Rule change will expand the territory for imperiled black-footed ferrets in Arizona

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has strengthened black-footed ferret repopulation efforts in Arizona by allowing tribes and private landowners to host ferret colonies on their property.

The agency said this week it will work with Indigenous tribes and the Arizona Game and Fish Department to add more reintroduction sites in northern and southeastern Arizona for the endangered black-footed ferrets, whose numbers have dropped steeply in some places.

"Ferrets were almost extinct in the wild at one point, and they only exist in the wild today because of these reintroduction efforts," said Jessica Miller, a fish and wildlife biologist for the federal agency's Arizona Ecological Services Office. "This rule will make it easier for us to reintroduce more ferrets into Arizona."

The new sites are part of an expansion of one section of the Endangered Species Act, easing restrictions on land used to repopulate endangered species. The revision allows landowners to host ferrets and continue day-to-day activities without fear of violating the Endangered Species Act by unintentionally harming them.

By expanding the provision of the act, officials hope landowners will be more open to voluntarily hosting ferrets without fear of unintended repercussions. Although the reintroduction sites have not yet been selected, the service is considering allocations on private, state, tribal and federal lands.

Ferrets are among the most imperiled mammals

Black-footed ferrets were listed as endangered in 1967, likely due to habitat loss from agriculture and a decreased prairie dog population. Black-footed ferrets inhabit prairies and grasslands often used for farming. They depend on prairie dogs for food and to take over the abandoned prairie dog tunnels as shelter.

Following this revision, reintroduction sites will be approved and ferrets will be introduced each year to strengthen the population. Sites that can monitor ferrets, protect them from disease and have sufficient prairie dog populations will take precedence.

The service is considering four sites: the Williams and Tusayan Ranger Districts of the Kaibab National Forest, the CO Bar Ranch, the Petrified Forest National Park and Lyman Lake.

Black-footed ferrets are one of the most endangered mammals in North America. Its natural habitat range formerly branched across 12 states: Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.

They were believed to be extinct in the 1970s until a colony of ferrets was discovered in Meeteetse, Wyoming, in 1981. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service launched a captive breeding program in the 1980s to revitalize the population.

With 18 captured ferrets, conservationists managed to save the species for now. Descendants of those ferrets have been introduced to repopulation sites across the West.

State monitors sites in northern Arizona

Conservationists believe more than 300 ferrets live in the wild, but estimate a population of 3,000 adult ferrets in 30 or more colonies in at least nine states would successfully restore the species.

Repopulation efforts have been underway in Arizona since the 1990s. The Phoenix Zoo is one of six facilities that breed black-footed ferrets to later release in the wild. It has bred more than 500 ferrets since 1991.

Under the Endangered Species Act, the Arizona Game and Fish Department has released ferrets in two reintroduction sites near Seligman in Aubrey Valley and Double O Ranch.

The state agency tracks ferrets using telemetry collars that collect data remotely. The department hosts biannual spotlighting events to monitor the population and track dispersal.

In 2012, officials estimated there were 123 breeding adults near the reintroduction sites, but the population has declined substantially since then. Officials estimated nine ferrets remained in 2018.

Activists question priorities: Do wildlife agencies shortchange lesser-known species?

Despite multiple releases, black-footed ferret repopulation efforts have been vulnerable due to widespread disease. Researchers believe the Sylvatic plague, a bacterial disease from fleas, is responsible. The Game and Fish Department traps and vaccinates ferrets in attempts to prevent plague and canine distemper.

By easing restrictions under the Endangered Species Act and allowing landowners to host ferrets, wildlife agencies hope a mass outbreak can be prevented. Since the population will be divided among multiple repopulation sites throughout the north and southeast, if there is an outbreak, it will likely be quarantined to specific colonies.

"Having more reintroduction sites makes them more resilient. We know plague is out there," Miller said. "If we have multiple sites out on the landscape, it protects the ferrets overall by not depending on one specific site."

Hayleigh Evans covers environmental issues for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Send tips or questions to hayleigh.evans@arizonarepublic.com.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: New rules allow AZ landowners to host black-footed ferret colonies