Plague Threatens Only Colony of Black-Footed Ferrets

A flea-carried plague among prairie dogs near Meeteetse, Wyo., is threatening the country’s only known population of black-footed ferrets, a species of animals once thought extinct.

Prairie dogs are the ferrets’ primary food source, and a serious reduction in the prairie dog population could result in the extinction of the endangered ferrets, discovered four years ago in an 8,000-acre area. It is believed that there are fewer than 130 black-footed ferrets in existence.

Two prairie dogs are known to have died of the plague, and a number of empty prairie dog burrows were discovered earlier this month. In a test conducted last month, five of seven flea samples tested for plague were positive.

Federal, state and private agencies are working on plans to save the ferrets should the plague spread, according to Defenders of Wildlife, a conservation agency based in Washington, D.C.

“The situation could become catastrophic for black-footed ferrets in just a matter of days,” said Dan Smith of Defenders of Wildlife. “That is all the time required for the disease to become epidemic, with the potential of wiping out 90% to 100% of the prairie dogs in the area.”

Emergency plans being considered include supplemental feeding of the ferrets, relocation of the ferrets to non-infected prairie dog colonies, and captive breeding.

“Short funding of recovery programs and turf squabbles have inhibited recovery in the past,” Smith said. “The experts agree there is no time to lose this time.”

Trout fishing on Crowley Lake near Bishop will end July 31, but fishing for Sacramento perch has begun, and the outlook is for a successful season.

“The water quality is good--it’s clear--the weather is fine, and the temperatures have been in the mid-70s to mid-80s,” said Dave Griffith, area manager at the lake for the Los Angeles City Recreation and Parks Dept. Griffith also reported some catches of two pounds or more.

The season will run through Sept. 2, and there is no limit on perch. The lake will be closed to fishing on Tuesdays during August but otherwise will be open daily from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m.

Briefly License personnel in the Fish and Game Dept. processed more than 45,000 applications for deer hunting in X zones and special hunts last weekend, and another 17,096 were processed in the drawing for antelope tags. Hunters exhausted the supply of tags for 10 of 37 deer zones and 13 of 22 special hunts. More than 19,000 tags were still available for X zones, however, and hunters barely tapped the B and D zones, taking only 2,943 of B-zone tags available, and only 9,347 of 135,800 D-zones. . . . The California Boating and Waterways Commission will review proposals to finance the development of boating facilities at various locations throughout the state at its meeting today in Oceanside at the city council chambers. Among sites under consideration for improvement are Avalon Harbor at Catalina Island and the Huntington Beach boat launching facility. The meeting, starting at 9 a.m., will be open to the public. . . . Advance reservations for waterfowl hunting on the Modoc national wildlife refuge will be required for opening weekend only, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Traditionally, opening weekend is in mid-October. Applications, on standard Postal Service cards only, will be accepted by mail from Aug. 1 through Aug. 15. . . . More than 3 million targets will be thrown during the 10-day Grand American Trapshoot at Vandalia, Ohio, Aug. 8-17. The premier event of the 86th annual shoot, the Grand American Handicap, is scheduled for Aug. 16 and will draw about 4,000 shotgunners.