Project Hopes to Restore Franklin’s Ground Squirrels to Native Range
State-endangered squirrels released onto the Efroymson Prairie at Kankakee Sands.
Media Contacts
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Chip Sutton
The Nature Conservancy
Phone: (317) 829-3915
Email: csutton@tnc.org
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), and Purdue Fort Wayne (PFW) have teamed up to return Franklin’s ground squirrels to their native Indiana range, starting with a population at Kankakee Sands nature preserve.
Franklin’s ground squirrels were once found throughout northwest Indiana’s prairies, but the species lost most of its habitat as agriculture advanced. It was listed as state endangered in 1993 after the number of counties the species occupied declined by nearly 45% from the previous census. Today, the squirrel’s environment has been fragmented, which exposes it to more negative environmental pressures including predation, vehicle strikes, and loss of genetic diversity.
That’s why the DNR, TNC, and PFW selected TNC’s Efroymson Prairie at Kankakee Sands to establish the first translocated population. The site’s short-grass prairie offers the space the ground squirrels need to spread out and thrive.
Quote: Trevor Edmonson
This was the goal of TNC’s Kankakee Sands restoration—to create a grassland conservation area where all prairie plants and animals can thrive.
“The Nature Conservancy has been creating prairie habitat at Kankakee Sands for more than 25 years,” said Trevor Edmonson, project director for the site. “The bison herd we brought to the site in 2016 have greatly improved the prairie with their selective grazing habits. The time was right to bring in the Franklin’s ground squirrel to take advantage of the improved prairie.”
Edmonson added, “This was the goal of TNC’s Kankakee Sands restoration—to create a grassland conservation area where all prairie plants and animals can thrive.”
PFW researchers collected more than two dozen Franklin’s ground squirrels from South Dakota. The squirrels underwent a vet inspection and a 30-day quarantine prior to entering acclimation enclosures and being released at Kankakee Sands. Some of the Franklin’s ground squirrels were equipped with GPS collars to monitor their movements, habitat selection, and survival.
This relocation is part of a larger effort to reestablish Franklin’s ground squirrels in their native range. All three partners are establishing small groups of Franklin’s ground squirrels on managed properties across the area and will monitor their survival in upcoming years.
“By establishing populations on large, managed properties, we can reduce negative environmental pressures and offer a path to recovery,” said Brad Westrich, DNR state mammalogist.
The partners will continue monitoring this first group of Franklin’s ground squirrels through hibernation and into next summer. The data from this first translocated population will inform future location choices of Franklin’s ground squirrels establishment efforts.
This work is just one project to help state endangered mammals in Indiana. To learn more, visit DNR’s mammals page.
The Nature Conservancy is a global conservation organization dedicated to conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends. Guided by science, we create innovative, on-the-ground solutions to our world’s toughest challenges so that nature and people can thrive together. We are tackling climate change, conserving lands, waters and oceans at an unprecedented scale, providing food and water sustainably and helping make cities more sustainable. The Nature Conservancy is working to make a lasting difference around the world in 81 countries and territories (40 by direct conservation impact and 41 through partners) through a collaborative approach that engages local communities, governments, the private sector, and other partners. To learn more, visit nature.org or follow @nature_press on X.
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