Prairie dog hunting ban protects black-footed ferrets

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — After nearly 30 years of a temporary ban on prairie dog hunting, the U.S. Forest Service will permanently ban it in the Konata Basin area of ​​Buffalo Gap National Grassland in western South Dakota. Prairie dog hunting, keep prairie dogs safe.

This area of ​​national grassland is approximately 106,00 acres of Konata Basin black-footed ferret reintroduction habitat and is described by the U.S. Forest Service as Management Area 3.63. The mammal is on the endangered list and is believed to have become extinct about 50 years ago.

“Hunting (of prairie dogs) has been prohibited in this area since the late 1990s,” Travis Livieri said. Liverieri is a biologist with Prairie Wildlife Research, a nonprofit that works with federal agencies and others to restore black-footed ferret populations.

Liverieri said the area had previously been closed to prairie dog hunting through a series of reopenings. Now, it’s permanent. Areas once open to prairie dogs in the Badlands and Buffalo Gap areas will remain open to hunting, Livieri said.

About 500,000 acres will be open to prairie dog hunting, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

Why should prairie dog hunting be banned in certain areas?

Black-footed ferrets depend on prairie dogs. Ferrets often use abandoned prairie dog burrows as homes. According to the National Park Service (NPS), about 90 percent of a black-footed ferret’s diet consists of prairie dogs. A ferret will eat a prairie dog about every three days. According to the NPS, the average ferret household requires about 250 prairie dogs per year. A ferret can eat approximately 100 prairie dogs in a year.

The Konata Basin’s black-footed ferret population has been successful since the introduction of zoo-raised ferrets in 1994.

“We have the largest population of black-footed ferrets in the world,” Liveieri said. “We counted 160 in 2020.”

Livieri said the population reached 355 in 2007, but then an outbreak of forest plague occurred. The flea-borne plague killed prairie dogs and ferrets.

Prairie dogs breed once a year. They give birth to a litter of two to six pups. When the diet of black-footed ferrets and the possibility of plague and the devastation of prairie dogs by coyotes, snakes, badgers, etc. are taken into account, these numbers can decrease quickly.

“You put shooting at the forefront,” Livieri said of why successive temporary prairie dog hunting bans became permanent.

Prairie dogs are often considered a pest by farmers and ranchers. They burrow into crops and pasture. Their burrows attract snakes, rodents and other animals considered pests. Horses and cattle can trip and injure their legs in caves. Prairie dogs can spread plague through fleas. For these reasons, farmers and ranchers may want to eliminate prairie dogs from their properties. Hunting is one way to reduce prairie dog populations.

Liverieri said he and his fellow biologists work to protect mammals from plague. Spray a flea-killing insecticide into the burrows. Young black-footed ferrets are captured, vaccinated and released.

“We are now learning what the plague is doing…” Livieri said.

Liverieri said the hope is that black-footed ferrets in the Konata Basin can be used to repopulate other areas of North America. Ferrets are native to 12 states.

Black-footed ferrets are believed to be extinct in North America, including South Dakota. In 1974, ferrets were considered extinct in the wild in Mellett County, according to a report from South Dakota Fish and Parks.

The discovery of a ferret in Wyoming in 1981 prompted the U.S. Forest Service, along with other agencies and organizations, to work to repopulate the species and reintroduce it into its native habitat. Black-footed ferrets were reintroduced to the Konata Basin and Badlands from 1994 to 1996. “From 1996 to 1999, 147 black-footed ferrets were released in South Dakota’s Konata Basin,” The Nature Conservancy said.

Livieri said the program is seen as a model for other similar reintroduction programs.

The black-footed ferrets in the basin have finished breeding in March and April. About 44 days later, the mother gives birth to her pups. Livieri said a litter usually consists of three pups.

“They don’t surface until 45 days…so that’s early July,” Livieri said. By September and October, the kits are available in adult sizes.

“By next March, 10 months later, they are sexually mature and ready to reproduce,” Livieri said.

For some people, seeing a black-footed ferret is one of their wishes, he said. Even prairie dog hunters come to the area to try to spot ferrets, he said.

The best time to see this nocturnal mammal is early in the morning.