WILDLIFE ECOLOGY INSTITUTE
PO BOX 4725, HELENA, MT 596044725 www.wildlifeecology.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: ADVANCE WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION THROUGH APPLIED RESEARCH AND EDUCATION ACTIVITIES.

BLACK-FOOTED FERRETS WERE ONCE THOUGHT TO BE EXTINCT, BUT AFTER DISCOVERING A SINGLE REMNANT POPULATION, A SUCCESSFUL CAPTIVE-BREEDING AND REINTRODUCTION PROGRAM WAS DEVELOPED AND IMPLEMENTED. HOWEVER, DESPITE THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF CAPTIVE-BREEDING AND REINTRODUCTION EFFORTS, CONSERVATION OF THIS RARE MUSTELID CURRENTLY FACES A SUBSTANTIAL CHALLENGE, SPECIFICALLY OVERCOMING THE WIDESPREAD IMPACTS OF SYLVATIC PLAGUE. SYLVATIC PLAGUE IS AN EXOTIC DISEASE THAT FREQUENTLY RESULTS IN DRASTIC POPULATION DECLINES OF PRAIRIE DOGS, AND IN TURN, FERRETS THROUGH NOT ONLY LOSS OF THEIR PRIMARY PREY, BUT ALSO DIRECT MORTALITY THROUGH DISEASE TRANSMISSION. DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT TECHNIQUES FOR MANAGING THE IMPACTS OF PLAGUE IN FERRETS AND PRAIRIE DOGS HAS BEEN DESIGNATED AS ONE OF THE PRIMARY GOALS OF THE U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE FOR FERRET RECOVERY, AS DESCRIBED IN THE BLACK-FOOTED FERRET RECOVERY PLAN. IN COLLABORATION WITH OUR PROJECT PARTNERS, THE PRIMARY GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO ASSIST FERRET RECOVERY BY ENABLING MULTI-SITE EVALUATIONS OF PLAGUE MANAGEMENT ACTIONS. TO MEET THIS GOAL, WE DEVELOPED AN INFORMATION-SHARING DATABASES FOR ALL INFORMATION RELATED TO PLAGUE MANAGEMENT IN PRAIRIE DOGS AND FERRETS, WE ARE COLLABORATING TO DEVELOP STANDARDIZED PROTOCOLS FOR EVALUATING PLAGUE MANAGEMENT ACTIONS, AND WE WILL PROVIDE UPDATED RECOMMENDATIONS ON BEST PRACTICES FOR IMPLEMENTING PLAGUE MANAGEMENT. EACH OF THESE GOALS ARE EXPECTED TO IMPROVE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF PLAGUE AND PLAGUE MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES, THUS CONTRIBUTING TO THE CONTINUED SUCCESS OF FERRETS AT REINTRODUCTION SITES THROUGHOUT WESTERN NORTH AMERICA.

CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS FOR FURBEARING SPECIES IS COMPLEX AND INCLUDES A DIVERSE GROUP OF CARNIVORES, RODENTS, AND MARSUPIALS. SUCH PROGRAMS OFTEN ALSO INCLUDE THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES THAT ARE NOT HARVESTED, BUT ARE, FOR EXAMPLE, MESOCARNIVORES. FURBEARER MANAGERS AND POLICY-MAKERS NEED A CONTEMPORARY RESOURCE TO HELP MAKE INFORMED CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT DECISIONS. FURTHER, ACCURATE INFORMATION ABOUT FURBEARER CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT MUST BE READILY AVAILABLE FOR STAKEHOLDERS, CURRENT AND FUTURE WILDLIFE PROFESSIONALS, AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC. WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED A PROJECT TO PRODUCE A BOOK THAT INVOLVES 66 CHAPTERS AUTHORED BY ABOUT 140 WILDLIFE PROFESSIONALS FROM CANADA, MEXICO, AND THE U.S. TO MEET THESE NEEDS. NO SUCH EFFORT HAS OCCURRED SINCE 1987, PROVIDING US THE OPPORTUNITY TO HIGHLIGHT COMPLEX AND CONTEMPORARY TOPICS SUCH AS THE AGREEMENT ON INTERNATIONAL HUMANE TRAPPING STANDARDS; ADVANCEMENTS ON TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGY; APPLICATIONS OF GENETICS AND STATISTICS; SPECIES CONSERVATION SUCCESSES; RECOMMENDATIONS TO MEET CURRENT CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES; AND MANY OTHER TOPICS. PUBLICATION IS EXPECTED DURING 2021.

GRAY FOXES ARE A VALUABLE AND UNDERSTUDIED FURBEARER NOT ONLY IN INDIANA, BUT GENERALLY ACROSS ITS ENTIRE RANGE. SEVERAL INDICES SUGGEST RANGE CONTRACTIONS NOT ONLY IN INDIANA, BUT ALSO OTHER MIDWEST STATES. THE FACTOR(S) CAUSING THESE DISTRIBUTIONAL CHANGES IS UNKNOWN, BUT MAY BE LINKED TO HABITAT LOSS AND FRAGMENTATION, CHANGING MESOCARNIVORE (E.G., COYOTE) COMMUNITY STRUCTURE, DISEASE, AND OTHER FACTORS, AND LIKELY IS A COMPLEX RELATIONSHIP AMONG THESE FACTORS. DURING 20202023, WE ARE IMPLEMENTING A LARGE-SCALE, COMPREHENSIVE STUDY AT TWO STUDY SITES IN INDIANA, WITH OBJECTIVES DESIGNED TO DIRECTLY ASSESS CAUSES OF POPULATION CHANGES OF GRAY FOXES, AND TO PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MANAGEMENT OF THIS SPECIES THAT CAN BE APPLIED IN INDIANA, BUT ALSO OTHER MIDWEST STATES.

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