Lakotas have established a self-sustaining population of endangered black-footed ferrets

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/Animals/Archives/2011/Black-Footed-Ferrets-on-Tribal-Lands.aspx

A Culture of Coexistence
With guidance from NWF, the Lakotas have established a self-sustaining population of endangered black-footed ferrets on their tribal lands in South Dakota
01-19-2011 // Michael Lipske

Photo: http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/Animals/Archives/2011/~/media/Content/NWM/Animals/Mammals/ferretCorbis285x229.ashx?w=285&h=220&as=1

WHEN MEMBERS of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe wanted to put a lid on their reservation’s expanding black-tailed prairie dog population, they knew poisoning the rodents was not an option.

“The Lakota philosophy is that all creatures are important,” says Mike Claymore, a tribe member and endangered species coordinator for its Prairie Management Program. On the other hand, he says, there “were just getting to be too many” prairie dogs (below) living on the tribe’s reservation in north-central South Dakota.

Landowners and government authorities across the West have long used poison to control the burrowing rodents, which are loathed by many cattle ranchers, who say prairie dogs eat grass that could feed cows. And though Cheyenne River’s main source of income is leasing rangeland for cattle grazing, the tribe opted for a less-destructive prairie dog strategy: bringing a long-absent predator back to the reservation.

Since 2000, the tribe has been releasing captive-bred black-footed ferrets (above) in the reservation’s prairie dog colonies. These elegant-looking members of the weasel family eat prairie dogs and live in their burrows. The 201 released ferrets have since produced nearly 600 young, and the population is now considered self-sustaining—an important part of efforts in the West to successfully reintroduce one of North America’s most endangered mammals to the wild.

FULL story at link.

http://www.nwf.org/~/media/Content/National%20Wildlife%20Magazine%20Layouts/2010/Animals%20Channel%20photos/animal_top_banner_corbis_2010.ashx

[AlecBGreen]

1. great news!

:bounce:

To anyone interested in ecology & literature, I recommend the book Wolf Totem by Jiang Rong. Good story of China during the cultural revolution and the ecology & history of Mongolia.

http://www.amazon.com/Wolf-Totem-Novel-Jiang-Rong/dp/1594201560

[Omaha Steve]

2. Kick

[cilla4progress]

3. The indigenous ones know this land intuitively,

and know what is healthy and will work here!

[underseasurveyor]

4. oh Big Kick

:bounce: