"If no one knows the importance of preserving a beautiful place, that place is not likely to be preserved."

Prairie Dogs and Ferrets

Audubon of Kansas has worked with several families who own ranches in western Kansas and wanted to retain prairie dog colonies on their land for ecological, aesthetic, recreational, and other purposes. This area is the largest complex of prairie dog colonies remaining in Kansas and is rich in biodiversity—hosting a suite of species including Burrowing Owls, Ferruginous Hawks, Golden Eagles and Swift Foxes.

At the request of the landowners and with our support, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has used this land for the reintroduction of Black-footed Ferrets—a species native to Kansas and dependent on prairie dogs, but officially extinct from the state since the 1950’s. A week before Christmas in 2007, the first ferrets were released back on to the Kansas plains. In the twelve months following, 74 captive-raised Black-footed Fererets were released, and at least four litters of young kits were born in the wild.

On November 17, 2008, Logan County Commissioner Carl Uhrich wrote the USFWS indicating the county is going to poison the prairie dog colonies on the ranch lands that were home to the Black-footed Ferrets. The ranch lands are owned by Larry and Bette Haverfield and Gordon Barnhardt. He said they will launch the county's poisoning campaign on 2, 200 acres - the same area where 22 captive-raised Black-footed Ferrets had been released in the state's first attempt to reestablish this endangered species in its native habitat in Kansas. That letter was followed by another from the county ordering these and numerous other landowners with colonies of prairie dogs in the county to eradicate them within 15 days, or the lands would be poisoned by the county's prairie dog control agent, who doubles as a private contractor. He happened to be the son of the commissioner.

Audubon of Kansas was already in action anticipating this move, and we had mobilized every strategic resource available on legal, political, agency and media fronts to stop the ecological "scorched earth" assault. After a lengthy battle, in September 2010, Judge Lively granted protection of the Haverfield/Barnhardt prairie dog complex.