In his 18 years as Wall District ranger in Buffalo
Gap National Grassland, Bill Perry led the effort to restore
endangered black-footed ferrets. He helped write the plan to bring
in captive-bred ferrets, engineered land swaps to consolidate
habitat, and helped manage the pens where the animals were
acclimated before being released.
Perry built the
West’s healthiest population of ferrets, about 200 animals.
But in July, he traded the color-banded South Dakota badlands for
the granite foyers of Washington, D.C. Perry accepted a promotion
to U.S. Forest Service headquarters, where he’ll work on
rangeland issues nationally.
Perry’s departure
might appear politically motivated, but it’s not that simple.
Some ranchers didn’t like his support for prairie dogs, the
prime food source for ferrets. They had an ally in Gov. Mike
Rounds, R, who pressured other officials to allow a recent campaign
of poisoning prairie dog colonies (HCN, 12/20/04: Rulings keep the
West open for business). But other ranchers appreciated
Perry’s straight-talking style and knowledge of the issues.
And Perry says he sought the promotion to headquarters.
Environmentalists are watching closely to see who takes the key
district ranger job. The Forest Service plans to fill it
temporarily while searching for a permanent replacement.
“We’re going to miss Bill,” says Heather Moriah, a local
Sierra Club organizer. “He was a visionary district ranger, and we
hope whoever (the Forest Service) chooses to replace him maintains
the level of commitment to ferrets that Bill had.”
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Ferret recovery pioneer moves on.
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