Wyo official: Ferret listing attempt frivolous

A petition to list black-footed ferret populations in three states as endangered is frivolous and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service should ignore it, a Wyoming Game and Fish Department official said Friday. Ferret numbers have rebounded in southeastern Wyoming's Shirley Basin thanks in no small measure to cooperation from private landowners who have allowed the critters on their property. Now, those ranchers worry that an endangered species listing could restrict how they may use their land, said Bob Oakleaf, nongame species coordinator for the department. He called on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reject the environmentalists' request. "They've done the damage," Oakleaf said. "They've created a doubt with the landowners and created a worry and a concern, and it's a legitimate concern." The groups WildEarth Guardians, Biodiversity Conservation Alliance and Center for Native Ecosystems filed the petition Tuesday to list black-footed ferret populations in Arizona, South Dakota and Wyoming as endangered. The three ferret populations are at risk because of widespread shooting and poisoning of prairie dogs, which are the ferrets' only prey, the petition says...AP