“The Wyoming 10j rule was born from a devil’s bargain,” said Joe Bushyhead, endangered species policy advocate at WildEarth Guardians. But, the Wyoming 10j rule provides for no specific reintroductions and cedes the Service’s authority for ferret recovery to the State of Wyoming, essentially washing the federal government’s hands of any obligation to act in the best interest of black-footed ferret recovery. But reintroduced ferret populations have been shrinking for over a decade according to estimates, less than 400 ferrets currently exist in the wild.ĭespite the dire status of the species, the Service in 2015 issued what is known as a “10j rule” in Wyoming, a name derived from a provision of the ESA meant to facilitate reintroductions of threatened and endangered species by relaxing some of the Act’s protections for reintroduced populations. Captive breeding of these last ferrets prevented the species from going extinct, and recovery now depends on the successful reintroductions. The species was believed to be extinct until 1981, when a dog named Shep discovered the last remnant population in Meeteetse, Wyoming. The groups are challenging a 2015 rule issued by the Service that has allowed the State of Wyoming to stall and obstruct ferret reintroductions and recovery everywhere in the state, including on federal public lands.įirst listed as endangered as part of the “Class of 1967”-one of 78 species including the grizzly bear and manatee to receive pre-ESA protections-the black-footed ferret remains one of the most imperiled mammals in North America. Fish and Wildlife Service (the “Service”) for shirking its legal responsibility to recover endangered black-footed ferrets in Wyoming, thereby violating the Endangered Species Act (ESA). – Today, conservation groups WildEarth Guardians, Western Watersheds Project, and Rocky Mountain Wild filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Multiple Endangered Species Act violations challenged for one of the most endangered mammals in North America Matt Sandler, Rocky Mountain Wild, (303) 579-516 Jennifer Schwartz, WildEarth Guardians, (503) 780-828Įrik Molvar, Western Watersheds Project, (307) 399-7910 Joe Bushyhead, WildEarth Guardians, (505) 660-0284
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