Declining detections of the Plains Spotted Skunk in Kansas: conservation implications for the central Great Plains

Abstract Although once abundant across central North America, the Plains Spotted Skunk (Spilogale interrupta) has experienced range-wide population declines, resulting in its listing as a conservation priority species in several Midwestern and Great Plains states. Our research objectives were to document the Plains Spotted Skunk in Kansas and describe its habitats in order to inform state conservation efforts. We conducted a comprehensive camera trap survey at over 1,367 locations from 2016 to 2023, with targeted efforts focusing on state agency-designated spotted skunk critical habitat and historical detection locations in 29 counties. Even as one of the largest Plains Spotted Skunk studies to date in terms of spatial and temporal scope, we only detected the species at 6 locations in 2017, 2019, and 2020, all in 1 county along the Arkansas River floodplain in Kansas. We only detected spotted skunks at locations with local woody cover, and in landscapes with more grasslands and less row crop agriculture. Intensive efforts to resample locations with past detections yielded no spotted skunks in 2021 to 2023. The lack of recent Plains Spotted Skunk detections suggests that conservation actions may be warranted to prevent extirpation from the central Great Plains.