If all goes well, those little weasel-like critters with masks like the Hamburglar just might be burglarizing northwest Wyoming prairie dog towns this summer.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has given the word that it will provide black-footed ferrets for release at the Hogg and Pitchfork ranches southwest of Meeteetse July 27, said Renny MacKay Wyoming Game and Fish Department communications director.

It’s a fitting launch site.

More than 30 years ago black-footed ferrets were believed to be extinct, according to the Game and Fish. Then in 1981, black-footed ferrets were discovered by local rancher, John Hogg, on the Lazy BV ranch. The neighboring Pitchfork ranch is where the original ferret colony was located.

Fish and Wildlife will release black-footed ferrets on both ranches as long as it is plague-free, MacKay said.

“This all comes to a halt if they find sylvatic plague out there,” he said.

Sylvatic plague has been discovered in Park County, but not on the Lazy BV or Pitchfork, MacKay said.

Fleas infect prairie dogs with sylvatic plague and when infection turns fatal the ferrets and other predators lose their prey. Black-footed ferrets feed almost exclusively on prairie dogs.

An oral vaccine against sylvatic plague is in the study stage, but that study won’t conclude for another year, MacKay said. One of the vaccine test sites is the Pitchfork.

In the meantime, Game and Fish personnel and others will be dusting prairie dog towns to kill fleas, MacKay said.

Game and Fish is delighted to see black-footed ferrets returning from where they originated, MacKay said.

“We’re really excited,” he said.