LARAMIE – Today Biodiversity Conservation Alliance and Bill Barrett Corporation, a Denver-based independent oil and gas production company, announced a grant of $25,000 to fund a black-footed ferret reintroduction program in Wyoming’s Shirley Basin.

“The black-footed ferret is the most endangered mammal in North America, with only two viable populations in the wild,” said Erik Molvar, a wildlife biologist with Biodiversity Conservation Alliance. “We are very please to be able to direct funding to a project that will start a new population of these rare animals in an area that has already enjoyed proven success.”

The funding is part of a settlement between BCA and Barrett on the Big Porcupine Coalbed Methane Project on the Thunder Basin National Grassland. The settlement, reached in 2004, also included groundbreaking protections for wildlife and measures that prevent the degradation of local watersheds due to the discharge of excess water during coalbed methane production.

“We consider ourselves a long-term presence in the community, and with that comes a long-term view when addressing local issues such as this one,” said Duane Zavadil, Vice President of Government and Regulatory Affairs for Bill Barrett Corporation. “Getting stakeholders together to develop proposals tailored to fit local ideas and values is the best way to get things like this done."

The reintroduction project, a joint venture between the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and Prairie Wildlife Research of Wall, South Dakota, is slated to release approximately 50 ferrets this fall. It would establish a second ferret population in the Shirley Basin that would eventually be able to interbreed with the existing population and help protect it against random environmental events such as disease, drought, and harsh winters.

“The contribution of Biodiversity Conservation Alliance and Bill Barrett Corporation to this project is tremendous and allowed us to leverage additional funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation,” said Travis Livieri, Executive Director of Prairie Wildlife Research.

“Wyoming is an essential state for recovery of black-footed ferrets,” Livieri added. “Last year approximately 500 black-footed ferrets were found in the wild nationwide, of which one-fifth were in Shirley Basin. As a result of this project, we will increase the total number of black-footed ferrets in the wild and step closer to achieving recovery goals.”

“It is exciting to be part of an endangered species recovery effort that brings together private landowners, non-profit groups, industry, and agencies,” said Martin Grenier, Nongame Mammal Biologist for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. “The recovery of the black-footed ferret in Wyoming would not be possible without these partnerships.”

Biodiversity Conservation Alliance is a Laramie-based nonprofit conservation group dedicated to protecting wildlife and wild places in Wyoming and surrounding states. For more information, visit www.voiceforthewild.org.

Bill Barrett Corporation, headquartered in Denver, explores for and develops oil and natural gas in projects across nine basins in the U.S. Rocky Mountains. The Company trades publicly under the symbol BBG on the New York Stock Exchange. For further information, please visit www.billbarrettcorp.com.