By seasonally prohibiting shooting on ferret recovery sites, the order will help rebuild black-tailed prairie dog populations, helping to make reintroduction of ferrets a reality, without substantially interfering with big game or upland game bird hunting seasons.
Ferrets rely almost entirely on prairie dogs for food and shelter.
Current numbers of black-tailed prairie dog colonies on Thunder Basin are not sufficient to support a reintroduced colony of ferrets and must be expanded. The Forest Supervisor's order was signed April 19, 2001. Signs providing information on the ban will be posted beginning May 16, 2001. Poor management has taken a tremendous toll on our nation's grasslands and their wildlife. After more than a century of conversion to crop land and urban sprawl, the country's native grasslands have nearly disappeared.