what is the section township and range of fort belknap indian reservation

Milestones and Next Stepsįrom 2020-2024, the research team will collect 200 to 250 swift foxes from three robust populations in Wyoming, Colorado and Kansas and release them at Fort Belknap. A working group – consisting of more than 25 participants representing Native American communities, federal and state agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and scientists – was also formed before the project’s launch.

The ongoing project is based on an extensive feasibility study (2018-2019), which assessed habitat suitability, population viability and risk factors. Connecting these groups will result in healthier and more resilient populations, conserving genetic diversity and supporting the recolonization of swift foxes across their historic range. In September 2020, the Assiniboine (Nakoda) and Gros Ventre (Aaniiih) Tribes of Fort Belknap released 27 swift foxes in collaboration with the Smithsonian, Defenders of Wildlife, and World Wildlife Fund, kickstarting the five-year reintroduction project.īringing swift foxes back to this area will help bridge the gap between populations in the north and south. However, the swift fox global population is still divided into two groups separated by a gap of about 217 miles (350 kilometers).įort Belknap Indian Reservation is located in the homeland of the Aaniiih and Nakoda Tribes in northern Montana, within the gap in the swift fox's range. Conservation efforts by the Canadian government, Blackfeet Nation, and Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes have brought swift foxes back to Alberta and Saskatchewan provinces in Canada, and northern Montana in the U.S. They are a species of concern in most of the areas in which they still survive. Swift foxes were once abundant across North America's Great Plains but have disappeared from about 60% of their historical range, due to habitat loss, as well as efforts to control rodents and predators that unintentionally impacted the foxes. In collaboration with the Fort Belknap Fish and Wildlife Department in Montana, Smithsonian scientists have embarked on a reintroduction project to bring swift foxes back to tribal lands and reconnect swift fox populations.

What is the section township and range of fort belknap indian reservation