Just passing through: For much-needed food and rest during their long-distance migrations, shorebirds rely heavily on the extensive, ephemeral wetland systems found throughout the Northern Great Plains states, including South Dakota. USGS Fort Collins Science Center (Colorado) researchers are examining shorebird population and habitat sampling problems to develop more accurate population estimates and methods for monitoring these highly mobile and dispersed shorebirds. This information can help managers to prioritize habitat management activities.
The Conservation Reserve Program is the largest environmental program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, with enrollment exceeding 34 million acres across all 50 states. In South Dakota alone, more than 1.4 million acres on 13,444 farms are in the CRP. Based on average rental payments, the CRP brings in over $60 million per year to South Dakota’s farm economy. Improvement in program performance is an enduring goal of CRP administrators. For the past 9 years and continuing today, scientists from the USGS Fort Collins Science Center have been working in partnership with the USDA Farm Service Agencyto help improve the program by evaluating program performance both socially (how is it working for CRP contractees) and ecologically (how is wildlife habitat improved?). In June 2004, FORT and the FSA sponsored a national meeting for more than 200 participants and presenters to address and present research on these issues as well as future CRP directions. The proceedings, The Conservation Reserve Program: Planting for the Future, was published in 2006.
Preventing Plague: The federally endangered black-footed ferret, on the rebound from near extinction, still faces serious recovery obstacles. One of them—sylvatic plague—is found in the prairie dog colonies upon which the ferrets depend. Eliminating plague from prairie dog colonies is essential for ferret recovery, so researchers at the USGS Fort Collins Science Center are testing two approaches. One involves developing vaccines against plague for both of these animals. Oral vaccine for prairie dogs has shown promise in experimental studies, and a successfully tested injectable vaccine is undergoing field trials on ferrets released in the wild. A second approach involves eliminating or reducing the incidence of plague from test areas by reducing the population of fleas that transmit the disease. Scientists are assessing the efficacy and cost of a flea control dust within burrows (including a colony in South Dakota that was previously free of plague) and are measuring the responses of prairie dog, ferret, and other associated mammal populations.
U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
Just passing through: For much-needed food and rest during their long-distance migrations, shorebirds rely heavily on the extensive, ephemeral wetland systems found throughout the Northern Great Plains states, including South Dakota. 
Preventing Plague: The federally endangered