Arizona Reporter » Black-Footed Ferret, Recovery Efforts Require Volunteers

I wish I lived near Arizonia right now because volunteers needed for the Black-footed ferret recovery efforts:

Arizona Reporter » Black-Footed Ferret, Recovery Efforts Require Volunteers

...March 17-21, Game and Fish will be conducting its annual spring spotlighting effort and needs volunteers to help document black-footed ferret numbers throughout the Aubrey Valley, just west of Seligman.


"Volunteers have always played a vital role in this recovery effort," said Jeff Pebworth, wildlife program manager at the Game and Fish Kingman office. "We don't have the personnel available to fully staff these events, and the program's continued success depends on people remaining involved."


Those wishing to volunteer, or needing more information, should e-mail azferret@azgfd.gov by March 11 with "March Spotlighting" in the subject line. Individuals should indicate which night(s) they are available to help; include a first and last name, a contact number, and if anyone else will be attending with them.


Additional information will be sent following contact, including meeting location and times.


Volunteers should also note any of the following equipment they can bring: GPS, clipboard, backpack (to carry a 30-pound battery), headlamp, pen, compass, binoculars, walkie-talkies, 4x4 vehicle (please list passenger capacity), compass, spotlight (that can plug into a cigarette lighter), or a cordless rechargeable spotlight.

If you join the volunteer effort, please write me about your experiences.

Melanie Dawn Molina Wood is a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate LLC in Miami, Florida and a member of the US Green Building Council. She is a designated Eco-Broker and a long-time member of the Sierra Club. She shares her home with her daughter and five domesticated ferrets. You can visit her website at www.MelanieSellsMiami.com or follow her on Twitter @MelanieDawnMW

Black-Footed Ferret Populations Increasing in the AVEPA

Did you know that black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes), one of North America’s most endangered mammals, was once so elusive they were thought to have never existed?

In 1851, naturalist John James Audubon first described black-footed ferrets from a single specimen. For the next 25 years no other specimens were found, nor were there any other sightings in the wild. Even the original specimen disappeared leading to speculation that no such animal had ever existed!

Luckily Dr. Elliot Coues was able to document additional specimens in 1874. They disappeared again in 1974 and were feared to be extinct. In 1981 a small group were discovered in Wyoming, then nearly wiped out by canine distemper just a few years later.

But black-footed ferrets are coming back from the brink of extinction… again! And Arizona’s Game and Fish Department is an important part of that effort. Arizona’s reintroduction effort is helping to establish a free-ranging, self-sustaining population of black-footed ferrets in the Aubrey Valley Experimental Population Area (AVEPA), with a second ferret reintroduction site planned. Last month’s count shows record gains in AVEPA’s black-footed ferret population.

Game and Fish personnel along with a record 103 volunteers (including 61 in one night) worked from dusk to dawn from March 25-29 spotlighting for the nocturnal black-footed ferret.

“It’s exciting news,” said Jeff Corcoran, supervisor for the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s black-footed ferret recovery effort in Seligman. “The results and the interest level provide hope for the continued success in the recovery of this endangered animal.”

The crew had 54 captures overall (42 individual ferrets with 12 being captured more than once), and 17 were captured in one night. All established new highs for the project. Of the 42 individuals, 29 had never before been trapped.

“We’ve never caught that many ferrets before, and we did so before this year’s breeding and reproduction,” Corcoran said.

A total of 60 never previously captured wild-born ferrets, were trapped in two spotlighting efforts in 2009.

“I’m excited about the numbers,” Corcoran said. “You think about this one spotlighting effort and compare it to where the ferrets once were and you can’t help but be pleased.”

According to BlackFootedFerret.org:

The 1988 Recovery Plan for the black-footed ferret calls for the establishment of 10 or more separate, free-ranging wild populations. By the year 2010, biologists hope to have 1500 ferrets established in the wild, with no fewer than 30 breeding adults in each population. If these objectives are met, the ferret could be downlisted from endangered to threatened status.

The fall spotlighting in the AVEPA will take place in October. If you are interested in volunteering, contact the black-footed ferret field station at azferret@azgfd.govto receive more information. And be sure to write to me about your experience!

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