Press Releases and Updates

A Second Chance for Black-Footed Ferrets

Once thought to be globally extinct, black-footed ferrets are making a comeback.

Baby Ferrets Born in Canada’s Grasslands National Park

Relocation of Prairie Dogs Saves 500 and Provides Hope for Ferret Recovery

When great minds collaborate, conservation happens. In this case, World Wildlife Fund partnered with federal agencies and other conservation groups to relocate black-tailed prairie dogs living on the interface of federal and private land residence within Wyoming’s Thunder Basin National Grassland to designated land for future black-footed ferret restoration. The relocation effort is in response to the recently revised Thunder Basin National Grassland management plan that uses lethal and non-lethal tools alike to manage prairie dogs and their habitat.

Baby Bison Arrive on the Prairie

American Prairie Reserve’s first bison calf of the season was recently born on the greening prairie of Northeastern Montana. Only hours after the newborn’s arrival, the mother, brought to American Prairie Reserve in 2006 as part of WWF’s bison reintroduction project, was using her hoof to help the calf stand up on all four legs.  Since the first calf, nine others have been born, bringing the total number of bison on American Prairie Reserve to 206.

Experts Release New Guidelines for Bison Restoration

The result of several years of collaboration with WWF and other partners, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recently released American Bison: Status Survey and Conservation Guidelines 2010.

World Wildlife Fund's Northern Great Plains Restoration Project Recognized in 2009 Global Vision Awards

A unique conservation project World Wildlife Fund (WWF) started two years ago in partnership with the Nebraska-based Grassland Foundation has won Travel + Leisure’s 2009 Global Vision Award for Wildlife Tourism.

WWF Helps Masked Bandit Return to Prairies

After a 70-year absence from Canada, black-footed ferrets will once again prowl the prairies, following today’s release of more than 30 captive-bred animals into Canada’s Grasslands National Park.   Leading the reintroduction were staff from a dozen different conservation organizations, governments and zoos, including species experts from WWF-US and WWF-Canada.

Pronghorn Migration Study Continues

This winter, WWF and its partners kicked off year two of their ambitious pronghorn migration study. The team, which includes WWF; Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP); Bureau of Land Management: and the University of Calgary (UC), came away with some critical data regarding the movement of pronghorn throughout the year. 

Newborns on the Northern Great Plains

Springtime on the plains brought more than just the year’s first rains and prairie grasses, as WWF’s bison reintroduction project welcomed five newborn calves (and counting) to Montana’s American Prairie Reserve.  The Reserve and reintroduction are joint projects between WWF and our partner the American Prairie Foundation. 

WWF Says Farm Bill Is Missed Opportunity, May Negatively Impact Native Grasslands

A $300 billion five-year Farm Bill that cleared Congress today contains much-welcomed environmental provisions, but also creates risk to native grasslands, leaves conservation programs under-funded and misses an opportunity to reform the government’s outdated farm subsidy system, according to World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Mixed Results from Senate Farm Bill

Washington D.C.– The 5-year Farm Bill (HR 2419) passed by the Senate by a vote of 79-14 yielded mixed results for conservation said World Wildlife Fund. Although the bill does provide support for important conservation programs, the Senate failed to pass several progressive amendments that would have greatly reduced federal subsidy payments to the wealthiest commodity producers and transferred some of the subsequent savings to increased conservation spending.

WWF Restores Prairie Streams

The vast semi-arid grasslands of the Northern Great Plains are laced with some of the longest stretches of free-flowing rivers in North America. These freshwater ribbons of life are habitat for species such as river otters, beavers and the endangered pallid sturgeon. Like many rivers and streams worldwide, they are challenged by dams and reservoirs, the diversion of streams for irrigation and unsustainable cattle grazing.

Cougar Research with Native Americans

In the plains of Montana, WWF is a partnering with the Gros Ventre, Assiniboine and Chippewa-Cree communities to learn how the restoration of cougar populations would affect the residents and economies of the Fort Belknap and Rocky Boys Indian Reservations. The Fort Belknap Reservation is home to the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine tribes, while the Chippewa-Cree live on the Rocky Boys Reservation.

Forest Service Proposes Widespread Poisoning of Prairie Dogs Across South Dakota and Nebraska

CHADRON, NE – The U.S. Forest Service today released its draft plan that may drastically increase the poisoning of prairie dog colonies this fall throughout the Buffalo Gap and Fort Pierre National Grasslands in South Dakota and the Oglala National Grassland in Nebraska. Widespread poisoning could kill tens of thousands of prairie dogs, which would jeopardize the continued recovery of the critically imperiled black-footed ferret, the most endangered mammal in North America. The plan would also harm other wildlife that depend on prairie dogs for food or prairie dog burrows for shelter, including rare species such as swift foxes, burrowing owls and ferruginous hawks.

Year's first newborn bison arrive on the Northern Great Plains

This spring on the great American prairie brings more than the year's first rains and renewed prairie grasses. WWF recently welcomed three newborn calves to Montana's American Prairie Reserve. The two females and one male are now part of a conservation herd originally from South Dakota's Wind Cave National Park. With the arrival of these spring calves, there are now 42 bison in the American Prairie Reserve herd.

Government Considers Poisoning Habitat of U.S.'s Most Endangered Mammal

WASHINGTON - Almost 25 years to the day that the black-footed ferret was rediscovered, previously having been declared extinct, federal officials announced that they are considering changing rules to allow poisoning of prairie dog towns, even the ones ferrets rely upon for survival. Among the areas being considered for poisoning is the Conata Basin near Wall, South Dakota, home to the world's only successful wild population of ferrets. September 26 is the 25th anniversary of the rediscovery of the ferrets.

A Mother's Day Gift to Mother Earth: Baby Bison Born on the Prairie

WASHINGTON - Just in time for Mother's Day, five wild baby bison have been born on the plains of eastern Montana. The bison are part of a wild herd that live on a new prairie wildlife preserve and are the first bison to be born on this part of the Great Plains, the heart of their historic range, in 120 years.

Bison Released on Montana Plains - New Prairie Wildlife Reserve is Home to Conservation Herd of Bison

American Prairie Foundation (APF), a Montana-based private land trust, working in cooperation with World Wildlife Fund, today released 16 bison on a portion of 32,000 acres of prairie it owns and leases south of Malta, Montana.