Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) plans to bring more squirrels to the First State.
The Delmarva fox squirrel was on the federal endangered species list up until 2015, when its species recovered as the result of management efforts.
It’s still rare in Delaware with populations restricted to the Nanticoke Wildlife Area and the Prime Hook Wildlife Refuge.
The state plans to translocate squirrels from the Eastern Shore of Maryland, where they are more abundant.
DNREC Wildlife Biologist Holly Niederriter says deforestation around the turn of the century nearly wiped out the Delmarva fox squirrel.
“In Maryland the squirrels have a bit of a stronghold, because there’s so many wet woodlands over there, that they were difficult to cut completely. So the squirrel’s habitat remained there for a while—much longer than they did here,” said Niederriter. “Now that much of the forest has regrown, we’re looking to move the squirrels back into here, back into Delaware”
The state is spending just under $10,000 to contract out two trapping efforts—one this month and another in the Spring—to bring about 30 squirrels into the Assawoman Wildlife Area.
Niederriter says allowing the squirrels to repopulate naturally would be “excruciatingly slow” and the state is looking to speed up the process.
She warns hunters the Delmarva fox squirrel is not to be confused with the gray squirrel.
“They’re about one-and-a-half times larger than the eastern gray squirrel. They’re a much more lighter gray, real silvery in color, bushy tail, short ears.”
Niederriter adds the new squirrels in the Assawoman Wildlife Area will also be distinguishable by the colors DNREC will place on them for tracking.
