Research team to study swift fox habitats in panhandle

University of Nebraska at Kearney researchers hope to catch the endangered swift fox in its natural Western Nebraska habitat and to determine how the creatures use the landscape, specifically the Heartland Expressway corridor.

Although Sidney is not in the direct line of the Heartland Expressway route, Dr. Marc Albrecht, biologist at UNK, and his graduate student Sara Ray will be visiting Sidney in the near future to speak with residents about their swift fox study. The research will focus on how the expressway, which runs approximately north to south through Chadron, Alliance, Scotts Bluff and Kimball might impact the animal in this area and the other counties through which the expressway will travel. This study is a combined effort with the Nebraska Department of Roads and UNK.

The main purposes of this study are to reduce accidents caused by the swift fox, as well as to find out in what areas of the panhandle the animals reside. Researchers will attempt to glean the impact the highway might have on the swift fox, which is a state endangered species. Albrecht and Ray will set up lures to find out how many fox are in the area. Landowners adjacent to the planned roadway will be contacted with requests to set lures on their land. The team already visited the library in Scottsbluff in early December to inform residents about the research and plan to visit additional counties later this winter.

One of Albrecht's biggest challenges leading up to the study was obtaining a list of landowners with property adjacent to the planned roadway, which was a feat in itself, he said.

Once the study is underway, Albrecht and his graduate student will need local help to complete the labor to set up and check the traps.

"It would be good experience for anyone interested in wildlife," Albrecht said.

Landowners along the highway are encouraged to attend informational meetings the team plans to hold at local libraries to discuss placing scent lures on private land along this corridor.

Albrecht is requesting that landowners contact him with denial or permission to set scent lures on their land for a few days as well as a camera to record swift fox activity.

The team will use scented stakes partnered with wildlife cameras to attract swift fox and then record them. This will be done once during breeding season and then again later in the year. Then the researchers will track individual animals to find out how they use the Western Nebraska landscape, especially roadways.

"This study will help determine where swift fox occur in Nebraska and if they are using the Heartland Corridor for dens or to find prey," Albrecht's literature stated.

The swift fox is a small fox species found in Western Nebraska and in the Midwest. There is evidence that the animals use roadways and nearby embankments for travel and for den building.

If the study finds that the fox is using roadways in its movements, NDOR wants to design roads to minimize accidents with the animals.

If swift fox are discovered on a landowner's property, the property owner will not be required to take any action. The study could show that there is no swift fox in some of the adjacent land. Right now all of Western Nebraska is considered a potential habitat.

This study will consist of two surveys, one late in the spring of 2014, and one in late summer of 2014.