For Immediate Release Dec. 17, 2001

Contact Info

(Pritchett, CO and Laramie, WY) – Citing continued roadblocks to prairie dog recovery, environmental organizations representing over seven million Americans have requested that the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) list the black-tailed prairie dog (BTPD) as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). At minimum, the groups seek higher priority status for the species to expedite ESA listing. The organizations requesting legal protection include Animal Defense League of Arizona, Biodiversity Associates, the Biodiversity Legal Foundation, Center for Native Ecosystems, Forest Guardians, the Fund for Animals, the Humane Society of the U.S., the Prairie Dog Coalition, Predator Conservation Alliance, and Rocky Mountain Animal Defense.

The BTPD is a candidate for listing under the ESA. That designation resulted from two petitions for listing the species filed in 1998. In February 2000, FWS determined that the species warranted listing, but was precluded from protection due to higher priority ESA actions. FWS is required to review the status of “warranted but precluded” species on a yearly basis to determine whether to list such species. The agency requests information from the public in conducting that review. This year, environmental organizations teamed up to analyze the status of the BTPD throughout its 11-state range and in Mexico and Canada.

“Our review shows very clearly that the black-tailed prairie dog continues to suffer from the onslaught of the multiple threats of plague, poisoning, shooting, and habitat destruction,” said Nicole Rosmarino, Forest Guardians’ Endangered Species Coordinator. “This species needs to be protected now. ESA listing will safeguard the BTPD and the unique ecosystem this keystone species sustains.”

Among the conservation groups’ findings:

• In Arizona and Wyoming, state wildlife commissions refused to approve prairie dog plans. Commissioner rationales for rejecting proposed plans ranged from indifference to open hostility toward BTPD conservation.
  
  
• Significant reduction in prairie dog habitat, due to development and crop agriculture, was reported for Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Mexico. In Colorado, more than 100 prairie dog colonies have been destroyed since the listing petitions were filed. In other areas, at least 3.7 million of acres of rangeland have been lost to crop agriculture since the 1980s.
  
  
• Massive shooting of BTPDs continues. In 2000-2001, over 174,000 BTPDs were shot in Colorado. In Nebraska, the most recent statistics available were 356,000 BTPDs shot in 1999. Recreational shooters killed 1.25 million prairie dogs on non-tribal lands in South Dakota for the year 2000.
  
  
• Sylvatic plague is a threat to BTPDs in many areas. Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, and Canada all reported plague in prairie dog colonies over the past year. BTPDs have no immunity to plague, and 99-100% of prairie dogs in a colony are killed when exposed to the plague bacterium.
  
  
• Poisoning of BTPDs continues on a massive scale and is increasing in some areas. In Colorado, at least 12,600 individual BTPDs in 21 colonies have been poisoned since February 2001. In addition, a federal agency, Wildlife Services in the US Department of Agriculture, continues to distribute poisons throughout the BTPD’s range. In just two states (Nebraska and New Mexico), Wildlife Services provided enough poison to eradicate 46,000 acres of BTPDs over the past several years. In Texas, Wildlife Services distributed over twice as much poison in 2000 as it did in 1999.
  
  
• State governments have sought to prevent the BTPD’s ESA listing, declaring that states are more suited to managing wildlife. However, when given the chance to do so, they have either failed to adopt BTPD management plans, have been delinquent about such plans, or have designed plans that offer no protection from the multiple threats this species faces.
  
• The conservation groups also argued in their request to FWS that the BTPD be prioritized for listing given its role as a keystone species. Over 200 species have been observed on or near prairie dog colonies, and some of those species, including the black-footed ferret (listed under the ESA) and the mountain plover (proposed for ESA listing) are declining as prairie dogs decline. Scientists estimate that only 1% of historic BTPD acreage remains.

A copy of the groups’ letter requesting a threatened designation for the BTPD or a higher listing priority number (dated December 14, 2001) is available by calling Forest Guardians at 719-523-4123.