Hi Everyone,

Today I am in Meeteetse, WY participating in some black footed ferret surveys.  We are on 2 private ranches where ferrets have been released the past few years, including the Hogg ranch which is where the species was rediscovered back in 1981 after having been thought to be extinct.  So far this morning we were out with a team using scent detection dogs to try to identify prairie dog burrows where ferrets are present.  The dogs are trained to alert their handler when they detect ferret scent and this gives the WY Game and Fish biologists target areas to sample more intensely, using remote cameras on those burrows as well as nighttime spotlight surveys.  Today was an atypical Wyoming morning as it rained overnight and there was dense fog this morning, where it is usually very dry and clear.  I have some photos that I will try to share later.

Later today we will go out and check some cameras placed at burrows earlier this week and then do a spotlight survey all night long, from dusk to dawn.  The ferrets are detected by their eyeshine when they come above ground, cage traps are set at those burrows to try to capture the ferrets so they can be identified, vaccinated against distemper and sylvatic plague, and then released.  At this site, ferrets have been released from the breeding center in 2016 and 2017, a final release is planned next week. Already reproduction has been documented here from the animals released in 2016, so it has been a success already.  More to come on this after we do the surveys tonight.

The past week has been busy, I will post photos when I get to a good internet connection later this weekend.  Lots of interesting things to report on about sage grouse, feral horses, the role of water in this landscape, and grizzly bear management.  Have had good, informative meetings with WY Game and Fish staff the past couple of days, as well as The Nature Conservancy Wyoming office staff.  All of these folks have been really generous with their time and expertise and I will share a good bit of what I learned.

And, to top off the morning there was a young bull moose right next to one of the ranch roads as we were returning to camp after the early morning detection dog session.