IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Lockhart, M. | |
| Reintroduction of the Black-footed ferret to the great plains of North America: _Do we really have the capabilities, resources and socio/political will to recover critically endangered spe_cies in the United States? An opinion | |
| 2009 Book Chapter | |
Once thought to be extinct, a small population of black-footed ferrets (_Mustela nigripes_; ferret) was discovered in 1981 near the town of Meeteetse, western Wyoming. By 1987, only 18 individual ferrets remained, all of which were taken into captivity in an effort to avert extinction and initiate a captive breeding programme. The ferret depends on three prairie dog species (_Cynomys_ spp .) for survival, and use prairie dogs as prey and prairie dog burrows for shelter and dens. It was the conversion of native grasslands to agriculture and decades of intensive prairie dog poisoning in the 1900s that originally brought the ferret to the brink of extinction. Since 1987, an international ferret recovery programme has overcome significant challenges to experience many remarkable successes. From 1987 to 2007, about 6000 ferrets have been produced in captivity and over 2400 have been reintroduced at 17 separate project sites in the western U.S. and Mexico. Still, reintroduction success varied widely and some efforts were compromised by prey/habitat impacts from an introduced disease (sylvatic plague), drought and politics (with attendant land management failures). The most recent population estimate indicates that wild ferret populations are only about 20% of a longstanding "downlisting" objective (population improvements that would change species status from "critically endangered" to "threatened"). Although the Endangered Species Act and other environmental law in the U.S. provides mandates and guidance for recovery of endangered species, and associated management of federal public lands, perhaps the biggest obstacle to recent recovery progress stemmed from political interference and neglect toward environmental law and policy (as displayed by the U.S. 2000-2008 Administration). The technical expertise, capabilities and raw habitat exist to fully recover the ferret in the wild. However, complete recovery can only achieved with strong recommitments by state and federal agencies to principles set forth in the Endangered Species Act and action to improve habitat conditions over the ferret's historical range. A specific example of how political interference impacted ferret recovery is addressed in this opinion paper, as well as a recommendations perhaps applicable to recovery of the Iberian lynx and other imperiled species. |
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