25-2.5 pounds. It is a slender, wiry animal with black feet, a black face mask and a black-tipped tail. Black-footed ferrets have short legs with large front paws, and claws developed for digging. Its large ears and eyes suggest it has acute hearing and sight, but smell may be its most important sense for hunting prey underground in the dark. Its large skull and strong jaw and teeth are adapted for eating meat.

Reintroduction

Since 1991, 478 ferrets have been released at the Shirley Basin reintroduction site, Moehring said. Shirley Basin is the only Wyoming release site to date.

“There are no other wild black-footed ferrets in the state beyond those reintroduced at the Shirley Basin (site),” Moehring said.

“We are not aware of any other populations,” Walker said.

Canine distemper kills black-footed ferrets and sylvatic plague kills prairie dogs.

“Before ferrets are released, they are immunized for canine distemper,” Walker said. “When ferrets are captured in the wild as a result of annual monitoring, they are also vaccinated.”

A vaccine is now being studied to preserve prairie dog populations.

The Pitchfork Ranch, outside Meeteetse, where many ferrets and prairie dogs once thrived, is now one of 29 sites testing an oral vaccine to check the spread of sylvatic plague.

“We are still not sure on the effectiveness of the SPV vaccine (sylvatic plague vaccine),” Walker said. “The final year of fieldwork was conducted during the summer of 2015. We are hoping to have results soon.”

Now there are six breeding facilities that make up the Black-footed Ferret Species Survival Plan (SSP), Moehring said.

The facilities are:

• Fish and Wildlife’s National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center in Fort Collins, Colorado

• National Zoo’s Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Washington, D.C.

• Louisville Zoological Garden in Louisville, Kentucky

• Toronto Zoo in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

• Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, Colorado

• Phoenix Zoo in Phoenix, Arizona.

To learn more about Fish and Wildlife’s recovery program, including breeding efforts, go to blackfootedferret.org.