Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan, June 8, 2010--The Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of Environment and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, today announced that the monitoring program has shown the black-footed ferret, a species at risk, has successfully wintered in Grasslands National Park. Since their reintroduction in October 2009, this once extirpated native species has been closely monitored by Parks Canada biologists and dedicated citizen scientist volunteers.
“For the first time in Canada in over 70 years, the black-footed ferrets are enjoying a prairie springtime in their new grasslands home,” said Minister Prentice. “The Government of Canada is strongly committed to the species at risk recovery process and the continued success of the black-footed ferret reintroduction into Canada will contribute greatly to North American prairie conservation efforts.”
The monitoring program for the elusive ferret, once considered North America’s rarest mammal, involved 10 nights of intensive monitoring and included over 975 volunteer hours spent spotlighting. Sixteen volunteers assisted Parks Canada staff and walked up to 12 to 40 kilometres per night searching for the distinctive emerald green eye shine of this nocturnal predator. Trackers successfully located 12 ferrets with a ratio of 1 male to 2 females (additional ferrets may also have successfully wintered but were simply not located during monitoring). These are considered good results by the International Black-Footed Ferret Recovery Implementation Team and equivalent to the average survival rates of ferrets in the wild.
A total of 34 ferrets were released in October 2009. Parks Canada, as a member of the International Black-Footed Ferret Recovery Implementation Team, collaborated with regional, national and international partners for this historic reintroduction.
“The reintroduction of the black-footed ferret in Grasslands National Park is a success story which has relied on the efforts of our partners and dedicated volunteers,” added Minister Prentice. “The Government of Canada is proud to work closely with our national and international conservation partners in their ongoing efforts towards restoring a fully functioning prairie ecosystem.”
“It's heartening to see how quickly ferrets are adapting to their new home on the prairies of Saskatchewan but it’s not surprising,” said Steve Forrest, Manager for Restoration Science at the World Wildlife Fund-US Northern Great Plains program. “It’s a great result for the whole recovery team."
Grasslands National Park of Canada, originally established in 1988, was officially proclaimed a national park in 2001. The 921 square kilometres that lie within its proposed boundaries represent, together with the surrounding ranch lands, one of the finest examples of intact mixed grass prairie habitat in Canada. The creation of Grasslands National Park would not have been possible without the stewardship of the local communities, First Nations and stakeholders. It is through their safekeeping that we are now able to share this natural and cultural prairie heritage with all Canadians.
Information:
Irene LeGatt,
Communication Manager,
Sask. South Field Unit
Parks Canada
306-975-5814
http://twitter.com/jimprentice
