World Wildlife Fund

By Steve Forrest

In 1804, when Lewis and Clark crossed the Northern Great Plains, an estimated 5 billion prairie dogs inhabited the region. The explorers reported vast colonies of these highly social animals, extending from horizon to horizon, with some prairie dog towns measuring more than 50 miles in diameter. When Captain Lewis sent a live prairie dog back to President Jefferson – who had commissioned their expedition the previous year – he surely had no idea such a curious little creature would one day create so much controversy.

Although a bemusing curiosity to early explorers, prairie dogs were seen by the ranchers who later settled the Great Plains as competitors with cattle for grass. Ranchers pressured the government for aggressive poisoning programs starting as far back as the early 1900s. By mid-century more than 90 million acres (three times the size of New York state) of prairie dog colonies had been eliminated. Today, less than 5 percent of the late 1800s population survives.

What If the Keystone Disappears? As is so often the case in wildlife conservation, the prairie dog and its value as a keystone species were not fully appreciated until it was almost too late. Like the keystone that keeps an arch from falling in on itself, the prairie dog is key to the survival of many other species as well as the overall ecological health of the prairie.

Just as the proverbial “canary-in-the-goldmine” dies in the presence of invisible toxic gases in a mine, the dying off of black-footed ferrets over the second half of the 1900s became a clear indicator that the prairie was in trouble.

Where Have All the Ferrets Gone? The ferret, which dines almost exclusively on prairie dogs, had suffered from decimation of its prey species to the point where it was considered extinct. Fortunately, in 1981 a small population of 130 ferrets was discovered on the prairies of Wyoming. While only 18 of them survived outbreaks of sylvatic plague and canine distemper, these few animals – probably the rarest mammals on Earth at the time – held the future of the species in their genes. Over the years, their captive-bred descendents have been reintroduced to the Conata Basin of southwest South Dakota. This basin is a small area amidst the 180 million acres of the Northern Great Plains, where WWF is at work restoring ecosystems.

Today, the basin’s prairie dog population supports the largest population of ferrets in North America – about 110 breeding adults. Largest by comparison to other populations, this is still a precariously low number. Despite the urgent need to expand prairie dog colonies to support more and larger ferret populations, pressure from ranchers resulted in the U.S. Forest Service considering the possibility of poisoning prairie dogs on the Buffalo Gap National Grassland in the center of the basin in 2007.

WWF works to save the land and the species across the Northern Great Plains.
© WWF/Colby Loucks

WWF Responds Our vision of the Northern Great Plains is one of a healthy and well-managed landscape that conserves all native species. This calls for a combination of conservation areas, sustainable farming and ranching practices, and thriving communities of humans and wildlife. One key to the vision is saving the prairie dogs, along with the habitat they need and the other species they support – in essence, preventing the prairie dog town from becoming just another Great Plains ghost town.

We responded to the impending crisis, bringing together solid science, careful diplomacy, savvy policy work, and cooperation with diverse organizations. It worked.

Over the years – actually now decades – I have conducted extensive research on the ecology of prairie dogs and ferrets. That experience and the unanimous backing of the community of ferret scientists allowed us to make a strong case that prairie dog poisoning would be disastrous for ferrets – and a major setback after years of work by the government and conservation organizations to make this the most successful ferret recovery site in North America.

My WWF colleagues and I moved the issue forward, working closely with our partners Defenders of Wildlife, National Wildlife Federation and the Prairie Dog Coalition. In true shuttle diplomacy style, we traveled among federal and congressional offices in Denver, Washington D.C., and Rapid City, South Dakota.

Bruce Babbitt, chair of WWF’s Board of Directors and former U.S. secretary of the interior, took up the case and framed the issue succinctly in his letter to current Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne: “The notion that the Forest Service will undertake a poisoning program of this type on public lands held for the benefit of all Americans is simply incomprehensible.”

WWF and our partners forged a unified response to the Forest Service’s proposal. With 68,000 independent citizen comments in hand, we presented a persuasive argument that poisoning the prairie dogs of the Conata Basin was indefensible. Reprieve for the Dog, Reprieve for the Prairie The result: The Forest Service, under tremendous pressure, delayed its decision. No poisoning will occur for at least a year, and the plan has temporarily been shelved.

But pressure to poison continues. WWF and our partners have resolved to remain engaged and pursue long-term solutions. These curious little creatures are our best chance for survival of the black-footed ferret, not only here but eventually across the entire Northern Great Plains.