How is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service trying to save the endangered black-footed ferret?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed a plan wherein it delivers vaccinations to animals at the UL Bend National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern Montana by packing it in peanut butter-covered M&Ms that are launched by drones. The researchers will target prairie dog populations, which black-footed ferrets wholly depend on for food and shelter. Both animals are affected by sylvatic plague, but the ferrets are being wiped out and there are now only about 300 left in the U.S. The medicine works, the agency says, but they need drones to evenly and widely distribute it.

"We dropped the vaccine out of a bag while walking around, but that’s very hard to do over thousands of acres," Randy Machett, a USFWS biologist told The Guardian. "We are working with private contractors to develop equipment to drop the vaccine uniformly across an area, rather than one hog getting to eat a big pile of them."

The agency built a device that launches the candy in three directions at once, The Guardian reported, and the plan is to attach the device to aerial drones. Pending final approval, the plan will be operational by Sept. 1. Additional deployments are planned for Arizona and Colorado following the Montana trial.