"Landowners key in ferret recovery plan"

A meeting to discuss the possibility of local landowners being compensated for assisting U.S. Fish and Wildlife attempts to get the black footed ferret off the endangered species list was held last Tuesday in Malta and an incentive program which would pay ranchers for their help was the main focus.

“We totally realize that private landowners are the key to ferret recovery,” said John Hughes from U.S. Fish and Wildlife. “We can’t do this all on federal or state lands and so you folks here an integral part of that.”

Hughes, and Jeff Combs from the Natural Resource Conservation Service, spoke for over an hour with nearly 30 people interested in hearing more about the project. The conference was held in the basement of the Malta Public Library.

“To delist the species we need about 3,000 (ferrets) in the wild,” said Hughes. “At present we have about 500. So we are looking for opportunities to recover the species and get it off the endangered species list.”

Hughes said that black-footed ferret remains one of the most endangered animals in the world. The primary reasons the species remains at risk are the same that nearly caused the animal’s extinction:  loss of habitat and prey.  Conservation or native grasslands to agricultural land, widespread prairie dog eradication programs, and fatal, non-native diseases adding that some of the wild ferret populations have been threatened by sylvatic plague.

“There are a number of species that are resistant to plague,” said Hughes, “but there are a whole bunch, such as prairie dogs and ferrets, that are not.”

NRCS, in conjunction with US Fish and Wildlife, has developed an incentive program which they hope will take hold in Phillips County and address landowner tolerance of prairie dogs.

“The program we are looking at using is one I’m sure a lot of you are familiar with,” said Combs. “It’s our Environmental Quality Incentives Program.”

A payment schedule of $17.85 per acre would be offered for three years to eligible landowners. For example, Combs said, if a landowner had 2,000 acres of prairie dog habitat, there would be almost $37,000 paid through the incentive program per year for a maximum of three years. Within the contract, the agencies would have access to the property to implement plague management. Also, on a quarterly effort, the landowner who decided to allow prairie dog colonies and in turn the black footed ferret on their property would need to insure that their neighbor’s land remained prairie dog free.

The rancher/landowner would also be asked to help monitor the prairie dogs and make sure that the animals are surviving and doing their part and keeping the habitat of their colonies maintained. It is estimated that on a quarterly basis, monitoring 1,500 acres, that the rancher/landowner would need to spend about two or three mornings of surveying and taking a visual count of the animals. The prairie dog colony mapping, however, would only occur on an annual basis.

“It would require going around the perimeter of your dog town with a (handheld) GPS and recording that data,” said Hughes.

The GPS would be paid for by the landowner, for now, and Hughes said that the entire plan could change by next year.

“The main thrust of this is to try and incentivize it for landowners to tolerate prairie dogs on their land,” said Hughes. “It is a multi-state effort. This year NRCS has chosen Colorado, Montana, Nebraska and South Dakota.”

He said that they are not going to enter into a contract with a landowner who wants to have prairie dogs and he or she is surrounded by folks who absolutely do not.

“We want to see this succeed,” he said. “We don’t want to create issues where there weren’t any. As far as us inflicting prairie dogs and ferrets on you, it’s not going to happen. We may very well have to say no to some landowners.”

One member of the audience at the meeting on Tuesday said that there is already strain on the federal budget – giving the example of the infrastructure in the U.S. – and said that the Federal Government is already in the hole $130 billion over the next 10 years based on taxes and projects. He wondered where the money to fund the ferret project would come from?

“I don’t have a crystal ball, Sir,” said Hughes. “I mean I might not have a job next year, it’s just that simple. That is a concern of all of ours.”

Another member of the audience said that he would better served by producing hay on his land than taking the $17.85 per acre for hosting ferrets and prairie dogs, stating that his payment for producing hay would nearly double what he would earn with a prairie dog colony on his land.

“This program might not be for you then,” Hughes admitted.

“There is great potential here,” said Hughes. “If we can get everything working together and get it incentivize enough so that folks will at least tolerate prairie dogs. But the bottom line is, and folks grumble when we say this, but we need more prairie dogs for the ferret population.”

If landowners in Phillips County would like more information on the incentive program they are encouraged to call the Malta NRCS at 406-654-1334, extension 3.