Northern Plains tribes bring back their wild 'relatives'

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Northern Plains tribes bring back their wild 'relatives'

Last updated 12/14/2022 at 11am

AP Photo/Matthew Brown

A black-footed ferret looks out Oct. 6 from a trap before it is vaccinated and released back into the wild. Native species such as swift foxes and black-footed ferrets disappeared from the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation generations ago, wiped out by poisoning campaigns, disease and farm plows that turned open prairie where nomadic tribes once roamed into cropland and cattle pastures. Now with guidance from elders and outside wildlife groups, students from the tribal college are helping reintroduce the small predators to the northern Montana reservation sprawling across more than 1,000 square miles near the U.S.-Canada border.

Matthew Brown

Associated Press

FORT BELKNAP AGENCY - Native species such as swift foxes and black-footed ferrets disappeared from Fort Belknap Indian Reservation generations ago, wiped out by poisoning campaigns, disease and farm plows that turned open prairie where nomadic tribes once roamed into cropland and cattle pastures.

Now with guidance from elders and outside wildlife groups, students and interns from the tribal college are helping reintroduce the small predators to the northern Montana reservation sprawling across more than 1,000 square miles near the U.S.-Canada border.

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