Standing Rock Tribe, USFWS and New Century release endangered ferrets on Reservation
Director Jeff Kelly, Standing Rock Game & Fish receives black footed ferret picture from Drew Becker, USFWS, Bismarck, ND.
McIntosch, South Dakota – This week Standing Rock Indian Tribe Game & Fish department collaborating with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) released 28 ferrets on their reservation in the state of South Dakota.
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe located in North and South Dakota under the direction of Jeff Kelly, Director of the tribal Game & Fish Department. USFWS collaborated with the department, to release ferrets in acceptable habitats on the South Dakota portion of the reservation, south of McIntosch SD, where expansive prairie dog towns meet the suitable living requirements for black footed ferret, the most endangered mammal in the United States.
The black-footed ferret, Mustela nigripes, is a small to medium-sized carnivore. Female black-footed ferrets range in weight from 645–850 grams The fur of Mustela nigripes is yellowish-buff with pale under parts. The forehead, muzzle and throat are white, and the feet are black. A black mask is observed around the eyes, which is well defined in young black-footed ferrets. It is the only ferret species native to the Americas, and there are no recognized subspecies.
Twenty eight ferrets (16 male and 12 female) arrived from the National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center in Carr, CO, via wildlife biologist John Hughes. They left the NBFFCC at 5am on the day-of.
In October 2012, Mike Gutzmer’ firm New Century Environmental (NCE), the tribal biologist for Standing Rock, documented the most endangered mammal in North America, the black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes), on Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North and South Dakota, south of the Grand River near Mobridge. NCE has supported Standing Rock Indian Reservation for almost 10 years and works with several threatened and endangered species. Gutzmer attended the University of Montana in the late 1970’s.
Earlier this year New Century Environmental (NCE) secured a grant in getting Standing Rock Game & Fish Department from the Bureau of Indian Affairs to document wild ferrets on the reservation to assess presence and abundance of possible impacts to ESA-listed species like northern long-eared bats (listed as Threatened 4(d)) and black-footed ferrets (listed as ESA Endangered).
At present, known ferret populations exist only at reintroduction sites where introduced populations remain small, fragmented, and intensively managed with only a few of these introduced populations producing wild-born adults. As a result of the bottleneck of the captive breeding program, black-footed ferrets have lost 90% of their genetic diversity.
Seth Gutzmer, tribal biologist for Standing Rock, stands next to the carriers of ferrets before their release into the wild on Standing Rock Reservation in October 2021.
The long term goal for the tribe is to maintain control for black-tailed prairie dogs in an primarily used for cattle grazing and the Service goals are to eventually save the ferret from extinction, expanding the ferret’ range into this part of South Dakota.
The first ferret released on Standing Rock south of McIntosh on the proposed Black-footed Ferret Recovery Area, Courtesy photo- Michael P. Gutzmer 2021
Game & Fish Director with biologist Seth Gutzmer holding black footed ferret photo on day of ferret release. Courtesy photo.
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Michael P. Gutzmer, PhD is principal and owner of New Century Environmental LLC and provides environmental consulting services in the Great Plains. NCE works with water, wetlands, habitat development threatened and endangered species and pollution problems. NCE has been the tribal biologist for Standing Rock for 10 years. Please email me at mgutzmer@newcenturyenvironmental.com