WildEarth Guardians

Monday, March 29, 2004
Utah Prairie Dog Faces Extinction - Coalition Seeks Upgraded Protection For Species In Crisis

The Fish and Wildlife Service needs to emerge from its torpor and upgrade urgently needed protections for this species on the brink
Contact: WildEarth Guardians

Santa Fe, NM - Five conservation groups warned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) today of their intent to sue over the agency's failure to provide a timely finding on the groups' petition to increase protections for the Utah prairie dog under the Endangered Species Act. The groups sent the petition to reclassify the Utah prairie dog as an Endangered species to the Service on Groundhog Day (Feb. 3) in 2003. By law, the Service is required to issue a finding on whether a petitioned action is warranted 12 months after receiving a petition.

"The Utah prairie dog is running out of time," said Dr. Nicole Rosmarino, Endangered Species Director for WildEarth Guardians, "The Fish and Wildlife Service needs to emerge from its torpor and upgrade urgently needed protections for this species on the brink."

The Utah prairie dog has experienced dramatic declines over the past few years, which the groups trace to faulty implementation of the Endangered Species Act. In response to pressure from the State of Utah, in1984, the Utah prairie dog status was reclassified from Endangered to Threatened, which allowed for the Service to issue a special rule permitting shooting of this prairie dog species. The groups cite the shooting program, a generally unsuccessful translocation program, and habitat conservation plans allowing for additional killing of prairie dogs and destruction of their habitat, as factors responsible for continued Utah prairie dog declines.

The Service wrote the groups in November of last year, stating that it was unconcerned by population fluctuations and would not provide a timely petition finding. In their Notice of Intent to Sue the Service over the lack of a 12-month finding on their petition, the groups noted a decline from 5,878 individual animals in 2000 to 4,253 in 2001. While there was a slight rebound in 2002, the total census count subsequently declined from 4,944 in 2002 to only 3,741 in 2003. The 2003 census count is the lowest count since 1995. Census counts are thought to capture 50% of the total Utah prairie dog population, suggesting that there are under 7,500 adult Utah prairie dogs in existence today, a critically low number.

The Utah prairie dog is now recognized as being in acute danger of becoming extinct. At the turn of the millennium, the New York Times Magazine listed the Utah prairie dog as one of six species not likely to survive the next century.

"Citizen petitions are currently the only way endangered species are designated as protected under the Endangered Species Act," said Tori Woodard of the Utah group Escalante Wilderness Project. "The refusal of the federal government to provide timely findings on petitions erodes the key role of citizens in providing a last line of defense for endangered wildlife."

All prairie dog species are considered keystone species, providing food and creating crucial habitat for many other native wildlife species. Wildlife closely associated with prairie dogs are undergoing what scientists describe as "a wave of secondary extinctions" due to prairie dog declines. Altogether, over 140 wildlife species have either been documented as dependent on prairie dog towns, or their biological requirements make it likely that they benefit from prairie dogs and the habitats they create.

"The American public has repeatedly expressed its strong support for protecting endangered species and the Endangered Species Act," noted Jacob Smith, Executive Director of Center for Native Ecosystems. "The extinction of prairie dog species would be especially tragic because of their critical role in maintaining the ecosystems in which they live."

The conservation groups advocating increased protection for the Utah prairie dog are WildEarth Guardians, Boulder Regional Group, Center for Native Ecosystems, Escalante Wilderness Project, and Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

View the groups' Notice of Intent to Sue and their Petition to Reclassify the Utah Prairie Dogs as an Endangered Species.

See WildEarth Guardians' Utah prairie dog issue page for further information.

Contacts: Nicole J. Rosmarino, Ph.D., WildEarth Guardians, 505-988-9126 x156 Tori Woodard, Escalante Wilderness Project (435) 826-4778 Jacob Smith, Center for Native Ecosystems (303) 546-0214