ENVIRONMENT

Every dog has its day, and prairie dogs are no exception. A federal court just ruled in favor of protecting the threatened Utah prairie dog. (Christian Science Monitor)

What are prairie dogs? Use our short resource to get acquainted.

Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources in our Teachers Toolkit.

Discussion Ideas

• The Christian Science Monitor article says a recent court ruling protecting Utah prairie dogs was “met with frustration by landowners who struggle to coexist with a pest sheltered by law.” Why are prairie dogs considered a pest?
  • Prairie dogs’ huge network of tunnels and burrows—prairie-dog towns—“have been the scourge of those who work the land since pioneer times.” Critics point to the threats prairie dogs pose to local economies, health, and well-being.
    • economic pest. Prairie dogs can eat up to two pounds of grass and forbs per week. Prairie dog towns can, therefore, threaten crops and compete with cattle, sheep, and other livestock for food.
    • injury pest. The burrows and tunnels of prairie dog towns can threaten the health of livestock and people. The delicate ankles of livestock and soccer players are at risk.
    • public health pest. Thousands of prairie-dog holes can contribute to chemically treated water flooding into aquifers before the toxins leach out. (Water may be treated for agriculture or as part of a region’s sewage treatment system.)
    • community quality-of-life pest. Lawns and cemeteries can also be disrupted by the burrows of prairie dog towns.

 

• According to our short introduction to the species, prairie dogs are animals of “least concern”—they’re not endangered. (Check out the categories and criteria for endangered species here.) So why are they protected under the Endangered Species Act?
  • There are actually five species of prairie dog in North America. The Utah prairie dog is a threatened species, meaning it may soon become endangered. (The threatened status actually represents a recovery, as the species was originally listed as endangered in 1973.)
  • Utah prairie dogs have a small species range and a relatively small population. They numbered 95,000 in the 1920s, but by the 1960s, populations had crashed due to habitat loss, disease, drought, and population control methods such as hunting and poisoning.

 

• Why is the court ruling considered a significant victory for the prairie dog and the Endangered Species Act?
  • The court ruled that the federal government had authority to regulate the population of intrastate species on nonfederal land. That’s a key description in the judgment.
    • Intrastate species are those whose species range are entirely in one state.
    • Nonfederal land includes land not belonging to the federal government (such as national parks). Nonfederal land may include private property and county- and state-managed land.
    • This means that the federal government can regulate the population of the Utah prairie dog. “Despite the argument that this particular species of prairie dog lives exclusively in Utah, the three-judge panel found that the buck stops with the federal government [specifically, the Fish and Wildlife Service and Endangered Species Act], not the state.”
      • For the last three years, protection of the Utah prairie dog was managed by the state. “The state maintained many protections, but expanded the area wildlife officials could remove prairie dogs, and the circumstances under which residents could kill the unwanted underground residents.”

 

• What happens next?
  • The plaintiffs, who wanted the state to maintain management of Utah prairie dog populations, will appeal. The group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Property Owners, is not anti-prairie dog and acknowledges the species’ significance. “Let [Utah prairie dog habitat] be on the prairie, let it be on land away from the developments,” said Brett Taylor, the group’s vice president.
  • Conservationists acknowledge a legal victory not only for the prairie dog, but other intrastate species on nonfederal land. Noah Greenwald, endangered species director at the Center for Biological Diversity, told the AP that the decision could help protect as many as 1,600 endangered species around the country.

 

• Let your class be the next court of appeals. Should the federal government be the authority for regulating the populations of intrastate species on nonfederal land? Think about:
  • states’ rights
  • conservation of endangered species
  • landowners’ rights
  • influence of one species on an ecosystem
  • influence of one species on the built environment

 

TEACHERS TOOLKIT

Christian Science Monitor: Prairie dogs win major victory in court

National Park Service: Utah Prairie Dog

Nat Geo: What are prairie dogs?

Nat Geo: What is a burrow?

(extra credit!) Tenth Circuit U. S. Court of Appeals: People for the Ethical Treatment of Property Owners v. USFWS