Receiving Prairie Dog Clearance

Golf course, Paiute Tribe now able to clear land

Cedar City,UT - After waiting half a year for action on a request to remove Utah prairie dogs, Cedar Ridge Golf Course and the Paiute Tribe of Utah received permits to clear their properties.

John Evans, Cedar Ridge Golf Course director, said this is good news for golfers; clearing prairie dogs will make the course much more attractive.

"It will make it so we can play golf again," he said.

Lora Tom, Paiute Tribe of Utah chairwoman, said clearing the property will allow the tribe to grow.

"We're appreciative, (and) we're surprised," she said. "It means possibilities."

But receiving the permits wasn't all good news - the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service changed the parameters of the permits.

Permits, HCP

The golf course and Paiute Tribe will not be allowed to trap and kill any dogs; all dogs must be relocated as "live take," said Elise Boeke, USFWS ecologist. This makes the timeline to clear both properties uncertain.

Evans said USFWS has been good to work with, and he knows biologists' hands are tied in the situation. However, he's not happy with the outcome.

"(Live trapping only is) not the answer for me," he said.

Tom said she knew they were looking four or five years down the road, but this complicates the situation.

"It's gonna be a trying period for all," she said. "To have the permit is definitely something we need to take a look at how (we'll) help eliminate some of the dogs."

Both Tom and Evans were disappointed in July when WildEarth Guardians, an environmental group, submitted comments opposing the permits and Habitat Conservation Plan for the golf course and tribal lands.

Under the original plan, the prairie dogs would be relocated to Wild Pea Hollow, about 28 miles northeast of Cedar City near Bald Hills, not too far east off Minersville Highway, in two phases. Once the criteria of the HCP were met, the golf course and Paiute tribe would be able to remove all remaining dogs through lethal take.

The plan would take at least two years to clear off all the dogs.

Boeke said the intent is still to clear the property.

"We'll live-trap as long as it takes to clear the property," she said.

Boeke said she's unsure if the change will extend the timeline for clearing the property because she doesn't know how successful live trapping will be.

In the past, both entities were limited by the countywide HCP, which only allowed 300 prairie dogs to be trapped and relocated a year.

"They were very limited in what they could do," she said.

Now there is no limit for relocation from both properties; biologists can work eight hours a day to clear the dogs through the trapping season in July and August.

This also frees up the 300 dogs for relocation from other property throughout the county.

"We just don't know because we haven't done this kind of an effort," she said. "We're hoping it's not a longer process."

Working through issues

Boeke said the golf course will start relocating dogs as soon as the window opens in July. And if certain criteria are met at the Wild Pea Hollow relocation site with vegetation and prairie dog numbers, the Paiute Tribe can start to relocate immediately as well. Under the former plan, the tribe would have waited until after the golf course finished live trapping.

Boeke added she wouldn't be surprised if dog numbers were already met because the colony in that area is doing well.

USFWS addressed WildEarth Guardians' comments by making the changes to the permit. It also issued a biological opinion, something the federal agency does any time it takes action, that outlines the impact of the permits. Boeke said as WildEarth Guardians' pointed out, the stumbling block was the "lethal take" of dogs.

At that time, Nicole Rosmarino, WildEarth Guardians endangered species program director, said the plan is unnecessary and outlines a death sentence for a species on the brink of extinction and called for the HCP to be withdrawn.

"We strongly, strongly oppose this plan," she said. "We think it's little more than an extermination plan."

Boeke said an HCP can only allow for incidental take, or the killing of prairie dogs incidental to an activity. The service was on thin ice legally by allowing lethal takes, so that has been eliminated from the permit.

Tom said she hopes the plan and permits don't receive further resistance and she's looking forward to moving on.

Once the property is clear, the tribe can expand its facilities, add more homes and improve its Powwow grounds.

"At this point, we haven't really done anything because of the dogs," she said.

Garrett Davis/ Daily News Prairie dogs roam the sidewalks in Cedar City on May 31, 2006. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued permits for the Cedar City Municipal Golf Course and Pauite Tribe of Utah, allowing both entities to trap and relocate the dogs until the area is clear.

Copyright 2007 The Spectrum - www.thespectrum.com - Reprinted with permission


 

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