USU Eastern students assist BLM with research on endangered kit foxes

Students at Utah State University Eastern are aiding the local Bureau of Land Management field office in their efforts to preserve the San Joaquin kit fox population in Emery County through a semester-long project.

Kit foxes are an endangered species, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources reports there are only 57 known kit foxes in the state of Utah.

The students placed five game cameras in the Emery County region and placed bait near the cameras, trying to lure the elusive critters in to capture a photo of them and estimate the number of foxes in the area.

Laura Redfield, a recent graduate of USU Eastern, said one of the areas where they set up their cameras was previously unstudied by the BLM.

“We were able to catch a kit fox in that area. So we’re kind of able to extend and update their information which is kind of pretty cool,” Redfield said.

Since the 1950s, the kit fox population has been monitored only occasionally, Redfield said.

“We know that their numbers are pretty reduced in some locations,” Redfield said. “I think the real risk is extirpation or local extinction in Utah.”

“We never want a population to go extinct, and doing studies like this will help further protect their population,” wrote Madisyn Thomas, a first-year student at USU Eastern, in an email. “It is also very important to learn what kinds of animals are in your area and how we can help them.”

There are many reasons for projects like this, said Sunshine Brosi, an associate professor of wildland resources at USU Eastern. If someone is looking to build a mine or begin oil and gas development, the BLM wants to know if there is a kit fox there so they can preserve the population.

Urbanization, land development and even solar facilities can affect kit fox habitats, Brosi said.

The results of these studies also help when the BLM is considering building more guzzler tanks, artificial water sources built to help the mule deer population. Brosi said the BLM can track if other wildlife are using these tanks and if more of them should be built based on how many kit foxes are in the area.

Brosi said the foxes are an essential part of the local food web. Kit foxes are uniquely suited to the desert environment with their large ears and nocturnal tendencies, and they eat invasive and potentially disease-ridden animals such as mice.

“They’re seen as a keystone species, a really important species for ecosystem functioning,” Brosi said.

Not only are the foxes useful to the ecosystem, they’re also cute. Brosi said they fall under what is called a charismatic species. These charismatic species are cute and fluffy, and motivate people to protect the environment.

Redfield agreed. Up until this point, she’s worked mainly in fisheries.

“It’s really tough to get people enthusiastic about fish, depending on your crowd, but it’s much much easier with a cute little fox,” Redfield said.

An important part of the project was testing out the bait. The kit foxes enjoyed it, particularly the Vienna sausages, Redfield said.

“They’re seeking other nutrients,” she said. Besides just calories, the salt in the sausages was likely to be a draw.

Knowing what kind of bait attracts kit foxes is important to know. People who are using poisoned bait to control the coyote population should be aware that kit foxes could also be susceptible to raiding those traps, Redfield said.

Brosi enjoyed being out with her students in the desert, walking around, checking the cameras, seeing animal tracks and pack rat nests.

Redfield agreed, and said the desert feels barren at first.

“You’re not totally convinced there’s much out there,” Redfield said. “Seeing how many critters were there was really kind of new and interesting.”

The students will continue their research into kit foxes, baiting them in and hopefully discovering more of them.