FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) -- The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has enlisted the help of The Nature Conservancy and Purdue University Fort Wayne (PFW) with the goal of assisting a species of squirrel that is state endangered. The collaboration aims to restore the population of the Franklin's ground squirrel, which once thrived in northwest Indiana prairies. Franklin's Ground Squirrel in Indiana The Franklin's ground squirrel has been state endangered in Indiana since 1993 due to loss of habitat. In addition to prairies, the species can also be found along highways and railroads. While the Franklin's ground squirrel looks somewhat similar to tree squirrels commonly found in backyards and parks, ground squirrels are burrowers and more akin to groundhogs, woodchucks or chipmunks. "Franklin's ground squirrel is a species that probably a lot of people haven't seen mostly because they stay underground for a lot of the year ... outside of hibernation, they're going to be scurrying around in tall grass and short grass prairies being pretty well camouflaged and hidden from us," said Brad Westrich, state mammalogist for the DNR. According to the DNR, the Franklin's ground squirrel became state endangered in 1993 after data showed the number of counties the species occupied declined by nearly 45% from the previous census. Franklin's ground squirrel (Photo provided by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources) Westrich estimates there are likely less than 200 Franklin's ground squirrel left in Indiana across just a few counties. "Up until about 2015, we found them in maybe four counties in northwest Indiana, so we had evidence that their range just kept restricting mostly because of just human activities," Westrich said. As a result, the Franklin's ground squirrels left in Indiana have become "fragmented," which leaves the species more susceptible to predation, vehicle strikes and loss of genetic diversity. PFW, South Dakota and the Kankakee Sands To hopefully restore populations in Indiana, the three groups worked to bring in 25 Franklin's ground squirrels from South Dakota and relocate them to Kankakee Sands, a nature preserve in northwest Indiana. The partnership between the DNR and PFW started after the DNR reached out to Scott Bergeson, Ph.D., an assistant professor of animal biology at PFW who has worked with the DNR before on similar projects, for help with restoring Franklin's ground squirrel populations. For Bergeson, who said he strives to find valuable opportunities for students and graduate assistants to receive field experience, the project was too good to pass up. "I like getting students out there because they get to see what they can do with their degree," Bergeson said. "They get that experience. They get to brag about it. They get to do things that no one else has ever been able to do." Justin Moore, a graduate research assistant at PFW, was sent out to help capture Franklin's ground squirrels in South Dakota to bring back to Indiana. Between the work he has done across multiple states, Moore said the project has been very fulfilling. "It's really great to get kind of hands-on research, and it's always really beneficial to be doing research for your own projects," Moore said. A Franklin's ground squirrel (Photo provided by Justin Moore, Purdue University Fort Wayne)Justin Moore, a graduate research assistant at PFW, holds a Franklin's ground squirrel. (Photo provided by Justin Moore, Purdue University Fort Wayne)A group of baby Franklin's ground squirrels, which is known as a "scurry" or a "dray" (Photo provided by Justin Moore, Purdue University Fort Wayne) Thanks to a separate project decades in the making, Kankakee Sands provided a suitable testing ground for the relocation of Franklin's ground squirrel. "The Nature Conservancy has been creating prairie habitat at Kankakee Sands for more than 25 years," said Trevor Edmonson, project director for the site, in a press release Wednesday. "The bison herd we brought to the site in 2016 have greatly improved the prairie with their selective grazing habits. The time was right to bring in the Franklin's ground squirrel to take advantage of the improved prairie." Westrich described Franklin's ground squirrels as "little bison" due to their grazing habits and also said the site should provide a natural location for the species to succeed. Future Plans Each organization will continue to monitor the batch of Franklin's ground squirrel through winter and into next summer, and the data they collect will help guide future decisions on how to manage the population. Moore has been tracking the batch since they arrived at Kankakee Sands and said the squirrels have adapted quickly to the environment. "Their survival rate has been great, and we've been kind of seeing them acclimate to the habitat really well," Moore told WANE 15. "It's a really great nature preserve and it has all the habitat characteristics that they thrive on." In summer 2025, the DNR plans to add Franklin's ground squirrels at Willow Slough Fish & Wildlife Area in Morocco, Indiana, while also adding more squirrels at Kankakee Sands. While the project is far from over, Westrich is appreciative of the many partnerships that have helped make it a reality. "This project has been something that has been in the works for honestly four years, and we are finally at the stage of actually getting boots on the ground and getting squirrels in the ground, literally," Westrich said. "It's very exciting to see these partnerships have held on through the planning stages and that we are all motivated to get to this point." The DNR also encouraged anyone who sees a Franklin's ground squirrel to help the DNR and report it online.