WildEarth Guardians

Thursday, February 9, 2006
Prairie Dog Won't Be 'Endangered'

''The finding is baseless,'' said Nicole Rosmarino, conservation director for WildEarth Guardians. ''It's more junk science from the Bush administration.''
Contact: Tania Soussan Albuquerque Journal

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced it will not consider the Gunnison's prairie dog for Endangered Species Act protection.

Santa Fe-based WildEarth Guardians and 73 other groups and individuals petitioned the agency in 2004, saying the prairie dogs have declined more than 90 percent in the past century and are threatened by plague, poisoning, development and oil, and gas operations.

The service said Tuesday it is apparent that occupied habitat has gone from tens of millions of acres to perhaps less than a million acres, but said it could not conclude that populations are declining without more information.

The service also acknowledged evidence of local population declines but said it is unclear how the animal is faring across its range- New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Arizona.

"The finding is baseless," said Nicole Rosmarino, conservation director for WildEarth Guardians. "It's more junk science from the Bush administration."

The groups plan to challenge the agency's decision.

The service said it is working with states to gather more information and likely will reconsider the prairie dog's status in a year.

"The service remains interested in the population status, trends and ongoing management actions important to the conservation of the Gunnison's prairie dog," Mountain-Prairie Region Director Mitch King said in a statement.

Copyright 2005 Albuquerque Journal - Reprinted with permission