Defenders of Wildlife Blog

If you’ve ever wanted to know what goes on in the wild at night, it’s hard to beat helping your local black-footed ferret biologist spotlight for ferrets. Stick a magnetized spotlight on your hood and head out with one of the few federal or state ferret biologists in the country to help them count, capture, and vaccinate the ferrets in their care and you will see all kinds of interesting life between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.  I did just that with the biologist for the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, a magnificent 1.1-million-acre refuge that hugs the Missouri River (and Fort Peck Reservoir) as it moves through northeast Montana.

Check out my pictures:

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CMR vista

A view of the refuge from afar

Bull elk

CMR is known for its abundant elk

Site prep

Refuge biologist Randy Matchett cover a cage trap he has set to capture and survey black-footed ferrets.

More site prep

Randy gets down and dirty setting up another trap.

Caught in the headlights

Two ferrets spotted popping their heads out a burrow

Hawk

Hunting dinner in prairie dog country

Burrowing owl

These critters like to hide out in prairie dog burrows

Ferret inspection

Captured ferrets are vaccinated against plague and have their fleas removed.

The release

I got to release a ferret after its vital stats were recorded in the lab.

CMR at dawn

Open plains make ideal habitat for prairie dogs and ferrets.

Ferret camp

Sometimes called “The Yellowstone of the Plains” and best known for its elk, the refuge also reveals burrowing owls, ferruginous hawks, badgers, coyotes, rabbits, mule deer, and much more after just a few hours of spotlighting. All of these species thrive in prairie dog colonies, which some people see as wastelands even though many scientific studies have documented the importance of prairie dogs to healthy prairie ecosystems.

Black-footed ferrets are one of the most endangered animals in North America – they were twice declared extinct, and the recovery continues to be thwarted by plague and intolerance from many ranchers for prairie dogs, which ferrets depend on for survival. Ferret biologists say at least 1,500 adult ferrets in at least 10 viable black-footed ferret populations, each with at least 30 breeding adults, are needed to improve the status of black-footed ferrets from endangered to threatened. This requires at least 10,000 acres of prairie dogs per site, and therein lies the rub – it’s hard to find such large blocks of prairie dog habitat given opposition from ranchers who want the grass that prairie dogs nibble for their cattle instead.

Defenders has been working for years to promote enough large prairie dog complexes to support ferret recovery, but plague has thrown a wrench in these plans. Both prairie dogs and ferrets are very susceptible to plague, a disease not native to North America. It remains to be seen if the “CMR” Refuge will someday serve as a one of the viable ferret populations that move them toward recovery, but the Refuge is giving it a good go. Only five ferrets survived a recent outbreak of plague. But, rather than give up, Refuge biologist Randy Matchett spent 12 consecutive sleepless nights searching for ferrets. He counted 24 this year – not as many as he was hoping for, but a definite improvement and a tribute to the Refuge’s good wildlife stewardship.

I joined him for three of those nights. Starting about 7:30 p.m. we set traps over prairie dog holes that Randy knew or suspected contained ferrets. We spent the rest of the night driving refuge roads looking for the green glow of ferret eyes as they popped out of prairie dog holes to see what was causing the commotion. Ferrets previously caught had been marked with temporary dye and were left alone. Traps – the humane kind – were set for new ferrets, or those that had not been caught yet this year. When caught, ferrets were taken to “The Hospital” – an old trailer – and sedated so they could be weighed, assessed, and vaccinated. Best of all for the ferrets, fleas were removed (to be sent to a lab and tested for plague). After awakening, ferrets were released back into the hole they came from.

As the rosy-fingered dawn pushed back the night (and faint northern lights), we checked the traps one last time, closed them, and headed back to “ferret camp” to sleep as best as the 90 degree heat and the chattering prairie dogs throughout camp would allow.

Read more about Defenders’ efforts to protect and restore black-footed ferrets.

One of the most endangered mammals in North America, the black-footed ferret, and the prairie dogs on which they feed, will have one less hazard to worry about this winter.  Defenders won a court victory barring the use of Rozol Prairie Dog Bait in the states of Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

Rozol, which contains the blood thinner chlorophacinone, causes death by internal bleeding and hemorrhaging.  Dead and dying prairie dogs can be scavenged by ferrets and raptors, which in turn become poisoned themselves.  Defenders sued the EPA for approving the use of Rozol and ignoring federal safeguards under the Endangered Species Act, the Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

In a recent decision, a district court in the District of Columbia sided with Defenders, ruling that EPA had indeed violated the ESA by approving Rozol without first consulting with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over the potential impacts of Rozol on ferrets and other threatened and endangered species.

The final order in the case bars use of Rozol in those four states, requires that Rozol’s manufacturer Liphatech, Inc., notify its distributors not to sell the product in those areas, and prohibits Liphatech from selling or distributing existing stocks in its possession without relabeling it to reflect the ban in those four states.  EPA has also agreed to complete consultation with FWS over Rozol use in 10 states to prevent accidental injury to other listed species in the West.

Hundreds more prairie dogs moved to safety at Thunder Basin

Eric, Jonathan and Lacy, prairie dog relocators. Photo by Lindsey Sterling Krank.

For the second year in a row, black-tailed prairie dogs at Thunder Basin National Grassland in eastern Wyoming are getting a reprieve from the “poison-first” mentality that is all too common across the Great Plains. Last week, Defenders’ Bozeman staffer Lacy Gray, Wildlife Volunteer Corps participant Eric Paprocki and I helped the U.S. Forest Service and our conservation partners relocate – rather than poison – 248 prairie dogs from areas at the edge of Thunder Basin where they are not wanted to a fully-protected area in its core that has been designated for wildlife recovery.

Why is this such a big deal? Let’s consider the big picture. Americans own more than three million acres in nine national grasslands across the Great Plains, managed on our behalf by the U.S. Forest Service. One of the most important “keystone” species of the Great Plains is the black-tailed prairie dog, whose colonies once covered 10-20 percent of the Great Plains and provided an immense source of food and habitat for dozens of other animals.

Sadly, prairie dogs – and some of the animals that depend on them – have declined by more than 95 percent across the Great Plains due to poisoning, shooting, plowing and non-native disease. They continue to be poisoned and shot even on our national grasslands. But at Thunder Basin National Grassland, this is changing thanks to a new plan that includes nonlethal management and active restoration. This new plan is not perfect, but it is a good compromise that included enough of a commitment to prairie dog restoration that Defenders could get behind it.

Prairie dog awaits release into its new home. Photo by Lacy Gray.

And get behind it we did: working 12- to 16-hour days, waking from our tents before dawn and enduring the relentless heat, wind and mosquitoes that are so ubiquitous in this landscape.

We used two methods to capture the prairie dogs. One method is trapping, which involves setting and baiting hundreds of traps. The other method is filling burrows with soapy water to force out the prairie dogs. Neither is all that fun for the prairie dogs, but both sure beat a slow death by poison.

At the relocation site we built cages over old burrow entrances to keep prairie dogs on site so they could acclimate to their new homes. We moved them as family units, a proven way to increase success rates. After three days, we removed the cages and let the prairie dogs decide to stay or leave. It appeared most – if not all – liked the new location, and began feeding on nearby grasses almost immediately.

Last year’s precedent-setting relocation effort saved 550 prairie dogs and restored over 100 acres of prairie dog colonies. This year’s effort promises similar results (the Forest Service is continuing to relocate animals for a few more weeks).

But this is just one part of the restoration effort. In addition to relocating prairie dogs rather than just killing them, the Forest Service is also prohibiting prairie dog shooting in a large core area, encouraging prairie dog colony expansion through burning and dusting prairie dog burrows to protect them from deadly plague.

The Forest Service gave us awards for our work. Photo by Lacy Gray.

Basically, the Forest Service is using every tool in the toolbox to work toward the new plan’s goal of restoring 18,000 acres of prairie dog colonies in the protected area. This may sound like a lot of land, but it is less than four percent of this 550,000-acre national grassland.

During the public input process for this new plan, Defenders promised to offer assistance if the Forest Service chose to include nonlethal management. We are pleased to be able to make good on that promise, alongside our friends at the Humane Society of the United States, World Wildlife Fund and Biodiversity Conservation Alliance.

We thank the Forest Service employees who are making this philosophical shift possible, specifically retired Forest Supervisor Mary Peterson, Deputy District Ranger Misty Hays and District Biologist Cristi Painter. Way to go! We look forward to similar reforms at all nine national grasslands.

Here’s a slideshow of last week’s work.

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Bumper sticker

Jonathan, lovin' the bumper sticker. Photo by Eric Paprocki.

Prepping the site

Lacy and Eric prepare a new prairie dog home. The cages come off after three days, which allows the prairie dogs to acclimate to their new home rather than immediately running off. Photo by Jonathan Proctor.

Field of cages

Photo by Kristy Bly.

Soapy burrows

Besides trapping, we used soapy water to force prairie dogs out of their burrows. This is faster than trapping and also makes keeping families together much easier. We placed them in animal carriers and transported them to their new home. Photo by Jonathan Proctor.

Flush 'em out

Flushing out prairie dogs with soapy water. Photo by Jonathan Proctor.

Soapy escapee

An escapee covered in soap suds. Once caught, we towel them off and squirt saline solution in their eyes to clear out the suds. Photo by Lacy Gray.

Cages in truck

A truck of prairie dogs. Each cage is marked to make sure families are released together into their new burrows. Photo by Jonathan Proctor.

Let me out

Prairie dog awaits release into its new home. Photo by Lacy Gray.

Jonathan's release

Jonathan and Lindsey (HSUS) release a juvenile prairie dog into its new home. The cages come off after three days of acclimation to the new location. Photo by Eric Paprocki.

Lacy's turn

Lacy about to release a juvenile prairie dog into its new home. Photo by Jonathan Proctor.

The release

Takin' one for the team

Not excited about being moved into his new home, a juvenile prairie dog bites Jonathan right through the glove. Photo by Lacy Gray.

Eric removes cage

Eric removing the cage after three days. Prairie dogs usually come out of the burrows within a few minutes and seem satisfied with their new location. Photo by Jonathan Proctor.

Prairie sunset

Sunset on the prairie. Photo by Jonathan Proctor.

The Relocators

Eric, Jonathan and Lacy, prairie dog relocators. Photo by Lindsey Sterling Krank.

Awards

The Forest Service gave us awards for our work. Photo by Lacy Gray.

It’s another Red Hot and Green Friday, and this week Mike’s greasing up for sage grouse!

Mike’s car runs on vegetable oil fuel – commonly called a “grease car.” Vegetable oil can be used as an alternative fuel for diesel engines. Also known as “waste vegetable oil,” the biofuel is often acquired from restaurants who would otherwise thrown the spent oil away – many times given away for free!

Sage grouse is primarily threatened by habitat loss, as the prairie and sagebrush lands that the rare birds depend on have increasingly become targets for oil, gas and wind energy development as well as increased agricultural use and grazing. But new danger has appeared in the form of the West Nile virus, a deadly mosquito-borne disease. Where it has appeared in sage grouse populations, significant die-offs have resulted; even worse, tests of surviving grouse in those areas showed no antibodies for the virus, and thus no evidence that some individuals can survive an attack and develop immunity to it. Unfortunately, climate change promises to make diseases even more rampant. Most diseases are viruses, bacteria or protozoa—tiny organisms that develop faster at warmer temperatures. Many diseases, like West Nile, are spread by mosquitoes, flies or ticks that also benefit from warmer temperatures.

Decreasing the use of  fossil fuels helps lower the chance of a pest and disease-ridden future. What are the other ways you’re working to fight the climate change that threatens our wildlife and natural places? We want to know! Read these simple instructions and tell us what YOU’RE doing to protect wildlife from the harmful effects of climate change.

Prairie dogs and bison share the plains of South Dakota.

Prairie dogs are in trouble. Reduced to just a fraction of their former range, prairie dogs have fewer places to scamper free where they can till the soil and provide sustenance and shelter for other important prairie species. As a result, black-footed ferrets, badgers, foxes and eagles all suffer.

But Defenders has made tremendous strides in recent years to preserve remaining stretches of prime habitat and eliminate persistent threats to prairie dog survival. Finally, at least in a few places, prairie dogs may be returning home for good.

Some of our remedies, in the case of dangerous poisons, have been through taking legal action. In 2009, Defenders filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency for allowing the use of Rozol and Kaput-D, two chemicals used to poison prairie dogs, across 10 different states. Yet states like Kansas are now making it easier for farmers and ranchers to apply Rozol and poison prairie dogs using ATVs with mechanical feeders instead of applying it by hand down each burrow entrance.

Defenders also successfully organized a campaign in 2008 to stop the former Bush administration from poisoning tens of thousands of prairie dogs in Conata Basin, South Dakota, in the most significant remaining prairie dog colonies on public land in the Great Plains. We stopped this drastic plan by generating significant attention, including a spot on CNN, and through organizing tens of thousands of people to write in opposition.

Defenders has also helped ranchers like Larry and Bette Haverfield stand tall against prairie dog poisoning. The Haverfields have challenged a 100-year-old law that would allow commissioners of Logan County, Kansas to poison prairie dogs on their property without permission. Instead, the Haverfields have protected the prairie dogs and even permitted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reintroduce ferrets on their ranch.

Jonathan Proctor transfers a prairie dog to its new (safe) home at Thunder Basin.

Other strategies have been much more successful. Last summer, Defenders’ prairie species expert Jonathan Proctor helped move more than 500 prairie dogs out of harm’s way at Thunder Basin National Grassland. The animals were moved from an area abutting private ranch land, where they were threatened with poisoning, to the center of a protected area. This precedent-setting collaboration with the U.S. Forest Service, Wyoming Game and Fish, a local ranchers’ consortium and other conservation groups will hopefully pave the way for a new management style that replaces a “p0ison first” mentality with nonlethal tools that also restore wildlife to key protected areas.

Native American tribes have also been key partners in restoring prairie dogs, black-footed ferrets and countless other species. With some of the best remaining habitat under their control, the Cheyenne River, Rosebud and Lower Brule Reservations in South Dakota and the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Montana have all emerged as wildlife conservation leaders. All have reintroduced black-footed ferrets to large prairie dog colonies. Defenders has been honored to work with tribes and and contribute financial support when it was most needed, as well as helping to spread the word about their achievements.

Read more about the Thunder Basin projects and efforts to vaccinate prairie dogs for plague in the latest issue of Defenders Magazine. Also keep an eye out in the coming weeks and months for reports from the field (and the courts) on Defenders efforts to save prairie dogs, including video footage of Jonathan Proctor at Thunder Basin.

In case you’re just tuning in to the series, track back to see our posts about prairie dog behavior, their role as a keystone species, an unusual encounter between a prairie dog and a ferret, and the major threats they face.

A big thanks to Patrick McMillan for sharing his fantastic video series on prairie dogs from his Expeditions TV series!

Vote for Defenders of Wildlife to win $200,000 and help save prairie dogs!

Thanks to everyone who has been voting for Defenders of Wildlife each week to help us try to win $200,000 in funding from Members Project from American Express. You can vote once a week through February 20, 2011 and this week you’re voting for prairie dogs!

Black-tailed prairie dogs once numbered in the hundreds of millions. Tragically, their numbers have decreased by more than 95%.

Help us secure the funds we need to save prairie dogs. Please vote today!

Did You Know…? Unlike the other species of prairie dogs found world-wide, the black tailed prairie dog does not hibernate in the winter and can often be seen above ground level during mid-winter.

Vote for Defenders today to help save prairie dogs!

Two hundred thousand dollars can do a lot of good for prairie dogs and other wildlife.

It can help us stop the use of deadly poisons like Rozol and Kaput-D, which can lead to painful and inhumane deaths of prairie dogs and other wildlife. It can help relocate prairie dogs to protected habitat and restore their important place in prairie ecosystems. And it can help us protect other imperiled wildlife, such as the endangered black-footed ferrets, that depend on prairie dogs to survive.

How to Vote for Defenders

The current round of voting runs through midnight on Sunday, February 20, 2011. You can vote once a week throughout the voting period. Here’s how to get started:

1. Go to the Defenders Members Project page at www.defenders.org/membersproject.

   

2. Scroll down to the Vote section in the lower left corner of the page. The Members Project is a partnership between American Express and TakePart, so you need to be a member of TakePart to vote. First, click the Sign Up And Vote button. NOTE: If you’re already registered and logged in with TakePart, the button will say Vote For This Charity and clicking it will take you to the final step below.

   

3. Click the Register to Vote button.

   

4. A form will pop up. Fill out all the required fields and make sure you check the boxes to accept the terms for both TakePart and Members Project. NOTE: You can use your full name as your username, including a space, if you want.

   

5. Once you’re registered, scroll down the page and click the Defenders logo. A little box will pop up.

   

6. Click the Vote button in the popup. You’ll be prompted to confirm your choice.

   

That’s it! Thanks for voting for Defenders of Wildlife!

Thanks to the dedicated support of caring wildlife champions like you, Defenders is currently leading the pack in the Environment and Wildlife category, with 82% of the votes. There’s one month left to go, so let’s keep up this fantastic momentum! Remember, you can vote once a week until February 20th!