Permanent Hunting Closure in Buffalo Gap National Grassland’s Conata Basin

USDA Forest Service Issues Permanent Hunting Closure in Buffalo Gap National Grassland’s Conata Basin

Release Date: April 19, 2024

Media Contact: Jack Isaacs, (308) 432-0300

Under the Dingell Act, this provides permanent authority, replacing the temporary orders that have been in place since 1998.  

Chadron, Neb., April 19, 2024 – The U.S. Forest Service issued the permanent prairie dog hunting closure in a portion of the Conata Basin, located within Management Area 3.36 on the Buffalo Gap National Grassland today.  The area is home to the black-footed ferret, one of the most endangered mammals in North America. Much of their prairie dog colony habitat was decimated by plague in the past few decades. The area has been under a series of consecutive prairie dog hunting closure orders since 1998. This permanent closure will protect black-footed ferret habitat and implements a requirement of the 2001 Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands Land and Resources Management Plan as amended in 2005 and 2008. The size of the closure area has been limited to the minimum necessary to protect the ferret’s habitat and employees monitoring the area.

The prairie dog hunting closure order has completed the process outlined in the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act. PUBL009.PS (congress.gov). A comment period for the closure order took place May 26 - July 25, 2023, in accordance with the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act (Dingell Act) requirements for these types of orders. The Forest Service received 12 comments from two individuals and ten organizations. Comments can be viewed at: Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands - Alerts & Closures (usda.gov).The permanent order only applies to the 80,694 acres of the National Grassland in black-footed ferret reintroduction habitat in Conata Basin; the remainder of the approximately 600,000-acre Buffalo Gap National Grassland would remain open to prairie dog hunting. The closure would not affect other types of recreational shooting and would not impact shooting on private and/or state land.

Issuance of this final order follows the process outlined in the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act of 2019. For more information about this order visit Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands - Alerts & Closures (usda.gov). Notification of operations is posted on Facebook; (https://www.facebook.com/NebraskaForestsGrasslands/), on X @USFSNebraska and our website https://www.fs.usda.gov/nebraska.