This is topic Black Footed Ferret Reintroduction will Close Prairie Dog Hunting in forum Member forum at The New Huntmastersbbs!.
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Posted by JeremyKS (Member # 736) on May 17, 2013, 02:55 PM:
I wanted to inform everybody that Texas Parks and Wildlife is spearheading a reintroduction of the Black Footed Ferret on the Rita Blanca National Grasslands. If they do this under their current proposal it would shut down 50% of the prairie dog hunting currently available to public hunters.
We need to spread the word about this. Contact Texas State officials and TPWD personnel and voice your opinion about this.
To give you a little history about the black footed ferret; It was once thought to be extinct till a small population was discovered in Wyoming. Through a captive breeding program they started reintroducing them in 1991. In order to get them delisted they must have 3000 ferrets living in the wild. Since 2008 they have released almost 2500 ferrets.
Currently they estimate 400-500 living in the wild. They are currently spending about $44000 -$55000 per ferret with a $1,000,000 per year budget.
This project is headed by the Black-Footed Ferret Working Group, which consists of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Texas Wildlife Services, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Texas Agri-Life Extension and researchers from Texas Tech and West Texas A&M Universities.
I personally don't care if they are trying to reintroduce the ferret but do it on private land that doesn't affect the public.
Posted by KaBloomR (Member # 4252) on May 17, 2013, 04:18 PM:
The Utah DWR claims we have an isolated area in Uintah County near the CO border where the BF ferret resides. It is closed to PD hunting. Luckily, it doesn't encompass a vast amount of land. My biggest bitch is with the "endangered" Utah PD species, which prohibits hunting them throughout a huge portion of SW Utah....
Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on May 17, 2013, 05:06 PM:
All of this reintroduction bullshit is back door NO HUNTING.
And, I am thinking of the HUGE amount of money spent to SAVE the Condor from extinction. Yeah, a feel good program that has cost MILLIONS, and is so successful that besides Sespe, they have been giving them to Arizona for the Grand Canyon and to Baha, MX. It won't be long before they close hunting in those areas or restrict lead ammunition.
It's a major program by bunnyhuggers and nobody has the balls to put a stop to it.
Good hunting. LB
Posted by KaBloomR (Member # 4252) on May 17, 2013, 05:16 PM:
I don't think balls has anything to do with it, LB. More like $$$. Look at your "high profile" bunnyhuggers. They aren't a bunch of destitute, hemp-wearing hippies. They are movie stars that donate more money (pocket change) to these causes than I make in a year.
Posted by JeremyKS (Member # 736) on May 17, 2013, 07:39 PM:
I agree the problem resides with the Endangered Species Act.
Posted by Frank (Member # 6) on May 17, 2013, 09:34 PM:
Leonard got it right.
The California Condor was headed to extinction because its historic lands were taken over by human habitation. There are so many people building homes and living in California the condor's habitat (feeding areas) has been reduced.
The natural carrion of antelope, deer and other animals have been driven out of these areas thus causing the Condor to starve.
It is human habitation of the condor's historic areas that is causing a reduction in their traditional food supplies.
It's easy to blame hunters in efforts to achieve liberal political aims not achievable in any other way i.e. nothing would suit these people better than eliminating you from your guns because you are the cause of the condor's demise!
The bottom line is if you want to save the condor you need to force people to move out of the condor's traditional areas, bulldoze their homes, and re-introduce wild heards of animals that the condor can feed upon.
I doubt that will happen as those people who own homes and property in the condor's habitat are unlikely to give up their rights to an existence in favor of the condor (Former President Ronald Reagan's ranch is in the condor's areas). Lead poisoning and hunters are only a lie to achieve a liberal objective of banning guns. If these people want to save the condor then all peoples inhabiting the condor's former habitat need to be removed and wild heards of animals reintroduced in order to give the condor back his food supply.
That's gonna happen, right?
[ May 17, 2013, 09:40 PM: Message edited by: Frank ]
Posted by Kokopelli (Member # 633) on May 17, 2013, 09:34 PM:
![[Confused]](confused.gif)
They have released almost 2500 ferrets so far.
There are 400 - 500 ferrets in the wild.
The phrase "How's that working for you??" comes to mind. ![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
Mayhap they should spend a bit of time figuring out why they have such a dismal survival rate before they waste any more coin.
Posted by 3 Toes (Member # 1327) on May 18, 2013, 04:41 AM:
I'm in the current reintroduction area. We have dealt with this for years. All I can say is good luck!
For some reason everybody thinks Wyoming is the place to reintroduce lots of stuff.
Posted by JeremyKS (Member # 736) on May 18, 2013, 06:52 AM:
Cal,
You got any suggestions? In South Dakota and Kansas from what I have been told was a disaster. Whats the situation in WY?
[ May 18, 2013, 06:55 AM: Message edited by: JeremyKS ]
Posted by JeremyKS (Member # 736) on May 18, 2013, 06:54 AM:
Are you in the Shirley Basin site?
Posted by 3 Toes (Member # 1327) on May 19, 2013, 06:07 AM:
We are near the Thunder Basin National Grasslands. They have stopped prarie dog hunting in the towns that have ferrets, but some are still legal and you can still shoot them on private lands.
Posted by JeremyKS (Member # 736) on May 19, 2013, 06:43 PM:
You have black tailed p-dogs?
Posted by DAA (Member # 11) on May 20, 2013, 04:10 AM:
In the Utah reintroduction area they stopped all shooting, period. Not just hunting.
Used to shoot p-dogs in that area a lot too.
Had one of the BF's in my scope in a dog town a few miles outside the closed reintro area once...
All the p-dogs in that area died of the plague the same year the ferrets were let loose. Never have made much of a comeback - a few, but nothing like it was before. Been at least ten years now too.
- DAA
Posted by DAA (Member # 11) on May 20, 2013, 04:11 AM:
I can answer for Cal, shot p-dogs in his backyard a few times, yes, black tails.
The ones they turned the ferrets loose on here are white tails.
- DAA
Posted by nd coyote killer (Member # 40) on May 20, 2013, 05:12 AM:
Yep i have National Grasslands in my county that have been shut down to shooting of prairie dogs and have seen them live trap prairie dogs and relocate them to a ranchers lease that had no prairie dogs because it made more suitable habitat for the ferrets. Its a mess and a lot of money getting thrown at it from the special interest groups
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