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New Mexican's Nov. 3 editorial fails to recognize the serious threats facing Gunnison's prairie dogs In your Nov. 3 editorial, "Prairie-dog problem deliciously resolved," you mock the forward steps Rail Runner agencies and prairie dog advocates have made to protect one of the largest remaining prairie dog populations in Santa Fe. You also perpetuate myths against prairie dogs and criticize our efforts to obtain federal protection for the rapidly declining and ecologically vital Gunnison's prairie dog. Your editorial fails to recognize the serious threats facing this species. Rather, you parrot the long-debunked myths that they harm ranching and are prolific. Scientists have found that prairie dogs are not a significant threat to livestock ranching and are in decline. A history lesson is in order: The passenger pigeon was once also considered prolific but was mercilessly slaughtered into extinction in just a few decades. We are strong supporters of the Rail Runner as a solution to transportation problems, and we were pleased that the New Mexico Department of Transportation found a way to defer construction near Zia Road and St. Francis Drive to allow relocators time to remove the animals from harm's way. This will be accomplished without slowing the Rail Runner down. We continue to press state agencies to provide land to which those prairie dogs can be taken. Refuges for prairie dogs are a necessary part of the solution to avoid these animals being crushed, suffocated or poisoned in the course of development. We advocate for a preserve network, including both public and private lands, for prairie dogs and other native wildlife squeezed out by urban sprawl and intolerance. Prairie dog advocates have provided the city with a plan for progressive prairie dog conservation. The plan would preserve some urban colonies, humanely relocate prairie dogs where there is intractable conflict, eliminate poisons and other lethal methods of control, and establish the preserve network mentioned above. Taking these steps would put progressive Santa Fe at the forefront of prairie dog conservation, as a model for other cities in the West. By the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's own accounting, this species (centered on the Four Corners area, but also found in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Taos) has dwindled by 97 percent in just 90 years. The forest service's biologists even recommended placing the Gunnison's prairie dog on track for Endangered Species Act protection, but were reversed by former Interior official Julie MacDonald, who resigned in scandal. Next February, the Gunnison's prairie dog gets a second chance as the forest service reconsiders whether to federally protect this imperiled mammal. Santa Fe made its commitment to prairie dogs when it required humane relocation instead of killing in the course of development. The statue of a prairie dog communing with St. Francis in front of the municipal building on Marcy Street further provides a symbol of compassion toward prairie dogs in our city. But we need more than symbols - we need to preserve our link with wild nature, which prairie dog colonies in our city provide. Not only do prairie dog towns offer fascination and solace for human visitors, they also supply vital burrow networks for salamanders, frogs, lizards, ground squirrels, burrowing owls and others. We invite the community of Santa Fe to get involved in this effort: Please contact us if you are interested in volunteering to observe prairie dog colonies, have land you wish to enroll in the preserve network, or are interested in educational efforts to raise awareness about prairie dogs' ecologically vital roles. We also urge city councilors and state agencies to make forward steps in implementing the conservation plan for prairie dogs in Santa Fe. Then perhaps we can declare the "Prairie dog problem intelligently resolved." Nicole J. Rosmarino, Ph.D., is the conservation director of WildEarth Guardians. She lives in Santa Fe. Copyright 2007 Santa Fe New Mexican - Reprinted with permission |
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