In 1994, only a few hundred swift foxes remained. 30 years later, reintroduction campaigns restored populations to thousands across the Great Plains

The swift fox once faced a steep decline across the Great Plains, with settlement, fur harvesting and predator-control practices reducing its historic range. By 1994, concerns about the species had become serious enough for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to determine that listing under the Endangered Species Act was warranted. That same year, wildlife agencies and conservation partners came together to form the Swift Fox Conservation Team.

Three decades later, coordinated conservation, habitat protection, research and reintroduction efforts have helped stabilize swift fox populations and expand their range. The report is based on Swift Fox Conservation Team.Conservation Assessment and Conservation Strategy for Swift Fox in the United States (CACS).Swift Fox Conservation Team, 2011.

What changed for the swift fox?

The swift fox, Vulpes velox, is native to the shortgrass and mixed-grass prairies of the Great Plains. Although it can adapt to other habitats, its history has been closely tied to these grassland landscapes.

The species faced pressure from several directions. Settlement, unlimited fur harvesting and indiscriminate pesticide use for predator control reduced its range from the late 1800s into the early 1900s. While swift foxes recovered in parts of their historic range, populations in the northern portion had not recovered at the same pace by the late 1980s.

In 1992, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service received a petition seeking Endangered Species Act protection for the swift fox in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska, or potentially across the species' entire range.

By 1994, the Service concluded that listing was warranted throughout the swift fox's range. However, the species became a federal candidate because higher-priority species prevented an immediate listing.

That decision helped trigger one of the most important developments in swift fox conservation.

How did the conservation team begin?

In 1994, ten affected state wildlife management agencies and interested cooperators formed the Swift Fox Conservation Team, or SFCT.

The team operates under the Grassland Initiative in WAFWA. One of its first major assignments was to develop a coordinated conservation effort that could guide work across the species' range.

The result was the Conservation Assessment and Conservation Strategy for Swift Fox in the United States, commonly known as the CACS.

Completed in 1997, the document established a coordinated approach to swift fox conservation and management. It provided guidance for state, federal, tribal and private partners while helping build better information about swift fox abundance and distribution.

The approach also brought different conservation partners together around the same goals.

That coordination produced results. As new information became available and cooperation among partners improved, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed the swift fox from the federal candidate species list in 2001.

What role did reintroduction play?

Conservation work did not stop after the swift fox was removed from the candidate list. State and federal agencies, tribes, private organizations and landowners in the United States and Canada continued working on swift fox restoration.

Across the Great Plains, conservation efforts included protecting grassland habitat and carrying out successful reintroduction campaigns. Research also helped improve understanding of swift fox ecology, conservation needs and management practices.

These efforts helped stabilize swift fox numbers and contributed to preventing the need for an Endangered Species Act listing.

The conservation strategy was updated in 2011. That version reviewed accomplishments from earlier work and assessed the species using the five factors considered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service when evaluating species for listing or delisting.

A major conclusion was that none of those five factors had reached the level of a threat.

What were the main conservation goals?

The long-term strategy focused on keeping or restoring swift fox populations in each state while maintaining the spatial, genetic and demographic structure needed for the species to remain viable.

The plan identified eight primary objectives.

These included maintaining the Swift Fox Conservation Team, keeping swift foxes distributed across at least half of suitable available habitat, evaluating population status and conserving native short- and mid-grass grasslands.

The strategy also called for stronger partnerships to protect, restore and improve suitable habitat, additional research into swift fox conservation and management, greater public support through education and information sharing, and maintaining population viability so that Endangered Species Act listing would not be justified.

Together, these goals created a framework for continuing conservation rather than waiting until the species reached a more critical point.

Where does the swift fox stand after 30 years?

Thirty years after the SFCT was established, the conservation strategy's current assessment concludes that its objectives are being met, although some strategies and activities remain incomplete.

The latest assessment again concludes that none of the five Endangered Species Act listing factors currently rises to the level of a threat.

It also points to an apparent expansion in the swift fox's range and highlights the considerable amount of research and knowledge gained since the SFCT began in 1994.

There are still questions about the species' status in some portions of its range, and the conservation strategy recognizes the need for continued work.

The story of the swift fox is therefore not simply about one recovery campaign. It is about what happened when state agencies, federal agencies, tribes, private organizations and landowners continued working from a coordinated conservation strategy.

The 1994 formation of the Swift Fox Conservation Team created a structure for that cooperation. The 1997 CACS provided a range-wide conservation framework, while the 2011 update incorporated new information, completed work and changing assessments of threats.

Reintroduction campaigns, grassland protection and research became important parts of the broader effort across the Great Plains.

Three decades on, the swift fox remains the focus of continued conservation rather than an Endangered Species Act listing. The latest assessment says the conservation objectives are currently being met, while also acknowledging that some work remains unfinished.

FAQs

Why did swift foxes decline?
Historic predator control measures nearly wiped them out.

Are swift foxes still threatened?
More conservation is needed because habitat loss remains a threat.