WildEarth Guardians

Wednesday, June 7, 2006
Increased Protection for Utah Prairie Dog Under Consideration

Settlement requires agency to issue an Endangered Species Act finding in February 2007
Contact: WildEarth Guardians

Santa Fe, NM - WildEarth Guardians, Boulder Regional Group, and Center for Native Ecosystems reached a settlement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) last week which requires the agency to issue a finding by next February on the groups’ petition to increase protections for the Utah prairie dog under the Endangered Species Act. The groups submitted the petition to reclassify the Utah prairie dog as an Endangered species to the Service on Groundhog Day in 2003 and filed suit on Groundhog Day 2006. The Service violated the Endangered Species Act by failing to make a determination on the petition within 90 days.

“Utah prairie dogs are teetering on the brink, and we hope we’re one step closer to increased protections for this critically imperiled animal,” said Dr. Nicole Rosmarino, Endangered Species Director for WildEarth Guardians. “We aim to put a stop to the shooting of Utah prairie dogs and the destruction of their habitat.”

The groups contend that, while the Endangered Species Act has been critical in protecting the Utah Prairie Dog from extinction, the Service has refused to fully implement all the required protections of the law. For instance, the agency is allowing up to 6,000 Utah prairie dogs to be shot each year despite an adult population of less than 9,000 individuals. In addition, the emphasis in the species' recovery program is to move prairie dogs from private lands to publiclands. Yet, since 2000, one out of every two prairie dogs on federal lands has disappeared due to poor habitat conditions from grazing and other extractive land uses, exotic disease, and other threats. Two out of every three prairie dog populations on federal lands are either extirpated or contain very small populations.

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.

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.”

There are five species of prairie dogs and all have been listed or petitioned for listing under the Endangered Species Act. A finding by the federal government on the merits of WildEarth Guardians' petition to list the Gunnison's Prairie Dog (found in the Four Corners area) is expected to be released soon, as a result of a court order. The Utah Prairie Dog is listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act, but WildEarth Guardians and others have petitioned for its reclassification to Endangered status due to its critically imperiled condition. The other species are the Whitetailed Prairie Dog (petitioned by Center for Native Ecosystems and others for listing in 2002), the Black-tailed Prairie Dog (petitioned for listing in 1998), and the Mexican Prairie Dog (listed as Endangered).