Black-footed Ferret Recovery and Reintroduction Program Analysis

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) has entered into a cooperative agreement with the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to conduct an analysis and assessment of the Black-footed ferret (BFF) recovery and reintroduction program.  The overarching goal of this analysis is to recognize challenges, identify potential solutions, and quickly implement action items related to the recovery of the endangered BFF.

The primary objectives of this analysis are to:

1. Assess the current status and impact of the USFWS BFF recovery program
2. Identify primary challenges to program success and develop a series of action steps needed to overcome these challenges
3. Prepare an action plan with recommended future directions

This analysis will not only look at the biological aspects of BFF recovery and reintroduction but also program administration, education/outreach, marketing, development, and communications. These aspects are critical for successful species recovery.

For additional information about black-footed ferrets and the history of Federal, State, Tribal and other organizational efforts in ferret recovery and reintroduction, please refer to the Resources and Reports section below.

Statement of Work

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) will focus on four key issue-areas which are directly related to the ultimate success for BFF recovery throughout its historic range. These issue-areas include: 1) Disease; 2) Reintroduction; 3) Managed Care; and 4) Overall administration of the program and resultant outreach/communication/engagement challenges and opportunities. The primary target audiences include Federal and State agencies, non-governmental conservation organizations, decision makers, and the general public. 

AZA staff will be the lead for this project and will be supplemented with key subject matter experts from Federal/State agencies, Native American tribes, AZA institutional members, academia, and conservation organizations.  

To accomplish the stated objectives in this proposal, a series of 2-3 day virtual workshops will be conducted over the course of 2021 to assess current program status and identify priority actions related to each of the four issue-areas identified above. 

Analysis Timeline

Virtual workshops will take place throughout 2021. A report will be produced from each workshop, posted online, and also sent to our BFF distribution list. A final report with priority findings and recommendations will be sent to USFWS and stakeholders in January 2022. To join the BFF distribution list or to submit comments and questions about the reports and workshops, please fill out the Contact Form below.

NOTE:  As with all workshops, there is always the possibility of overlooking key participants and stakeholders.  We apologize in advance for any oversight.  Since all workshops will be virtual in nature, there will be some limitations as far as open microphones.  Most participants will be in listen only mode but will be able to submit questions through the Zoom chat function.

Tentative Workshop Timeline for 2021 

Disease Workshop: February 26; March 5 and March 12, 2021 from 8:30 am MT/10:30am ET until 3:00pm MT/5:00pm ET for each session. NOTE: Suggested reading, workshop summaries and workshop recordings are provided in the Resources and Reports section above. 

Reintroduction Workshop:  June 4th, June 11th and June 18th.

Managed Care Workshop:  TBD but tentatively looking at mid-late August 2021

Administration/Outreach Workshop:  TBD but tentatively looking at late October-early November 2021

Final wrap-up workshop: TBD but tentatively looking at early December 2021.

BFF Recovery Program Contact Form