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The prairie dog is considered a "keystone species" in prairie ecosystems. Over 200 species have been observed on or near prairie dog colonies. Not all of those species are dependent upon prairie dogs and the habitat they create. However, nine species can be considered to be dependent on prairie dogs and their colonies (black-footed ferret, burrowing owl, mountain plover, ferruginous hawk, golden eagle, swift fox, horned lark, deer mouse, and grasshopper mouse). Twenty more species benefit from opportunistic use of prairie dog colonies. Another 117 have life history characteristics indicating that they benefit in some way or another from prairie dogs and their colonies.

Those wildlife species most closely associated with prairie dog towns - black-footed ferrets, mountain plovers, swift foxes - are highly imperiled due to prairie dog decline. The ferret, which is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, for example, depends on prairie dogs for over 90% of its diet and on their burrows for habitat. Ferrets simply cannot persist outside of prairie dog towns. At present, ferret recovery is flailing, and there are no self-sustaining wild populations, due to a lack of sufficient prairie dog acreage. Other species, such as the ferruginous hawk and burrowing owl are also showing declines due to their close association with prairie dogs and their colonies.

Prairie dog colonies are clearly important for the contribution to biodiversity they provide. In addition, thriving prairie dog complexes are extremely important for a healthy prairie. Unfortunately, collectively, all species of prairie dogs have been reduced to only 2% of their historical range. White-tailed prairie dogs have declined to 8% of their native range in North America, and the survival of remaining populations is threatened by habitat destruction and modification, sylvatic plague, recreational shooting, poisoning, oil, gas, and mineral extraction, fire suppression, overgrazing, off-road vehicle use, noxious weeds, and climate change. In Wyoming, the white-tailed prairie dog occupies less than 2% of the suitable habitat for the species. For Wyoming's Great Divide Basin, most active prairie dog towns are located quite a distance from the main roads in the Basin, probably due to recreational shooting that is facilitated by increased access. In the Great Divide, prairie dog colonies are radically reduced from historic distrubutions, and are in need of protection and recovery.

In Wyoming, other species associated with prairie dogs that are of particular note due to special status or management concern include the eastern short-horned lizard, northern plateau lizard, Great Basin gopher snake, midget faded rattlesnake, prairie falcon, merlin, sage grouse, sage thrasher, Brewer's sparrow, sage sparrow, and pronghorn.

The Myth of Prairie Dogs as Meaningful Competitors for Livestock Forage

Although prairie dogs reduce the available forage for cattle, cattle on prairie dog plots failed to show a significant decrease in weight gain over control animals. This is because in their day-to-day actions, prairie dogs increase the quality of forage available to cattle. So, while the cattle may have less to eat, that is of little consequence because the available food has higher nutritional value. Indeed, there is symbiotic relationship between livestock and prairie dogs: Prairie dogs selected areas disturbed by overgrazing to establish colonies, while livestock preferentially foraged on prairie dog colonies due to higher-quality of forage.

Poisoning

Systematic poisoning programs that have taken place over the last century have been implicated as a primary cause of the prairie dog's decline. Poisoning programs are perpetrated under the myth that prairie dogs are competition for cattle. However, cost-benefit analysis has revealed that poisoning costs more than any grazing benefits accrued. While the BLM does not itself sponsor poisoning programs on federal lands, individual livestock permittees may currently be engaging in poisoning activities. Prairie dog poisoning should be expressly prohibited as a condition of holding a grazing permit on federal lands.

Sylvatic Plague

Sylatic plague is a major threat to the viability all species of prairie dog. Sylvatic plague has been documented in Sweetwater, Albany, Natrona, and Laramie Counties, and plague has been present continuously in the Shirley Basin since 1985. Because prairie dogs in Wyoming are already stressed by endemic or epidemic levels of sylvatic plague, stronger conservation measures are needed to prevent impacts from activities that can in fact be controlled.

Conservation Measures