The committee is currently made up of:. In addition, steering committees have been established for the respective issues-area related to this analysis.
The composition of those steering committees is as follows:. A link to the reading room can be found here. A link to the recorded webinars can be found here. Virtual workshops will take place throughout A report will be produced from each workshop, posted online, and also sent to our BFF distribution list.
During winter, snow tracking surveys may be conducted to locate ferrets. Ferrets have returned to state, federal, tribal and private lands. The biggest obstacle to ferret recovery today is the non native disease sylvatic plague and habitat.
Home Links Contact. There are five different species of prairie dogs in North America. The black-tailed prairie dog was previously found in south eastern Arizona, but was extirpated in the early s. The dominant vegetation in these biotic communities is blue grama, mixed with galleta grass, Indian rice grass, and other grasses. Seventeen black-footed ferret reintroduction sites exist throughout the western United States and Mexico.
The black-footed ferret was one of the original animals placed on the endangered species list in Loss of habitat and their susceptibility to plague and canine distemper has contributed to their decline over the years. The reintroduction effort in Arizona was initiated under a 10 j permit, which designates the population as experimental and nonessential. This classification allows reintroduction efforts to occur without effecting land use practices in the Aubrey Valley, including hunting and ranching.
Arizona has served as a leader in introducing new methods that may increase ferret survival upon release. Ferrets bred in captivity must sharpen their survival skills before being released back onto the prairie.
Animals intended for release are preconditioned in large, natural outdoor pens where they become acclimated to the grassland. The captive ferrets hone their hunting skills in the preconditioning pens and learn to avoid predators, increasing their chances of survival in the wild. Arizona was the first to use on-site acclimation pens for ferrets. In the spring, captive ferrets are bred in the preconditioning pens. Because ferrets are solitary and territorial, biologists monitor the animals to know when they are ready to be paired together for breeding.
After the animals are paired, they are monitored for a three day period and then separated. In , the release method was changed to include spring releases of pregnant females in mid-gestation instead of allowing females to give birth to their young in the acclimation pens.
To learn more about the black-footed ferret and conservation efforts on behalf of the species, please visit the following sites:. The species is entirely dependent upon prairie dogs for survival, so efforts to protect prairie dogs are designed to bolster ferret numbers to recover the species and return management to states. Read about efforts to protect prairie dogs from sylvatic plague. Archives ». On April 10, The U. Fish and Wildlife Service Service published a proposal to establish a non-essential, experimental 10 j area for the black-footed ferret throughout the state of Wyoming.
This announcement opens a day public comment period, which closes on June 9, A 10 j designation under the Endangered Species Act ESA would increase management flexibility and lessen regulatory requirements related to future ferret reintroductions in the state of Wyoming. The goal of this proposal is to help facilitate new reintroductions of the black-footed ferret. On December 20, the Service completed a revision of the Black-footed Ferret Recovery Plan in coordination with interested State, Tribal, Federal, and non-government organizations or agencies within the historical range of the species, as well as through a review of public comments.
The black-footed ferret will benefit from purposeful management of a portion of existing prairie dog habitat in 12 western states; it is obligate predator of prairie dogs and depends upon their burrows for shelter.
The Black-footed Footed Recovery Implementation Team, composed of representatives of the aforementioned organizations and agencies, will use the Revised Black-footed Ferret Recovery Plan to help guide future conservation efforts for the species. This SHA provides opportunities for private and Tribal landowners to volunteer their lands as sites for reintroduction of this endangered species without affecting their land-use activities beyond mutually agreed-upon measures.
It also extends these assurances to surrounding non-participating lands and other landowner interests via a Section 7 Biological Opinion BO for the SHA. This SHA approach will be an important step in promoting the recovery of this iconic species. This plan supports the continued conservation of the species.
On January 23, , the Service is reopening the public comment period for the draft Black-footed Ferret Programmatic Safe Harbor Agreement for another 30 days. The second public comment period will be January 23 through February If you have submitted comments already, you do not need to resubmit them because the Service will consider all comments submitted during both periods.
The Service is also accepting any comments submitted between the two periods. You can view the Programmatic Safe Harbor Agreement at the link below.
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