Beneficial Management Practices for Saskatchewan Species at Risk: Swift Fox Endangered

Buffy-yellow with black tip on bushy tail Black patches on muzzle Size of a house cat Omnivourous Require short native grasses, flat terrain & sparse vegetation Helene Careau

Located in southern Saskatchewan Extirpated from Canada in early 1900’s Declined due habitat loss, trapping, hunting, disease, vehicle collisions and predation Reintroduced from 1983 to 1997 Status: Endangered Census in 2005/2006 counted 20 foxes

Beneficial Management Practices Habitat Size Retain fragments of primarily native prairie in patches of 14,000 acres or more Retain smaller fragments of native prairie that are within ~50km of larger blocks of native grassland

Grazing Manage for primarily Healthy range with 50-60% carry over Promote vegetation that varies in height and density across the landscape through grazing regimes or livestock distribution

Woody Vegetation Do not plant tree of shrubs on or adjacent to native grassland If removing woody vegetation for range improvement in native or tame grassland, use methods that do not result in long-term harm to herbaceous vegetation

Converting Cropland to Perennial Cover Convert cultivated land to non-invasive perennial species that do not grow taller than 25-30cm in height Seed a pure grass mix or grass mix that includes a prostrate form of legume Seed finer grasses in forage mixes Seed herbaceous species that grow will in a stand with others

Roads Minimize number of roads constructed through native prairie Limit traffic speed on roads through swift fox habitat Avoid constructing built-up, graveled or paved roads Re-vegetate linear developments with native or fine, mid-height tame vegetation

Rodent Control Shoot or fumigate rodents rather than poison if rodent control is necessary Place strychnine bait directly in rodent burrows

Predator Control Shoot rather than trap or poison if coyote control is deemed necessary Reduce coyote population to one breeding pair per 10 to 20 square miles if deemed necessary but do not eliminate population Do not reduce American Badger population

Disease Vaccinate domestic dogs against canine distemper and parvovirus