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The Swift Fox Legacy at CEI
The story of the return of the once extirpated (extinct over its Canadian range) swift fox to its native habitat on the northern Great Plains of North America is a twisted skein made up of a multitude of wildly different threads. Threads of history, spirituality, legislation, altruism, ambition, paternalism, cultural misunderstandings, cultural renaissance, and exploitation twined about a cause, the determination of a pair of pensioners, Miles and Beryl Smeeton, to return this smallest and most social of North America’s fox species, the swift fox, back to its native land in Canada.
I am the swift fox,
I live in uncertainty
If there is anything difficult
If there is anything dangerous to do
That is mine
Sioux Swift Fox Society song.
By 1978, Swift fox were classified as extinct in Canada and extirpated over 90% of their historic range in the USA.
It is self evident that, when a sociable species has been reduced to a fraction of its numbers and extirpated over most of its range, time is no longer on its side. The ever lengthening parade of extinct wildlife, some of whose last lonely representatives have died in captivity, demonstrates this truism. For the swift fox, by the 1970’s, it was clear that extinction was inevitable unless powerful and constructive action was taken immediately.
1971 - 1997 Canadian Swift Fox Reintroduction Program Saskatchewan and Alberta , Canada
In 1972, Miles & Beryl Smeeton, Alberta ranchers, decided to take action.
The Smeetons founded The Cochrane Ecological Institute, CEI, as they were devoted to restoring the prairie by breeding and reintroducing the swift fox back onto its native habitat in Canada.
~ Miles Smeeton
“Whether it is feasible to reintroduce an animal (swift fox) that has become extinct through the spread of civilization is questionable, but that is what we hoped to discover. Very little is known about swift foxes, and they have a poor record of breeding in captivity: nevertheless, we intended to breed them and one day release them in their natural environment. Had we understood all the problems and work involved…we might have thought twice about the project..”
The CEI's Swift Fox Reintroduction Programs
Cochrane Ecological Institute's Swift Fox Reintroduction programs began in 1971 under the direction of Beryl and Miles Smeeton. This has resulted in the Species being down listed by the Canadian Government from Extirpated to Endangered. Additionally, the CEI's programs resulted in:
OVER 1,000 CEI SWIFT FOXES SUCCESSFULLY REINTRODUCED IN CANADA OVER 200 SUCCESSFULLY REINTRODUCED ON BLACK FOOT CONFEDERACY TRIBAL LANDS in Montana 75% SURVIVAL OVER 4 YEARS, RECRUITMENT, (BREEDING SUCCESS) 14% TO 16%
1997-2003
Blackfeet Swift Fox Reintroduction Program, Blackfeet Reservation, Montana, USA
The Cochrane Ecological Institute (CEI), in partnership with the Blackfeet Tribe and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, played a central role in designing and implementing the project, and contributed all captive-bred swift foxes used in the reintroduction program.
Blackfoot confederation - arrangements made in 1997, first release in 1998, continued to release until 2003.
2003-2006
Kaini Swift Fox Reintroduction Program Blood Reserve , Alberta, Canada
In partnership with the Blood Tribe, the Cochrane Ecological Institute (CEI) helped design and implement the Swift Fox reintroduction program, contributing all of the captive-bred animals used in the project.
Policy Shift in Swift Fox Reintroduction Strategy (1991–1997)
In 1991, the National Swift Fox Recovery Team approved a significant policy change: the gradual phase-out of captive-breeding programs for swift fox (Vulpes velox) reintroduction in Canada. By 1997, annual releases of captive-bred animals were to be replaced entirely by the translocation and release of wild-caught swift fox from the United States.
The rationale provided for this shift was that wild U.S. swift foxes were considered both less expensive and more viable for reintroduction than Canadian captive-bred foxes. Additionally, the federal government aimed to reduce costs, estimating a savings of approximately $9,000 per year—the amount it had been contributing to captive-breeding programs up until 1991. However, federal funding ceased entirely in 1991, even though ownership of the captive foxes remained with the federal government.
At the time, the annual cost of maintaining the captive colony, which consisted of 25 productive breeding pairs, was approximately $69,000. This funding gap significantly impacted the continuity of Canadian-led swift fox conservation efforts.
Notably, this decision to abandon captive breeding in favour of wild-caught translocation was made without comprehensive data on survival rates, reproductive success, or population numbers of swift foxes in Canada. In fact, no national census of swift fox had been conducted in Canada prior to the winter of 1996–1997—five years after the decision had already been enacted.
Federal Policy Alignment and Translocation Agreement (1993–2000)
By 1997, the federal government had committed to ending its involvement in all captive-breeding programs for species at risk, including the whooping crane, peregrine falcon, and swift fox. The decision by the National Swift Fox Recovery Team to phase out captive breeding for swift fox reintroduction aligned with this broader federal policy. Documentation supporting these decisions is available through the federal and provincial governments, as well as from the Cochrane Ecological Institute (CEI).
In line with this shift, an agreement was established between the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) and the U.S. government (specifically the State of Wyoming) to trap and translocate 150 wild swift fox annually to Canada between 1993 and 2000.
However, this arrangement raised serious questions. At the same time this agreement was implemented, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had acknowledged growing concern for the species’ survival. On June 1, 1994, a finding published in the Federal Register stated:
“The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces a 60-day finding for a petition to list the swift fox (Vulpes velox) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. After review of all available scientific and commercial information, the Service finds that listing this species is warranted…”
— Federal Register, June 1, 1994 (59 FR 28328)
This meant that while the U.S. government was considering the swift fox endangered and in need of legal protection, they were simultaneously exporting wild individuals to support reintroduction efforts in Canada.
This contradiction underscores broader concerns about environmental policy coherence across borders. As noted by the Canadian Wildlife Service’s State of the Environment Reporting Branch:
“The environment is our only life support system. As we approach the twenty-first century, however, there are indications that we are severing this lifeline.”
With 20 years of opportunity to take meaningful conservation action, these conflicting policies and timelines reflect the challenges of aligning ecological priorities with political decisions.
The Fight For The Swift Fox
1980-1981 saw the transferal in the Fall, 1980, of CEI swift fox to the University of Calgary’s “soft release” enclosures in southern Alberta with the intention that, the following spring, 1981, the doors would be opened and the animals exit in their own time.
Unfortunately,
Canadian Wildlife Service, CWS, and University of Calgary who were arranging the reintroduction, had failed to obtain requisite permits (Alberta Wildlife Act) from Government of Alberta, so the release was stopped and no release permitted until 1983 (Reynolds 1983).
Meanwhile, a decision was made to maintain the swift fox in the soft release enclosures until the inter-governmental problem was solved. Solving the problem took 2 years.
During that time the foxes had to be maintained, an effort expensive in manpower as the enclosures on the release site were isolated. To reduce the time spent, it was decided that the foxes would be fed carcasses, or portions of carcasses, on a weekly basis rather than small amounts of meat on a daily basis.
This feeding protocol (using large amounts of meat) attracted ravens and hawks. The birds flew into the enclosures to take meat. The feeding protocol also attracted coyotes who picked up and ate meat dropped by the birds. A “spin” was put on this, associating the use of soft release methodology with predator attraction, not, as was more probably the case, with the feeding protocol employed.
The swift foxes ignored the permit question and dug out of enclosures and known recruitment was equal to known loss.
The first “official” swift fox reintroduction in Canada took place in 1983. The management of swift fox reintroduction was entirely in federal and provincial government hands, the CEI had no input once the swift foxes left CEI property
1989 In April, the National Swift Fox Recovery Team was formed under RENEW (Recovery of Nationally Endangered Wildlife). Neither the Smeetons, nor any representative from the Charity they founded, were invited to join the swift Fox recovery team.
The Swift Fox Recovery Team set out to develop options and a management strategy. Their options were:
Option 1: Phasing out programme, immediate disposal of captive colony. rejected in part, by the Team, because of “loss of favorable publicity for Agencies" ( Carbyn et Al. Swift fox interim Management plan, 1991, unpublished report)
Option 2: Recovery/feasibility Plan. Continue current attempt at reintroduction over the next 3 years. Assume recovery may not be feasible, Evaluate programme.
Option 3: Recovery Plan. Same as Option 2, but assumes Recovery is feasible.