A trio of conservation groups is suing the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, challenging a plan amendment for the Thunder Basin National Grassland in northeast Wyoming. The groups say the plan eliminates a management area designated for black-footed ferret reintroduction habitat, reduces the amount of prairie dog colony acreage and includes poisoning and shooting prairie dogs—ferrets’ exclusive prey.
Prairie dogs are considered pests by many, although the Western Watersheds Project, Rocky Mountain Wild and WildEarth Guardians recognize them as a valuable species to black-footed ferrets, as they use them for prey and their burrows for shelter.
The plan amendment replaces a 50,000 acre ferret reintroduction area with a 10,000 acre cap on prairie dog colonies and a “new livestock-focused management designation,” according to the groups. The groups said the wildlife habitat area is also reduced to 7,500 acres, which they say is below the threshold to sustain a successful ferret reintroduction and other species that rely on prairie dog colonies, such as mountain plovers—a ground bird.
“The Forest Service has caved to pressure from ranchers and is embarking on a campaign of prairie dog poisoning and shooting,” said Erik Molvar, Western Watersheds Project executive director.
“If livestock are truly incompatible with prairie dog conservation and black-footed ferret recovery, the Forest Service should get rid of the cattle, not poison the native wildlife and eliminate habitat for endangered species’ recovery.”
The lawsuit states USFS violates the National Environmental Policy Act by “stating an impermissibly narrow and unreasonable purpose and need, failing to consider a range of reasonable alternatives, and failing to take a hard look at impacts to black-tailed prairie dogs, multiple species dependent on prairie dog colonies for habitat, and potential black-footed ferret reintroduction efforts.”
The groups ask the court to remand the agency action, stating the proposed plan impacts the recovery of not only black-footed ferrets and black-tailed prairie dogs, but also mountain plovers and burrowing owls.
“The Forest Service has not only violated the legal requirements of the (Endangered Species Act) and other federal laws meant to protect and recover this imperiled species, but also an ethical obligation to prevent the black-footed ferret from dwindling away entirely,” said Jennifer Schwartz, staff attorney at WildEarth Guardians.
The newest lawsuit follows an October lawsuit challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2015 rule that designates all future reintroduced populations of black-footed ferrets in Wyoming as “experimental” and “nonessential.” — Anna Miller, WLJ managing editor
